Leipzig is located in the eastern part of Germany and at the heart of Mitteldeutschland, a region covering parts of central and eastern Germany. Around 520,000 people live in Leipzig today, making it one of the biggest cities on the territory of former East Germany. During its 840-year-long history, Leipzig developed into a versatile city, steeped in culture and a wide variety of economic strengths. Leipzig started out as a trade hub, connecting trade routes from the east to the west. The city soon became even more important for trade by becoming one of Europe’s most important location for trade fairs. This also contributed to the cities reputation in printing and publishing, soon not only being home to some of Germany’s biggest publishing houses, but also the German National Library. Today, Leipzig is an important cultural and intellectual center, where both classical and contemporary Germany meet. Leipzig is a city of music, literature, education, international trade fairs, economic power (i.e. with branches of companies like Porsche, BMW or DHL) and was just recently awarded the title “creative city.”

Leipzig is also a very important place in German history. Napoleon was defeated here in the Battle of Nations (1813) and in 1989, the people of Leipzig started the peaceful revolution, finally leading to German Reunification. The intriguing flair of Leipzig and its great variety of cultural, educational, and science offerings have always been appealing, already captivating such important historical figures as Goethe, Bach, Wagner or Leibnitz. Also, present German Chancellor Angela Merkel started her career in Leipzig, obtaining a degree in Physics at Leipzig University. The latter and six other institutions of higher education are home to over 40,000 students, making the city, along with leading research institutions such as the Max-Planck-Insitute, the Leibnitz-Institute and the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, a center of modern science, academia and education.