LEIPZIG

Evening Star, Issue 25470, 28 April 1945, Page 8

LEIPZIG

A GREAT METROPOLIS

ANCIENT ART AND MODERN DRAMA * [Written_ Jty--H'.SX-K. for'the

' Evening Star:']

... A deep thrust of the Allied- armies has brought them to Leipzig,. one of the most important tqwns in Germany. Even though, with, a population of some 700,000 she is merely the fifth city of the Reich, her immense trade i)efore_the war gave her a place second ■ only to Berlin and Hamburg. Yet trade is not the only distinguishing mark of this great city of Saxony; more than in any other German town, in Leipzig could be found a blending of the arts and of worldly achievement. She stands on the crossroads of South* western Europe, on a great plateau traversed by small rivers which were; no obstacle to the'merchants.* of; bygone agos. The princes who ruled the small Slavonic settlement which was founded over a thousand years ago recognised her favoured position. Leipzig gained many privileges early in her, history. The most important were grants ito hold important bi-annual fairs." 'Jealous of her rising fame, her burghers* built igood roads leading to their town, and her rulers gave a safe conduct to mer- ' chants who travelled fro'm dll the known world to Leipzig to trade their wares. She grew_ ever wealthier apd more important, aided by the policy of her princes, who even made the Emperor forbid other towns within- a wide radius to hold markets which i might compete with her fairs. . , - Leipzig's' business life centres around the Old Town, an aristocratic-lookmg quarter circled ■ by fine promenade* tracing the site of the ancient fortifioa. tions. The old houses with their'high Gothic gables still stand there 'quite unchanged, -little mediaeval -courtyards open into the narrow streets; trade in Leipzig still bears the flavour of an. unhurried past. The new city- which grew around this heart of commerce;isj however, quite modern. Warehouses and' office buildings rise in their immensity, dwarfed' oftly by the railyvay station which proclaims her .aspirations to the greatest) share }n Continental commerce. It is. the, largest rail terminus in Europe, and one of the most magnificent architecturally. It' covvrs inearly 4,000 aores, showing -the; importance of this trading town in. Saxony. Her book trade was the'largest in the world; 1,100 publishers and booksellers had their headquarters in the city. There, were nearly 250 printing works, and this town alone- produced some 500 newspapers and magazines. Xo wonder then '.'that the learned Dr Eaustus,. of whom -MarJowe.,.and .Qoethe.tell, had an adventurous time in Leipzig. Near the Market Square, close to the sixteenth century Gothic Town Hall, could be seen the' famous-Auerbach Cellar, a wine restaurant frequented by, -this ,Dr Faust. Murals painted over 400 year* ago depict his experiences in this hostelry. The - Koenighaus was not fan away, once the residence of the kings who dwelt there ' for centuries. The Pleissenburg, where Luther held his famous disputation against other learned.doctors., had been pulled down. last century to make room for the netf town hall: only" the" tower of this thirteenth century ■ citadel < still rose high above the Oid,Town.' The Paiiliner Church dates from tliq same time as the citadel, yet the' , church most revered by , all .music lovers is the later Thomaner .Kirchp,', built in |hte, fifteenth „ century." A-, school was attached to' this-old foundation, ftnd in 'this school taught some' 200 years ago the master of all music, / Johann Sebastian, Bach. lii the Church of St. Thomas was performed for the first time the Passion according to St. Matthew, conducted by Bach"-himself at one of the two organs. ; Only' a few weeks ago Dunedin was so fortunate, as to hear part of it in-St. 'Paul's Cathedral, to the untiring : labours of Dr Galway. The St: John Passion, a less-well-known work,- was also written in Leipzig and performed in all its glory for the first .time ap, Earently 'in the Church 6f .St. John. imself. In this church rests r to-daj what was mortal of this greatest mas-, ter of all ages, a master -whoa* thoughts will ever inspire, whose music can never die. ' . .' . Leipzig, then, can look .with pride on her heritage of culture, and her; university also was one of the most renowned in the world till learning was proscribed by the 'Fascists. WeU over four centuries ago students from the University of Prague wandered io this Saxon city and demanded .tuitionthere. The university, which was founded in 1409, acquired not only vast endowments, which allowed it to cater for the life of the spirit in a grandiose fashion; it also attracted the greatest, most liberal teachers in Gt?rmany. Music was never neglected; the old Gewandhaus concerts under Mendelssohn were for decades the finest on the Continent. • The famous concerthall in which they were given used to be the media-val guildhou&e of the weavers, but last century a new " Cloth House " was built for .the concerts, and commerce regained the old one. . »

Another famous building of Leipzig was the German High Court of Justice. Here waß enacted in ,1933 one of the greatest dramas in modern law. The Reichstag in Berlin had been burnt for political motives by the Nazis; they tried to put the blame on a half-wit who had once been connected with the Communist Partv, and a notable German and three Bulgarian-Communists; The trial of these accused was held in Leipzig; it became famous for the brilliant defence, conducted by himself, of Dimitroff. who turned it ill effect into an indictment of Nazism. The half-wit, Van der Lubbe. was condemned to death, yet the others had to be acquitted, as world opinion was thoroughly aroused. Famous international jurists held a " counter'trial.*" in London while the'Leipzig trial went on, and as a result published a Brown Book giving evidence that the Nazis themselves had burnt the Reichstag, Goering most likely having personally directed this piece of political arson.-" To-day Leipzig herself has gone up in flames: the fire of 1933 has heralded in a conflagration which engulfed the whole world. Leipzig once controlled the trade of a wide part of Europe J her culture shone forth undimmed, even though Richard Wagner was' born there, till the Nazis came to power. Now the Nazis have gone, and . the nations of the world are tryins to rebuild the damage done by Hitler'i barbarians.