Leipzig - Augustusplatz

Even before Leipzig was first mentioned in a document in 1015, a Slavic settlement existed here. The city was founded in 1165 when Margrave Otto the Rich of Meissen granted city and market rights to the city at the intersection of the Via Regia and the Via Imperii.

Leipzig was in the Margraviate of Meissen, which became part of the Electorate of Saxony in 1439. Leipzig then belonged to the Duchy of Saxony, whose capital was chosen to be Dresden, which had been insignificant compared to Leipzig or Meissen. Leipzig was often the place where the state parliament met, but Leipzig was never a residence city or a bishop's seat and has always been shaped by the urban bourgeoisie.

The University of Leipzig was founded in 1409 as "Alma Mater Lipsiensis" and was thus one of the three oldest universities in Germany. After being elevated to the status of "Reichsmessestadt" (imperial trade fair city) in 1497 and an extension of the staple right by the future Emperor Maximilian I, Leipzig became a trade fair city of European standing. It developed into the most important German trading center for the exchange of goods between Eastern and Western Europe. Alongside London, the Leipziger Brühl became the international trade center for the fur industry, and the important role played by the Leipzig Jewish community was closely linked to it.

In 1539, the Reformation was finally introduced in Leipzig by Luther and Justus Jonas. Over decades, the development of Leipzig was characterized above all by the constantly improving living conditions. As a trading and trade fair city of increasing importance, Leipzig benefited from the wealthy Leipzig merchant class.

The Thirty Years' War was a severe cut in the prosperous development of the city. Between 1631 and 1642 the city was besieged five times, from 1642 to 1650 it was occupied by the Swedes.

The "Völkerschlacht" (Battle of Leipzig) near Leipzig took place in 1813. In this battle, the allied armies of Austria, Prussia, Russia and Sweden defeated Napoleon's troops and their allies which ultimately led to Napoleon's banishment to the island of Elba.
The Augustusplatz is the city's largest square and one of the largest squares in Germany. It has been named after Friedrich August I (1750–1827), the first ruler of the Kingdom of Saxony, since 1837 and was called Karl-Marx-Platz from August 1945 until German reunification in 1990.

The City-Hochhaus is a 36-story skyscraper and at 142 m, it is the tallest building in Leipzig. The tower was designed by architect H. Henselmann in the shape of an open book and built between 1968 and 1972. Adjoining this are two university buildings on the west side, the New Augusteum and the Paulinum – Aula and University Church of St. Pauli, which were completed in 2012 and the end of 2017, respectively.

For about five centuries, the university had its own church, the Paulinerkirche. All university buildings except the Paulinerkirche were badly damaged in bombing raids in 1943, but some were made usable again after the war. Despite only minor damage from WWII, the university church was blown up in 1968 for political reasons.

The new building was designed by Erick van Egeraat. It contains the university's assembly hall with an oratory, as well as rooms of the faculties for information science and mathematics. The assembly hall, which was erected on exactly the same site as the old university church, exhibits figures and other objects from Paulinerkirche and offers a room of prayer.