Venue

Monument

The bust of Bach stands on a pillar in the green spaces on Dittrichring in the dark and commemorates the famous Thomaskantor, city of music, culture, composer — © www.leipzig.travel, Andreas Schmidt

The world's oldest Bach memorial has stood not far from St. Thomas Church since 1843.

The Old Bach Monument is located in the green spaces on Dittrichring, southwest of St. Thomas Church, opposite house number 8. It is the world's oldest monument to Johann Sebastian Bach and was initiated by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in 1843.

Mendelssohn first formulated his idea of erecting a monument to the former cantor of St. Thomas in Leipzig in a letter in 1838 with the words: "J. S. Bach was a splendid old man. We now want to erect a small monument to him here in front of St. Thomas' School." The majority of the required funds were raised through three benefit concerts. These included a concert in the Gewandhaus with the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

The four-sided relief of the sandstone monument depicts various Bach motifs. Herrmann Knaur, a Leipzig sculptor, erected it based on a design by Eduard Bendemann, Ernst Rietschel and Julius Hübner. The inauguration took place on April 23, 1843 near the Thomas School.

Payment methods

Entrance Free

Directions & Parking facilities

Public transportation: The nearest stop is Thomaskirche (line 9, 89). The destination is about 87 m on foot from there.

By car: The monument is located in the center of Leipzig and can be reached via Dittrichring. The nearest possible parking facility is the underground parking garage at the Thomaskirche (Q-Park Marktgalerie).

Organization

Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH

info@ltm-leipzig.de

Website

License (master data)

Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH

info@ltm-leipzig.de

Website