On the trail of Leipzig's communist past

(168 reviews)

Leipzig audio tour: On the trail of Leipzig's communist past

This is a 1.9mi walking tour

It takes an average of 75 mins to complete.

Leipzig

Germany

$9.99

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About the Tour

Join me on a journey into Leipzig's fascinating communist past. As you walk with me through this vibrant city's mediaeval centre, we will discover how it looked in the 1980s under the East German regime and what it was like to live here then. Pass the former headquarters of the hated Stasi secret service and learn how people power in this City of Heroes began the process that tore down the Berlin Wall and brought the Stasi's reign of terror to an end.

The Voyage by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

Tour Producer

Fiona Rintoul

1 tour

Fiona Rintoul is a writer, translator and tour guide based in the Western Isles of Scotland. She is the author of The Leipzig Affair, which was inspired by her experience of studying in Leipzig during East German times. The Leipzig Affair was short-listed in the Saltire book awards and serialised on BBC R4's Book at Bedtime.
Fiona is also the author of two books about whisky and a new English translation of Arnold Zweig's first world war classic Erziehung vor Verdun.
In the Western Isles, Fiona is editor of a local news magazine named EVENTS. She qualified as a tour guide in 2025 and is a member of the Western Isles Tour Guide Association. She offers tours in English, French and German.

Preview Location

Location 5

Brühl and the Jewish Quarter

Now turn left.

Ahead of you lies the Brühl, one of the oldest streets in Leipzig and historically the city’s most important commercial street. It lies just inside the medieval city wall, and was part of Leipzig’s Jewish quarter in the 17 and 1800s. Until the second world w... Read More

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Major Landmarks

Memorial Museum in the "Round Corner"
St. Thomas Church
Mädler-Passage
Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig, Altes Rathaus
St. Nicholas Church
Oper Leipzig
Gewandhaus
Moritzbastei

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Willy-Brandt-Platz 7, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
Total distance

3km
Final location
City-Hochhaus Leipzig, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
Distance back to start location

763.9m

Directions to Starting Point

Starting point: Leipzig Hauptbahnhof, Willy-Brandt-Platz, 04109 Leipzig

We'll be starting outside the West Entrance at Leipzig Hauptbahnhof, the central train station. Most trams and buses stop at Leipzig central station.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

For a real insight into contemporary Leipzig, I recommend a visit to the G2 Kunsthalle, which houses the Hildebrandt collection. It's on Gottschedstraße, across the ring road from the Stasi headquarters. It has a fascinating collection of contemporary art, much of it from the so-called New Leipzig School, as well as changing exhibitions. It's open on Wednesdays from 3pm to 8pm, but you can visit at other times by booking an English or German tour. Tours can be booked online on the gallery web site - g2-leipzig.de/en.

If you have time at the end of your walk, I recommend a trip to Café Grundmann on August-Bebel-Straße, an Art Deco coffee house in the arty Südvorstadt area of town. You can get there on a number 11 tram from Augustusplatz. Get off at Südplatz and walk down Schenkendorfstraße to August-Bebel-Straße. In Café Grundmann, you can enjoy delicious German food and wines. I particularly encourage you to try some German reds.

Best time of day

You can walk this route at any time of the day or night.

After dark, you'll feel the city's night-time buzz and perhaps be able to visualise the pro-democracy demonstrations that took place on Monday evenings during the Leipzig autumn of 1989, but you won't be able to stop off at the museums.

During the day you'll get a better view of the architecture and be able to visit museums and galleries that interest you. Avoid Mondays as most museums are closed then, though the Museum in the Runde Ecke is open Monday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm. The Museum der bildenden Künste (museum of fine art) is open Tuesday and Thursday to Sunday 10am to 6pm. On Wednesdays, it's open 12pm to 8pm. The Zeitgeschichtliches Form (contemporary history museum) is open 9am to 6pmTuesday to Friday and 10am to 6pm at the weekend. On Sundays, you can attend a service at the Thomaskirche. These take place at 9.30am and 6pm. If you're lucky, you might hear the St Thomas Boys Choir. If you want to be sure of hearing the choir, check the church's web site in advance - www.thomaskirche.org.

Precautions

Leipzig is generally a pretty safe city, and people are usually friendly. It can get quite hot and sunny in summer, so take some sunscreen and a bottle of water. In winter, it can get really cold, so wrap up warm.

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App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”