The Pleißenburg Castle
Leipzig, my home town, a town of trade and commerce, a town with a versatile cultural tradition, a town of science combined with significant industrialization starting in the late 19th century, has seen an unparalleled change for its 1000 years of existence.
Leipzig is located in the "Leipziger Tieflandsbucht" (the Leipzig Bay), at the confluence of the rivers Weißer Elster, Parthe and Pleiße (Slavic for "waters which form bogs"). The latter, having been shortened from its original 115 km to 90 km due to lignite opencast mining throughout the 20th century, provided the name for the last of the originally three barrier fortresses.
The history of the Pleißenburg Castle began with the extension of a pre-existing fortification in the 13th century. As a former stronghold, it became witness of a memorable past, during which it lost its initial relevance while the city controlled by it outgrew and gained power and significance on its own.
Subsequently, a number of further upgrades and modification were made. The Pleißenburg Castle became a part of European history.
In the summer of 1519, the "Leipziger Disputation" (the Leipzig Debate) took place in the Hofstube room of the Pleißenburg Castle, during which the differences between Martin Luther and the Catholic Church became evident. At that time, Luther was preaching regularly at the Pleißenburg Castle.s
In the 18th century, parts of the building served as the quarters of the "Kunstakademie" (art academy) founded in 1764. Here, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was taught at the academy for drawing and art.
Eventually, in the 1790s, the tower of the Pleißenburg Castle became home of the observatory of Leipzig University. The first "Observator" (observer), associate professor Christian Friedrich Rüdiger (1760 - 1809), authored the "Handbuch der rechnenden Astronomie" (handbook for astronomical calculations) and was a member of the "Großbritannischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen" (Great British Society of the Sciences at Göttingen).
Also within the Pleißenburg Castle, in the building next to the tower, the university's first chemical laboratory was established. Credit is deserved by professor Christian Gottlob Eschenbach (1753 - 1831).
In this particular laboratory, the empirical orientation of chemical research at Leipzig University originated. From 1838 to 1876, the "Baugewerkeschule" (school for building trades) founded by Albert Geutebrück (1801 - 1868) resided in the west wing. As a former division for "Baukunst" (architecture) of the Kunstakademie, it had emerged as an independent educational institution.
On the premises of the Pleißenburg Castle, ultimately demolished in 1897, the historical monumental building of Leipzig's "Neues Rathauses" (new city hall) was erected between 1899 and 1905.
The castle is gone - the location is real. Its name remains as a living synonym for the versatile past of my home town, its inseparable connection to European history and its orientation towards the tasks of current times.