Leipzig & Western Saxony

The more industrialised western part of Saxony centres on Leipzig, a green, hip and vibrant city with many stories to tell and places to enjoy. Hugely important in the history of music, it was home to Johann Sebastian Bach and Richard Wagner. To the south, Chemnitz is still full of vestiges of GDR-era Soviet influence, including a huge head of Karl Marx in the central square, but is now home to several exciting museums, including the newly opened state-of-the art SMAC museum of archaeology and prehistory. The lovely university town of Freiberg boasts a fantastic collection of minerals and a visitable ore mine, while Zwickau's former Audi factory has been turned into an outstanding museum presenting Germany's complicated 20th-century history as a succession of gleaming retro cars, including the inevitable Trabbies in all shapes and forms.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Leipzig & Western Saxony.

Church
Nikolaikirche
This church has Romanesque and Gothic roots, but since 1797 has sported a striking neoclassical interior with palm-like pillars and cream-coloured pews. While the design is certainly gorgeous, the church is most famous for playing a key role in the nonviolent movement that led to the downfall of the East German government. As early as 1982 it hosted ‘peace prayers’ every Monday at 5pm (still held today), which over time inspired and empowered local citizens to confront the injustices plaguing their country.
Museum
Terra Mineralia
Occupying a greater part of the 16th-century Freundenstein castle, this astounding collection of minerals makes human-made art seem insignificant compared to the genius of nature. The experience is akin to snorkelling over coral reefs – as you descend from the 5th floor, the dramatically dim-lit halls fill with thousands of colours radiating from dazzling gems. Each hall represents a continent where exhibits come from, with a separate section dedicated to meteorites.
Museum
Museen im Grassi
The university-run Museen im Grassi harbours three fantastic collections that are often overlooked, despite being a five-minute walk from Augustusplatz. At the stellar Musikinstrumenten-Museum you can discover music from five centuries in rarity-filled exhibits and an interactive sound laboratory. The Museum für Völkerkunde takes you on an eye-opening journey through the cultures of the world. The Museum für Angewandte Kunst has an excellent art nouveau and art deco furniture, porcelain, glass and ceramics collection.
Museum
August Horch Museum
Zwickau’s top attraction is this amazing car museum that will enlighten and entertain even non-petrolheads. Housed within the original early-20th-century Audi factory, the gleaming and imaginatively presented exhibits range from old-timer gems, such as the 1911 Horch Phaeton, to the latest Audi R8. And, of course, there are plenty of Trabants (three million were produced in town here until 1990) and other eastern European cars.
Museum
SMAC
Occupying a converted department store, this state-of-the-art museum is a brave attempt to celebrate all those crocks, bones and pieces of primitive jewellery found in the archaeology sections of history museums, which many visitors tend to overlook as they rush to admire treasures from later epochs. Here, the multimedia exhibition is organised as a journey through every cultural layer left by human civilisation, with each seemingly unprepossessing object allowed to tell its fascinating story.
Museum
Museum der Bildenden Künste
This imposing modernist glass cube is the home of Leipzig's fine art museum and its world-class collection of paintings from the 15th century to today, including works by Caspar David Friedrich, Cranach, Munch and Monet. Highlights include rooms dedicated to native sons Max Beckmann, Max Klinger and Neo Rauch. Exhibits are playfully juxtaposed and include sculpture, installation and religious art. The collection is enormous, so set aside at least two hours to do it justice.
Gallery
Museum Gunzenhauser
A former 1930 bank building, built in austere New Objectivity style, is now a gallery of 20th-century art, most famous for its expressionist works by such key artists as Max Beckmann, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and local boy Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Pride of place, though, goes to a career-spanning collection of works by Otto Dix on the 3rd floor. It's a superb collection and shouldn't be missed by modern art lovers.
Gallery
Asisi Panometer
The happy marriage of a pano rama (a giant 360-degree painting) and a gas ometer (a giant gas tank) is a panometer. The unusual concept is the brainchild of Berlin-based artist Yadegar Asisi, who uses paper and pencil and computer technology to create bafflingly detailed monumental scenes drawn from nature or history. Each work is about 100m long and 30m high.
Museum
Museum für Völkerkunde
At Leipzig's Ethnological Museum, you can plunge into an eye-opening journey through the cultures of the world.