Working with Eurocities
For Leipzig, Eurocities provides access to valuable European networks, peer expertise and innovative projects that deliver local results.
Through initiatives such as the SUN4Ukraine project, Leipzig works with European and Ukrainian cities on climate-neutral development, sustainable reconstruction and citizen engagement. The Nets4Dem project also connects the city with researchers, civil society and public authorities to strengthen democratic innovation, participatory governance and local resilience.
Leipzig’s long-standing role in the Eurocities Executive Committee has enabled its mayors to help shape the network’s priorities and ensure that cities’ needs are reflected in European policy discussions. Eurocities has also supported high-level exchanges with EU leaders, giving Leipzig opportunities to advocate for climate neutrality, democracy, social inclusion and sustainable urban development.
The network also helped Leipzig bring European city leaders together around a shared declaration on strengthening local democracy. By building consensus and raising the declaration’s visibility at EU level, Eurocities demonstrated how local leadership can become collective European action.
Leipzig says the greatest value of membership is the opportunity to learn from cities facing similar challenges. These exchanges inspire new ideas, strengthen partnerships and help Leipzig turn European cooperation into practical local progress.
What people need to know about the city
“We Are the People”: Leipzig and the Peaceful Revolution
Leipzig is internationally recognised as the birthplace of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989. What began with peace prayers at St. Nicholas Church developed into the Monday demonstrations, where thousands of citizens peacefully demanded freedom, democracy and human rights during an autocratic regime.
On 9 October 1989, around 70,000 people gathered in Leipzig’s city centre, chanting “Wir sind das Volk” (“We are the People”) and “Keine Gewalt” (“No violence”). Their courage and commitment to non-violence changed German and European history, paving the way for the fall of the Berlin Wall one month later and ultimately German reunification.
Every year on 9 October, Leipzig commemorates these events with a programme of exhibitions, discussions, cultural events and the Festival of Lights, celebrating the power of civic courage and peaceful change.
Creative Leipzig – where industrial heritage meets contemporary culture
Leipzig has transformed its industrial heritage into a vibrant centre for contemporary art, creativity and innovation. Former industrial sites have become cultural landmarks, including the Spinnerei, once Europe’s largest cotton mill and today one of the continent’s leading centres for contemporary art, as well as the Kunstkraftwerk, Panometer Leipzig and the Niemeyer Sphere.
The city’s dynamic creative scene is supported by museums, galleries, universities and independent cultural initiatives. Leipzig’s internationally recognised art landscape, including the “New Leipzig School”, reflects the city’s ability to combine its industrial past with new artistic perspectives and innovative formats.
Leipzig – city of music
For more than 800 years, music has shaped Leipzig’s identity. The city’s musical heritage is closely connected with institutions such as the St Thomas Boys Choir, the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy”.
Johann Sebastian Bach, who served as St. Thomas Cantor from 1723 to 1750, composed many of his greatest works in Leipzig. Today, the city continues this tradition through internationally renowned events such as the Leipzig Bach Festival, concerts at the Gewandhaus and a vibrant music scene that brings classical and contemporary music together.
