View of the spinning mill and some information stands during a tour of the site with its many galleries and art spaces where wonderful exhibitions can be seen, cultural institution, industrial heritage
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Creative Leipzig

View of the spinning mill and some information stands during a tour of the site with its many galleries and art spaces where wonderful exhibitions can be seen, cultural institution, industrial heritage
© Philipp Kirschner
Creative work in the Leipzig Spinnerei © Philipp Kirschner

Creative Scene Leipzig

Whether art, design, literature or the scene - Leipzig sets trends

For the young creative people Leipzig is no longer an insider tip. Word has got around that the working and living environment is right and that the three cultural-artistic universities and the university keep feeding the pool of ideas anew. Leipzig is known worldwide for its dynamic art, music and festival scene. This not only attracts artists and actors to the city - it also makes creative Leipzig a trendy destination for individualists.

Discover Leipzig's creative scene and industrial culture

Galleries and art spaces

Galleries and art spaces

Exhibition room in the Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig with a painting on the wall, gallery, cultural institution
Leipzig
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Museum of Fine Arts

Admire a wide range of paintings, sculptures and prints from the late Middle Ages to contemporary art in the Museum of Fine Arts. Many of these works were donated by citizens, giving the exhibition a very personal perspective.
View of the Kunsthalle der Sparkasse Leipzig building, which houses galleries exhibiting a plethora of artwork, cultural venue
Leipzig
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Sparkasse Leipzig Art Hall

The Sparkasse Leipzig Art Hall features rotating exhibitions with items from the art collection of the Sparkasse Leipzig – exclusively the "Leipzig School". These are supplemented by special shows on relevant topics.
View of the G2 Kunsthalle in Leipzig with several galleries and exhibitions on art, museums, cultural institutions

G2 Kunsthalle

The private collection of Steffen Hildebrand is one of the most recent, publicly accessible private collections. It is exhibited in the G2 Kunsthalle covering over 1,000 m²
View of the spinning mill and some information stands during a tour of the site with its many galleries and art spaces where wonderful exhibitions can be seen, cultural institution, industrial heritage

Spinnerei Art Centre

Today, the building of the old cotton spinning mill houses numerous art studios, which host exhibitions and galleries of various national and international artists.
View of the façade and the entrance to the Leipzig Tapetenwerk, featuring several art galleries and exhibitions and the Café Shredderei, cultural facilities in Leipzig, Hidden Leipzig, leisure facilities

Tapetenwerk

The Tapetenwerk, an art and studio complex on the site of a former wallpaper factory, has been offering space for artists, designers, architects and creative people in eight factory buildings from the Wilhelminian era since 2007.
View of the GfzK Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst building, which also has a shop for designer pieces, cultural institutions in Leipzig, exhibition
Leipzig
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GfZK, Contemporary Art Gallery

The Gallery for Contemporary Art (GfZK) is one of the best places fans of contemporary art can visit. This is where different artistic positions meet.
Exhibition hall in the Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig, museum, cultural institutions, art spaces, gallery
Leipzig
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Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig

The Kunstkraftwerk is an extraordinary new cultural location in a former cogeneration power plant.
View into an exhibition room in the Grassi Museum für angewandte Kunst, cultural institutions in Leipzig
Leipzig
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GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts

The Grassi museum provides more than 90,000 exhibits of European and non-European handicrafts, spans from antiquity to the present day.
View of the Hall 14 art space, which is the largest gallery of the Baumwollspinnerei in Leipzig and which exhibits many works of art, cultural institutions, industrial heritage, Hidden Leipzig

HALLE 14

HALL 14 is a non-profit art space located in the Leipzig Baumwollspinnerei.

Spinnerei, New Leipziger School, MdbK, GRASSI, GfzK

Leipzig's dynamic art scene enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide. The focus is on the Leipzig Spinnerei. Since the fall of communism, an artistic microcosm with over 100 exhibition rooms and studios as well as 11 leading contemporary art galleries has developed on the site of what was once the largest cotton spinning mill in continental Europe. Neo Rauch, one of the protagonists of the New Leipzig School, was among the first to have his own studio at the Spinnerei. Famous names, such as Tilo Baumgärtel and Matthias Weischer, followed soon after. The New Leipzig School is an art movement that emerged from the Leipzig School around painter Arno Rink. It has its origins at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig.  

The contemporary Leipzig art scene is closely linked to Leipzig's industrial culture. Centres of urban industrial architecture, which were once used as workshops for the manufacturing industry, are now hubs for the young creative scene. Head to Plagwitz and Lindenau in the west of Leipzig and discover the Kunstkraftwerk or the Leipziger Tapetenwerk. 

Leipzig is not only a place where great art is created, it can also be enjoyed to the utmost. Numerous galleries and museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, the GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts or the Gallery of Contemporary Art, are waiting to be discovered.

Design and Fashion

GRASSIMESSE and Designer's Open

Leipzig not only represents fine art, but it also sets trends. Are you a design lover and trendsetter? Then mark your calendar to visit Leipzig at the last weekend of October. Because that is exactly when Leipzig becomes the hotspot of the design scene. First held in 1920, the GRASSIMESSE, which has once again established itself in 1997, represents a highlight in the design calendar. Lovers of extraordinary fashion and unconventional furniture will get their money's worth. The Designer's Open brings together architects, designers, fashion designers and creative minds to present their products and the latest trends in the interior and fashion scene. The programme includes readings, workshops, films, fashion shows and evening events in many creative spots throughout the city. 

GRASSIMESSE and Designer's Open: Hotspots

View into an exhibition room in the Grassi Museum für angewandte Kunst, cultural institutions in Leipzig
Leipzig
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GRASSI Museum of Applied Arts

The Grassi museum provides more than 90,000 exhibits of European and non-European handicrafts, spans from antiquity to the present day.

Westwerk

These former industrial halls are now home to a large number of studios, shops, cafés and event venues.
View into a large auditorium in the Leipzig Trade Fair Congress Hall at the Leipzig Zoo where many events take place, zoo, conferences, cultural institutions

KONGRESSHALLE am Zoo Leipzig

After long vacancies and extensive renovation work, the KONGRESSHALLE am Zoo Leipzig is once again a central and popular venue - centrally located and equipped with the latest technology.
View of the façade and the entrance to the Leipzig Tapetenwerk, featuring several art galleries and exhibitions and the Café Shredderei, cultural facilities in Leipzig, Hidden Leipzig, leisure facilities

Tapetenwerk

The Tapetenwerk, an art and studio complex on the site of a former wallpaper factory, has been offering space for artists, designers, architects and creative people in eight factory buildings from the Wilhelminian era since 2007.
Exhibition hall in the Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig, museum, cultural institutions, art spaces, gallery
Leipzig
Regio

Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig

The Kunstkraftwerk is an extraordinary new cultural location in a former cogeneration power plant.

Alternative Festivals

DOK Filmfestival
Two attendees of the Wave Gothic Festival in Leipzig who have dressed up like skeletons, festivals, events, cosplay, music, culture, WGT

Wave Gothic Festival
A crowd in front of one of the stages at the Highfield Festival at Lake Störmthaler See in Leipzig's New Lake District, city of music, events, culture, leisure

Highfield Festival

Highfield, WGT, DOK

Leipzig also has musical roots. The annual Highfield Festival at Lake Störmthal in mid-August is the largest independent festival in Eastern Germany. The dreamlike scenery in Leipzig's New Lake District area, beach, water and acts like Mando Diao, Billy Talent, Rammstein and The Offspring now attract more than 35,000 visitors to the Leipzig region. 

Leipzig dresses in black every year for the Whitsun weekend. At the world's biggest Goth Festival, the Wave Gotik Treffen, over 25,000 fans of the scene come together in Leipzig. The festival has a tradition going back over 20 years and invites you to Leipzig every year with hundreds of concerts, readings, theatre performances, films and markets.

You will find something special not only musically but also cinematically in Leipzig. One of the world's leading international film festivals - DOK Leipzig - takes place every year in October. The documentary and animated film festival, which was established over 60 years ago, attracts almost 50,000 visitors from all over the world to Leipzig's cinemas. 

Hidden Leipzig

Leipzig off the beaten track

We guarantee you - a visit to Leipzig will be the beginning of an everlasting love. Leipzig's attitude to life is unique and hard to describe - it has to be experienced. Explore the city off the beaten track and discover the hidden Leipzig. What awaits you there? Green oases, cosy cafés and restaurants, small shops with that special something, artistic and cultural hotspots away from the beaten track. In short: lively places where you will feel the atmosphere of Leipzig.

View of the bar, Café Puschkin on the "Karli", which in summer lures passers-by in with its open-air seating, nightlife area in Leipzig, nightlife, gastronomy

Nightlife in Leipzig