However, the security forces were confronted not only with a few “ringleaders” who were controlled by “imperialist circles”, but also with broad sections of the population. This made the planned defensive measures to violently break up the Monday demonstration impossible.
In the months that followed, the SED tried in vain to get people off the streets with the magic word "dialogue". The citizens of Leipzig who, after the traditional prayers for peace in St. Nicholas Church in 1989, marched to the inner city ring road, initially in their hundreds and later in their hundreds of thousands, were not satisfied with cosmetic changes. With their courage, their strong will and their renunciation of violence, they made history. The emotional images of the "Monday demonstrations" in autumn 1989 went around the world: Determined people shouted "We are the people" and demanded basic democratic rights in a rigid society. Leipzig - the neglected and decaying city of the GDR state - had rediscovered its language through peaceful means. The foundation stone for German reunification had been laid.
Under the motto "Autumn '89 - Awakening to Democracy", the city of Leipzig commemorates the events surrounding the Peaceful Revolution every year. On October 9th - the city's day of remembrance - the peace prayer, the speech on democracy and the festival of lights are always the highlights of this series of events. Leipzig residents and guests of the city commemorate the historical events together at the original locations. Exhibitions, panel discussions, film screenings, readings and many other formats reach thousands of visitors of all generations every year.
2019 marks the 89th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution of '30. Leipzig is commemorating these events with an extensive program. Thousands of people are expected to not only experience art and history in authentic locations, but also to talk to one another and exchange memories.
More information about cycling in the Leipzig Region as well as more interesting routes: www.lichtfest.leipziger-freiheit.de
Historic sites in and around Leipzig
St. Nicholas Church and Peace Column:
The church, which is over 850 years old, was the scene of the Monday prayers for peace and the starting point for the Monday demonstrations. The classicist church column in the Nikolaikirchhof stands symbolically for all those who could no longer find space in the overcrowded church in autumn 89. The idea for this monument came from the artist Andreas Stötzner, and the sculptor Markus Gläser was responsible for the execution and design. He also designed the bronze plate embedded in the pavement. The footprints point to Augustusplatz and symbolize the demonstrations on the Leipziger Ring. www.nikolaikirche.de
light installation on the Nikolaikirchhof
The light installation “Public Light” by the artist Tilo Schulz is a metaphor for the active will of the citizens in Leipzig. The illuminated “paving stones” reflect the process of situational flare-ups of political consciousness.
fountain in the Nikolaikirchhof
The elegant and simple granite fountain makes the churchyard in front of St. Nikolai a place of communication and tranquility all year round. The overflowing water is intended to symbolize the desire for freedom of the crowd that demonstrated peacefully there in the autumn of 1989.
Tank track tracks in Salzgässchen
Behind the Old Stock Exchange, two bronze tank tracks and a plaque with the inscription “June 17, 1953” commemorate the crushed popular uprising in the GDR.
Memorial Museum in the "Round Corner"
The building, which was the headquarters of the Leipzig District Administration for State Security for 40 years, is now a museum. The permanent exhibition of the Leipzig Citizens' Committee "Stasi - Power and Banality" provides information on the history, structure and methods of the SED secret police in the original Stasi offices. The exhibition "Leipzig on the Way to the Peaceful Revolution" uses original leaflets, demonstration photos and posters to commemorate the opposition and political resistance in Leipzig and the fall of the SED dictatorship in 1989. In front of the "Round Corner", as the building is popularly known, there is a section of the Berlin Wall. Admission to the museum is free.
Address: Dittrichring 24, www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de
BStU, Leipzig branch
The permanent and special exhibitions in the memorial museum in the “Round Corner” show the almost complete surveillance, manipulation and persecution machinery of the SED secret police. The files of the State Security Service can be viewed here, in the branch office of the Federal Commissioner for Stasi Records (BStU), in accordance with the Stasi Records Act.
Address: Dittrichring 24, www.bstu.bund.de
School Museum – Workshop for School History Leipzig
There are a variety of exhibitions on the history of schools in Leipzig on two floors. The ideological orientation and militarization of education, especially in the GDR, are presented in detail. The workshops and offers on schools in the SED dictatorship are unique, for example lessons in a GDR polytechnic high school as a role play.
Address: Goerdelerring 20, www.schulmuseum.leipzig.de
Leipzig Forum for Contemporary History
The exhibition, documentation and information center is dedicated to the history of the SED dictatorship and the resistance in the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR. Around 2.000 meaningful objects, photos, documents and audiovisual media illustrate political events and turning points - from the table of the SED Central Committee to parts of the fence of the FRG embassy in Prague to Günter Schabowski's press conference on November 9, 1989 in Berlin. Admission is free.
Address: Grimmaische Straße 6, www.hdg.de
Archive of the Leipzig Citizens' Movement e. V.
The permanent exhibition “Citizens on the Way” documents the events in Leipzig from the first high-profile protest on January 15, 1989, to the decisive demonstration on October 9, 1989. The archives on the history of the opposition and the regular events are essential here.
Address: Bernhard-Göring-Straße 152, www.archiv-buergerbewegung.de
Former central execution site of the GDR
From 1960 onwards, this was located in a separate part of the Alfred-Kästner-Straße penal institution. All death sentences pronounced in the country were carried out here in absolute secrecy - 64 in total. The death penalty was not abolished in the GDR until 1987. Guided tours are held every year on Museum Night and Open Monument Day.
Address: Arndtstraße 48, www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de
Museum in the Stasi Bunker in Machern
This is where the former alternate command post of the head of the Leipzig district administration for state security is located. The building was disguised as a holiday resort. The core of the 5,2 hectare complex is the bunker built between 1968 and 1972. In the event of mobilization, the Leipzig state security service would have relocated its headquarters to Machern with around 100 employees.
Address: Lübschützer Teiche, 04827 Machern, www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de
Kossa Military Museum
As a result of a new military doctrine of the Warsaw Pact, a protective bunker was built for the command staff of the combined armed forces. Today, the staff bunker and the communications bunker can be visited in Kossa.
Address: Dahlenberger Str. 1, 04849 Laußig, www.bunker-kossa.de
Tours, tours and other offers
Individual tour: Steles at the "Sites of the Peaceful Revolution"
The stele project was installed in Leipzig's city center in 2010 by the Leipzig Citizens' Committee. The tour leads to 20 original locations of the democratic awakening in 1989/90. Photos and German and English texts on the steles show how complex the Peaceful Revolution was. An audio guide and the "Leipzig '89 Tour" app, each in eight languages, provide orientation and information.
Information: www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de/herbst89-app
Individual tour: "MDR Time Travel"
This online offering from Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) allows you to travel back in time to the GDR using your own smartphone or tablet. Short films and photos show what Leipzig looked like back then, how people lived and where they demonstrated in 1989. The "MDR Time Travel" is available as a web offering and as an app.
Information: www.mdr.de/zeitreise
App "ZEITFENSTER. Peaceful Revolution Leipzig"
The app is a journey back in time to the time of upheaval around 1989. Historical photographs can be viewed in 25 time windows on a smartphone or tablet, with precise perspective. A comparison with the current camera perspective allows the time horizons to merge and makes historical change tangible.
Information: www.zeitfenster.uni-leipzig.de
City Tour: "On the Trail of the Peaceful Revolution"
During this tour organized by the Citizens' Committee Leipzig eV, contemporary history is told at the scene of the event, making it vivid and understandable for the participants.
Information: www.runde-ecke-leipzig.de
City tour: "Peaceful Revolution - Autumn '89 in Leipzig"
The focus of this thematic tour by Leipzig Erleben GmbH is on the focal points of events in autumn 1989, such as St. Nicholas Church, Augustusplatz or the Stasi district administration. The tour starts at the Tourist Information (Katharinenstraße 8).
Information: www.leipzig-erleben.com
video bus tour "Monday: Revolution! The End of the GDR"
This extraordinary journey of discovery from Videobustour takes you through the history of Leipzig from 1945 to 1990 and shows everyday life in a city in the GDR. Historical film clips are shown at the authentic sites on the numerous monitors in the bus. The tour starts at the museum in the "Round Corner" (Dittrichring 24).
Information: www.videosightseeing.de/stadtrundfahrt-leipzig
Travel offer: “LEIPZIG – On the trail of the Peaceful Revolution”
Anyone who would like to follow in the footsteps of the Peaceful Revolution in Leipzig can book the three-day travel package "LEIPZIG - On the Footsteps of the Peaceful Revolution" from Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH. It includes two overnight stays (including breakfast), participation in the themed city tour and a guided tour of the museum at the "Round Corner".
Information and booking: www.leipzig.travel/travel-offers