SHOPPING MALLS

At the beginning of the 20th century, many alleys of the old town were transformed into fairground houses, like real Saxon caravanserais. To display the goods, depending on the sector, the city created real small commercial islands, with appropriate shops, offices and passageways. You can, in a fun way, as for the traboules in Lyon, cross the city in transit, as an alternative (and only pedestrian) way to the traditional streets. In all, the city centre has no less than 24 passages!

The Mädler-Passage is the most famous of them (Grimmaische Strasse / Neumarkt). Very Belle Epoque, with a luxurious interior decoration, it covers an old street. It is home to the famous Auerbachskeller tavern, the city's most prestigious restaurant, closely linked to Goethe and his hero Faust. The Mädler-Passage is a timeless place, magical for its decorations, and spectacular for the skylight that passes through it.

Barthels Hof (Markt 8 / Hainstrasse 1) is the oldest passage in the city (1750), and its appearance is typically Baroque, with its yellow colour and elegant facades. An exhibition space during the fairs in the 18th century, it was not transformed into a commercial passage as such afterwards (even if it includes some shops).

Specks Hof (Reichstrasse 4 / Nikolaistrasse 3/9) is the oldest strictly speaking commercial passage in Leipzig (1908). Typically Art Nouveau, it is very elegant and some consider it to be the most beautiful.

Städtisches Kaufhaus (Universitätstrasse 16 / Neumarkt 9/19) is a large through courtyard built between 1894 and 1901, formerly the town centre fairground. Today, it is no longer a commercial space, but a place that houses gastronomic establishments, small shops and offices. With its balustrades and paved floor, the passage is quite harmonious.

Hansahaus (Grimmaische Strasse 13/15) dates from 1906; this merchant courtyard, formerly a fairground house, is entirely tiled, in a Berlin style

The tradition of commercial passages has been preserved since then: the Theaterpassage was built in 1928 in a very Bauhaus style; the Königshof-Passage (Markt 17 - Petersstrasse 13) dates from 1932; the Messehofpassage dates from 1950... Then in the 1990s and 2000s, many other commercial passages were built in contemporary architectural styles. They are real shopping centres organised in passages, like a nod to the past: the Petersbogen, one of the most impressive in terms of space, dates back to 2001. It is located between Peterstrasse and Burgstrasse. The Marktgalerie, for its part, was inaugurated in 2005, between Markt 11 and Klostergasse 12.