Green facades in the city of Leipzig

Vines at the market and in the surrounding area

Yes, right in the middle of the market square, Leipzig had – and still has – a vine, on the north side, growing against a sunny south-facing wall; it is a ‘Silvaner’ variety. Today it is a listed tree and is looked after by the ‘Marktwinzer’. A restaurant of the same name is located within the building behind it. The vine is over 100 years old; indeed, it (along with a second vine) can probably be traced back as far as 1840, see photo. In the past, however, it looked rather small and somewhat forlorn. It was always in the way, either of an advertising sign above it or the awning of the shop that happened to be there at the time. Unlike in many cities, the vine was therefore kept small. But there is also plenty of greenery all around, mainly vines...

Vine at the house at Markt 7, approx. 1930, source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Green spaces in the heart of the old town centre

Market Square, "Rotes Kolleg", St Nicholas' Church, St Thomas' Church, St Paul's Church, and others.

View of the north side of Leipzig Market, with what are thought to be two vines on the sunny south-facing wall on the ground floor, c. 1840, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Two vines at Leipziger Markt 7 – detail from the previous image, source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Two vines at Haus Markt 7 in an ancient ‘daguerreotype’, D-0109 Leipzig, 1848, Source 20 (sachsen.museum-digital.de – Leipzig Museum of City History)

A vine by the house at Markt 7, c. 1930, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Vine at the market, detail from the previous photo, source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

A green façade (vines, possibly also ivy) at the "Rotes Kolleg" between Goethestraße and Ritterstraße prior to its demolition, c. 1900, Source 3 (Leipzig Museum of City History – purchased digital copy)

Vertical gardening at the Alte Nikolaischule on Nikolaikirchhof, probably grapevines, c. 16th/17th century; photograph by "Photohaus Beeze" c. 1944, based on a copperplate engraving by Andreas Bretschneider, Source 02

Vines in the courtyard of the Paulinum, at the rear extension of St Paul’s Church, c. 1850

Vines in the courtyard of the Paulinum, c. 1850, Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

Vines in the courtyard of the Paulinum, probably a coloured pen-and-ink drawing based on a photograph, c. 1850, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Landscaping at the Paulinum, detail from the pen-and-ink drawing shown previously, Source 03 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

The Paulinum on the inner side of the city centre ring road, with greenery on the ground floor on the west side, presumably vines growing on a wooden trellis. Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

Vines with protective trellises on the south-facing walls at Thomaskirchhof (on the right of the picture), c. 1750, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Vines at Thomaskirchhof – detail from the previous image, source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

A small house on Universitätsstraße with an old espalier; the tall “Conservatory” built next to it casts too much shade, so there is no longer any real vine growing on the espalier. c. 1890, Source 3 (Leipzig Museum of Local History) – purchased by Digitalsat

Small house with a trellis at the "Conservatory", detail from the previous image, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Landscaping in the courtyard of the old ‘Faculty of Law’, presumably including grapevines, Schlossgasse / Petersstraße area, c. 1860, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

"Thüringer Hof in May decorations", Burgstraße, c. 1926 – note that the greenery is only temporary; see the next photo!

Temporary greenery at the Thüringer Hof / Burgstraße featuring birch trunks placed there – an old Whitsun custom, Source 11

Schlossgasse 15, Selliers’ house with a vine-covered pergola, c. 1870, Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

Pergola with vines at Selliers’ house, rear view of Schlossgasse 15, moat leading to Pleißenburg Castle, c. 1890, Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

Pergola with vines at Selliers’ house, Schlossgasse 15, c. 1890, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Two vines in the courtyard of the former Pleißenburg, c. 1900, Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

Small vine trellis on the latrine tower of “Barracks A” at Pleißenburg, c. 1900, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Pleißenburg, detail from the previous photo, source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Wooden trellis in Theater-Gasse (now Richard-Wagner-Platz) around 1900, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

The second courtyard of the "Altes Georgenhaus" on Brühl, with small espalier trees, prior to its demolition in 1871, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Georgenhaus am Brühl, detail from the previous image: a vine and an unidentified espalier tree, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Georgenhaus am Brühl, one more detail from the penultimate image: potted plants, a vine with a protective trellis and unidentified espalier trees, Source 3 (Leipzig City History Museum – purchased digital copy)

Green spaces on the eastern edge of the city centre

This section focuses primarily on the 'New Theatre' from 1868 onwards (now the opera house) and the outer wall of the Paulinum up to around 1890.

A pergola-style trellis covered in vines at the front of the new theatre, circa 1890; now the Opera House on Augustusplatz, Source 3

Temporary greenery (festive decorations) for the university’s 1909 anniversary, Neues Theater (now the Opera House), Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

Festive decorations featuring temporary ivy or similar greenery, 1913, for the inauguration of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, Neues Theater (now the Opera House), Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

Rear view of the "Neues Theater" with pergolas and a swan pond, c. 1870, Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

The rear façade of the "Neues Theater" on Augustusplatz with pergolas covered in greenery; in the foreground, the "Swan Pond", c. 1890, Source 3

Pergolas covered in vines at the rear of the "Neues Theater", c. 1930, Source 3

Wall with a diamond-shaped brick pattern at the Paulinum / Augustusplatz, before 1830

The "Alte Paulinum" on Leipzig’s eastern ring road, viewed from the outside, with its diamond-patterned façade covered in climbing plants, c. 1830. Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

The Paulinum around 1830 – The wall surface above the diamond-patterned structure could be covered in greenery up to just below the decorative cornice...

In this painting, dating from around 1850, the wall of the Paulinum is depicted as being covered in vegetation right up to the roofline. Was this Leipzig’s largest example of a green façade in the 19th century?

Green spaces on the southern edge of the city

There used to be vine trellises here on the former Moritzdamm (now Schillerstraße) and along the walls of Pleißenburg Castle (now the New Town Hall).

View from the present-day entrance to the Moritzbastei, looking west towards the tower of the Pleißenburg (now the New Town Hall); on the right of the picture is what was then known as the “Moritzdamm”, with its green-roofed houses. Circa 1850. Source 3

Detail from the previous image – houses with greenery on Moritzdamm around 1850, Source 3

Presumed vine arbour on Moritzdamm / now Schillerstraße, c. 1857

Presumed wooden trellis at the foot of Moritzdamm (now a green space in front of Schillerstraße), with a row of houses covered in greenery above

Moritzdamm, view towards St Thomas’ Church, the same row of houses as in the previous image; on the left, probably a vine arbour, c. 1850, Source 3

Trellises at the base of Pleißenburg Castle, c. 1850, Source 3

The south-east corner of Pleissenburg Castle around 1870, with overgrown trellises in several places, Source 3

Pleissenburg with vegetation, presumably vine trellises, detail from the previous photo, Source 3

A long trellis (covered in vines or fruit trees?) on the southern edge of the former Pleißenburg’s tax office; today the “Deutsche Bank” stands on this site, Source 11 (stadtmuseum.leipzig.de – database, Leipzig City History Museum)

Green spaces on the western edge of the city

There were vine trellises here in Schulstraße, by the old vicarage of St Thomas and the adjoining “Töpfermarkt”. By contrast, there is no evidence of greenery on the northern outskirts of old Leipzig.