// Leipzig, 06.March.2014 -  Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing

Anniversary “25 Years of Peaceful Revolution” as a highlight“

Leipzig presents itself at the world’s leading travel trade show ITB in Berlin. “Leipzig Festival of Lights” draws hundreds of thousands of people to the route of the historic demonstration.

On 9 October 1989, Leipzig laid the foundation for the unification of Germany. This is the date on which the crucial mass demonstration against the GDR regime took place, with 70,000 people setting the course for far-reaching changes. Shouting the slogans “We are the people” and “No violence”, demonstrators gathered for a non-violent march around Leipzig’s inner ring road. Their courageous act in the name of freedom and democracy prepared the way for the fall of the Berlin Wall and provided unforgettable images which have since gone down in history: Leipzig is the city of the Peaceful Revolution.

9 October 2014 will mark the 25th anniversary of the events. The focus will be on the Prayer for Peace at the Saint Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche) and on the “Leipzig Festival of Lights”, which will stretch around the entire inner ring road, along the route of the historic demonstration of 1989. With light, audio and video displays, international artists will create a variety of alternating perspectives with contemporary references. Certain sites of interest along the route will be highlighted in particular to reflect the historical events that took place there. A quarter of a century after the Peaceful Revolution, we will once again be able to experience the ideal of freedom and the community spirit of the people of Leipzig. The first “Leipzig Festival of Lights” in 2009 used a new artistic format, with commemoration being embedded through active participation, dignified remembrance and shared experience. This arts and civic project is the only one of its kind anywhere in the world. The festival will be followed by a long weekend of events during which many cultural institutions in Leipzig will address the subject of the autumn of 1989. The historic sites of the Peaceful Revolution will all become part of a cultural panorama which visitors will be able to explore following a trail of discovery to accompany the “Leipzig Festival of Lights”.

Programme highlights, 9 – 12 October 2014

9 October
·       Prayers for peace, 5 pm, St. Nicholas Church
·       Leipzig Festival of Lights, 7 pm, Augustusplatz

 10 – 12 October
·       Culture trail, various locations around the city

Extracts from the programme “Culture Trail” Schauspiel, Gewandhaus, Oper

10 October
·       Première of “Wolokolamsker Chaussee I–V”, 7.30 pm,
     Schauspiel Leipzig (theatre)
10.-11.10.2014 - Gewandhaus zu Leipzig

·       Grosses Concert - Gewandhausorchestra; Riccardo Chaillyhttp://oper-leipzig.de/

11.10.2014 - Oper Leipzig

·       Faust – premiere

Programme highlights: guided tours and walking tours

September and October 2014
·       Walking tour: “Peaceful Revolution – Autumn ‘89 in Leipzig”
From spring 2014
·       Untold Stories, geocaching project
Begins in the spring with workshops about the 25th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution. From autumn, 15 “caches” will be hidden throughout Saxony, which can be found using GPS coordinates. Participants will be able to use these geocaches to trace the events of autumn 1989. BStU (Stasi archive)

     All year round: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays 5 pm; Saturdays 11 am
·       Tour of St. Nicholas Church

Programme highlights: museums, locations and monuments

24 September 2014 – 4 January 2015
·       Exhibition: “Freedom! Unity! Monument!”, Leipzig Museum of City History

 8 October – 5 November 2014
·       Exhibition: “The Blue Series – Strong Women in the Peaceful Revolution” by Gudrun Boíar, BStU (Leipzig branch)

 All year round
·       Exhibition: “Leipzig on the Path to the Peaceful Revolution”, “Runde Ecke” Memorial Museum
·       Exhibition, Leipzig Forum of Contemporary History
·       St. Nicholas Churchyard and St. Nicholas Column
·       Exhibition, School Museum
·       Stasi Bunker Museum (Machern)

 Overview of events: www.leipziger-freiheit.de/en/festival-of-lights