Leipzig

Leipzig - darkometer rating : 2 - The second largest city in eastern Germany (and formerly the GDR ) after Berlin , and also my personal second favourite one in the east. With regard to dark tourism, it's mainly of interest due to its role in ending the communist era (and the GDR ). > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: Leipzig is good at being second. Despite it being slightly larger than nearby rival city Dresden (both have around half a million inhabitants), it was the latter that was chosen as the capital of the new Free State of Saxony after Germany 's reunification. In terms of tourism, too, Dresden is usually regarded as the more attractive place of the two, mainly thanks to its grand (restored) Baroque architecture. And with regard to dark tourism Dresden may also have the edge overall, with a somewhat wider scope and higher-ranking attractions. However: it was Leipzig that was the epicentre of the Peaceful Revolution in Germany in 1989, which facilitated the demise of the GDR and eventually led to the fall of the whole Eastern bloc . So in that sense Leipzig can be regarded as the historically more important of the two cities, at least as far as more recent history is concerned. It was in Leipzig that the now legendary “ Monday Demonstrations ” started (finally a First!) and where they attracted the largest numbers. It was also here that the risk of a “Chinese Solution” was felt most acutely (that's a reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing in the summer of that same year), but it was also where the state security forces decided not to cross that line.