Leipzig takes centre stage this week as the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series moves to the German city which is the largest in the federal state of Saxony.
A centre of commerce since 1015, it is home to the oldest trade fair in the world and developed into an important legal and publishing base following the establishment of its University in 1409 and into a hub of Central Europe following the construction of the first German long-distance railway. Today the renowned central station in Leipzig remains the largest in Europe in terms of area.
The city was one of the most important in Eastern Germany during the years following World War 11, and amongst its famous sons are philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and composer and essayist Richard Wagner.
Leibniz’s works include the intriguingly-titled “The Idea of Truth” and “Problems of Freedom, Sin and Evil” so this is a man who intended that the world should take him seriously, but he clearly had a lighter side to his character being attributed with the quote that “it is rare to find learned men who are clean, do not stink and have a sense of humour”. Presumably however he considered himself amongst the precious few…..
His philosophies would not meet with universal approval however. After all not everyone would concur with his theory that “music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic”, although his belief that “the soul is the mirror of an indestructible universe” has an appealing ring to it. Monadism was at the core of his thinking - best to check out its meaning when you have plenty of time to contemplate the universe at your leisure……
Leibniz was born in Leipzig in 1646 and attended the University there from 1661 to 1666 but it was more than 50 years later when Johann Sebastian Bach came to town. Bach was a prolific composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra and solo instruments brought the Baroque period to its peak and he worked at the St Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig between 1723 and 1750.
Richard Wagner was born in the city in 1813 and is best known for his elaborate operas. He once meekly said of himself - “Richard Wagner, a musician who wrote music which is better than it sounds”…..
Leipzig University, which will celebrate its 600th anniversary next year, has seen many talented intellectuals through its portals and one of its most noteworthy students was the writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe whose works include poetry, drama, literature, theology, humanism and science. Born in 1749, he is a key figure of German literature and his scientific text “Theory of Colours” is believed to have influenced Charles Darwin. For all his genius however, his humour rings true in some of his most attractive quotes including “A clever man commits no minor blunders”, “A man’s manners are a mirror in which he shows his portrait” and “A person only hears what they understand”. Another graduate of Leipzig’s great seat of learning is Angela Merkel who has been Germany’s Chancellor since 2006 and who studied physics in these hallowed halls.
One of the many interesting places to visit in the city today is Auerbach’s Keller where a young Goethe ate and drank during his student years and which is the venue of a scene from his great work “Faust”. Another “must-see” location is St Thomas’ Church where Bach worked as cantor and which is home to the renowned Thomaner Choir, and you cannot miss the Voklerschlachdenkmal (Battle of Nations Monument) which is the largest war monument in Europe, built to celebrate a successful battle against Napoleonic troops.
The Gewandhaus is home to the famous Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Altes Rathaus is the old city hall which was built in 1556 and now houses a museum while the Neues Rathhaus is a later city hall built on the remains of a castle where a major debate took place between Johann Eck and Martin Luther in 1519. The headquarters and main studios of the German public broadcasting company MDR - which has its own symphony orchestra, choir and ballet - is located in Leipzig.
As Leipzig welcomes the equestrian world this week there are some riders anxiously hoping to improve their position the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping leaderboard in order to move nearer to qualification for the series final in Gothenburg, Sweden in April. We will leave Mr Goethe with the last word in relation to their endeavours - “In the realm of ideas, everything depends on enthusiasm”….In the real world all rests on perseverence”…….
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