LEIPZIG, lip'tsig, or LEIPSIC, Ilp'slk, Germany, the largest town of Saxony and the third largest in the German Empire, situated in a broad, fertile plain at the confluence of the rivers Elster, Pleisse and Parthe. The city comprises the inner town, the inner and outer suburbs (Vorstadte), the more outlying sub urbs (Vororte), incorporated with the city in 1889-92, and more recent extensions since 1910, all traversed and connected by electric street railroads. The former fortifications surround ing the inner city have been replaced by fine streets and promenades. The old city still re tains much of its ancient appearance, but the modern suburbs are characterized by broad streets and imposing buildings. Among the squares of the city are the Marktplatz, with a Siegesdenkmal; the Augustusplatz, one of the largest in Germany, with a splendid fountain; the Kiinigsplatz, the Johannisplatz, with a Ref ormation monument (Luther and Melanch thon) ; and the Rossplatz; and among the other monuments worthy of mention are those of Gellert and Fechner in• the Rosenthal, an ex tensive park in the northwest, between the El ster and the Pleisse; of Hahnemann, Leibnitz, Grassi, Mendelssohn and Bismarck; together with the more recent memorial of the Volker sdilacht. Besides the parks and open spaces just mentioned, Leipzig includes, among many others, the Johannapark, the Grassipark; the Konig Albert Park, the scene of the 1897 ex hibition; the Johannisthal, with an observa tory; the botancal garden; the zoological gar den, recently much extended; the palm garden, opened in 1899. The most noteworthy churches of the city are the Thomaskirche (13th cen tury), rebuilt 1885-89, in which Bach was or ganist; the Nikolaikirche (11th century), cently restored; the University or Pauliner kirche (1240), restored 1896-99; the Matthai lcirche, restored 1879; the Johanniskirche (14th century), rebuilt and reconsecrated in 1897, and containing the remains of Sebastian Bach and Gellert; the Peterskirche; the Lutherkirche; the Andreaskirche; two modern Roman Cath olic churches; an Anglo-American church; a synagogue; and churches of other denomina tions. Of non-ecclesiastical buildings the most notable are those of the university, which was founded in 1409, is now the third largest uni versity in the German Empire and has over 5,000 students. The 500th aniversary was fit tingly celebrated in 1909. These buildings are mostly modern, especially the Albertinum, erected in 1890-96 in accordance with the plans of A. Rossbach for completing and renewing the whole group. The university library (the Albertina) contains 600,000 volumes and over 6,000 manuscripts. Other buildings and insti tutions are the old Rathaus (16th century); the new Rathaus, in course of construction on the site of the Schloss Pleissenburg, a 13th cen tury building, once the citadel of the town and famous as the scene 'of Luther's disputation with Eck in 1519; the old exchange (1678), now the meeting-place of the town council; the new exchange in Renaissance style; the Ko nigshaus (17th century), the residence till 1829 of the Saxon princes; the old Gewandhaus, where the celebrated Gewandhaus concerts were long held; the new concert hall; the Im perial Bank building, in German Renaissance style; the municipal library (1899), containing 130,000 volumes and many manuscripts; the municipal museum, in Italian Renaissance style; the chief post-office; the new book exchange, the headquarters of the German book trade, in German Renaissance style; the Buchgewerbe haus with a Gutenberg hall; the pano rama building; the Grassi Museum (1896), now including the collections of the former mu seums of industrial art and ethnology; the building of the Land und Amtsgericht, en larged in 1895-96; the Imperial-Supreme Court; the new conservatory of music; the old and the new theatre; the Krystallpalast, including concert halls, etc.; the market hall; the large
Johannis hospital; a deaf and dumb and a blind institution; the hospital of Samt Jakob; the Triersches Institut, for women; three gym nasia, namely, the Thomasschule (1221), the Nikolaischule (1511) and the Royal Gymna sium, a Real Gymnasium; several Realschulen and many other schools; a Handelshochschule, or High Commercial School (1898), the first in Germany; the new normal college for women (1912); a school of industrial art; a Royal Academy of Arts; and the new infantry bar racks at MOckern. Chief among literary asso ciations is the famous Auerbach's Cellar, in troduced in Goethe's (Faust.) Leipzig has railway communication with all the ohief towns of Germany and its situation makes it of great importance as a trading centre. The new rail way station covers the largest area of any in Europe. It has three large annual fairs, which have been held ever since the 12th century. It is the headquarters of the book trade in Ger many, having no fewer than 100 book-selling and publishing firms, and takes a foremost place among European towns in the many in dustries associated 'with the publication and printing of books. Its other industries include iron-founding, cotton-spinning, wool-combing, the weaving of jute and linen, brewing, sugar refining, distilling and the manufacture of ma chinery, electrical plant, agricultural imple ments, ethereal oils, dyes, essences, soaps, per fumes, wax-cloth, chocolate,. tobacco, paper, leather, tapestry, cement,. musical and other in struments, etc. Leipzig is also a world market for furs and all similar goods.
The municipality, governed by an over burgomaster, burgomaster, police director, magistrates and councilors, is most progressive, gas, waterworks and electricity being in its hands, and there is a municipal bakery. The name Leipzig, from the Slavonic lipa, a lime tree, is found applied to a Slavonic fishing vil lage near the present site of Leipzig about 1017. The history of the town during many centuries is one of gradually extending importance. It suffered much during the Thirty Years' War at the hands of both combatants. Its position of pre-eminence in the book trade dates from the latter half of the 17th century. During the earlier years of the 18th century the town be came the centre of a literary movement under Gottsched. Leipzig and its neighborhood suf fered greatly during the Napoleonic wars and on 16-19 Oct. 1813 a series of severe battles fought around the town resulted in a crushing defeat of Napoleon and the retreat of the French from Germany. This victory was com memorated by the unveiling, on the centenary of the battle in 1913, of a colossal monument 300 feet high, designed by Professor Bruno Schmidt and costing $1,500,000. During the war of 1866 Leipzig was occupied by Prussian troops for 18 months. In 1879 the Supreme Court of Justice for the empire was established in the city. Since 1880, when the population, in which Protestants overwhelmingly preponder ate, was 149,081, the population has remarkably expanded, being 357,122 in 1890, 456,124 in 1900, 589,850 in 1910 and (with recent suburban ex tensions) was estimated in 1914 at 626,267.