Das ungebaute Leipzig: Projekte, Visionen, Luftschlösser

In the organizer's words:

Leipzig's architectural history is full of large-scale projects, bold visions, high-flying ideas and sometimes real castles in the air that were never realized. The unbuilt Leipzig provides material for a long narrative about the promises of the future of yesteryear that were never fulfilled, and yet some of them still have an impact today. In retrospect, they sometimes seem unrealistic or even bizarre, but they also reflect architectural and urban development models, pressing issues, acute problems, wishes and hopes of the present, as well as the perceived special features, strengths and weaknesses of the city. Surprisingly, the unbuilt Leipzig has so far been a largely untold story. Art history students have investigated it in a research seminar at the University of Leipzig under the direction of Arnold Bartetzky. The wealth of material uncovered in archives and collections exceeded all expectations. The result is a comprehensive and richly illustrated volume that tells the always astonishing story of failed building projects, urbanistic visions and ideas for the future in an epoch-spanning overview from the end of the 17th century to the present day. It focuses on particularly visionary phases of Leipzig's urban development, such as the period after the First World War or the 1960s, sheds light on focal points of planning such as the former Frankfurter Wiesen, the Straße des 18. Oktober or the Matthäikirchhof and Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz and presents a broad spectrum of actors involved - from architects and urban planners to politicians and entrepreneurs to fantasists and crackpots. After reading the book, the question arises as to how visionary our time actually is. It is probably also due to the latent topicality of the subject that the publication found a wide readership and an enormous media response. The first edition was sold out after just a few weeks.

The lecture by Prof. Dr. Arnold Batetzky sheds light on the history of unbuilt Leipzig and at the same time reflects on the remarkable reception of the book.

More information on the event series and booking can also be found at: https://www.uni-leipzig.de/transfer/wissen-vermitteln/seniorenakademie/kolleg