Leipzig
Leipzig is a city in Germany, located in the West of the Federal state of Saxony. In terms of population (more than 595,000 people), Leipzig is the largest city in Saxony, and the eighth — in Germany, as well as the fastest growing large German city.
Known for its University and fairs, Leipzig is the economic, cultural, scientific and transport centre of Central Germany.
Together with the 32 km West of Halle in Saxony-Anhalt, Leipzig forms an urban agglomeration with a population of about 1.1 million people, and is one of the most economically developed regions of East Germany.
After receiving city and trade privileges in 1165, Leipzig acquired the status of an important trade center during the German settlement to the East, primarily due to the trade in furs, which died out after the Second world war. In addition, since the Late middle Ages, especially since the founding of the University of Leipzig, the city was the center of German printing and bookselling, maintaining this status until the end of the 1940s. Long-term activity of Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn Bartoldi founded a rich musical tradition of Leipzig, which is currently embodied by the choir of St. Thomas and Gewandhaus.