Hello Leipzig: Here’s how Friday 21 August 2026 kicks off the weekend

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Wasserfest, the Schönau Park Festival (featuring ROCKHAUS, amongst others), KlimaFAIR and the FLINTA* reading stage (with Sarah Lesch) at the Grassi – this weekend certainly won’t be boring. A road that has been restructured and is sorely needed is now open to traffic. Amidst all the festivities, it’s also important to remember that on Sunday, a memorial service will be held to commemorate Reverend Oskar Brüsewitz and his self-immolation 50 years ago.

Traffic is flowing through Harkortstraße again

This road has been the subject of legal proceedings for as long as anyone can remember. And yet, as of today, it’s open again! After just under three months of construction, Harkortstraße is reopening to traffic. Situated between the Federal Administrative Court and the Regional Court, the road is a crucial bottleneck for traffic between the city centre and the southern district.

As well as a new asphalt surface and additional cycle lanes, the drinking water pipes have also been replaced, with a total investment of around 640,000 EUR. Since 8 June, the Leipzig Waterworks had been modernising the drinking water pipes over a stretch of around 110 metres between Martin-Luther-Ring and Floßplatz, as well as removing crossing pipes in the road area.
Subsequently, the Mobility and Civil Engineering Department resurfaced the heavily trafficked Harkortstraße between Riemannstraße and Martin-Luther-Ring. Among other things, manhole covers, road drains and traffic signs were replaced, and new road markings were applied.

To improve road safety, new cycle lanes have also been created in both directions as far as Paul-Gruner-Straße. In a statement, Michael Jana, Head of the Mobility and Civil Engineering Office, emphasised the importance of the project: “The resurfacing work has, of course, restored comfort and safety for motorised traffic on this vital link between the city centre and the south of Leipzig. Crucially, however, a gap in the main cycle network that had existed for decades has now been almost entirely closed. Many cyclists did not dare to cycle here amongst the four-lane motor traffic. With the dedicated cycle lanes, there is now a traffic layout that improves safety for all road users.”

Last year, the city had already established an outbound cycle lane on Harkortstraße, running from the ring road to just before Beethovenstraße. This has now been extended in both directions as far as Paul-Gruner-Straße.

Plans for the coming year include closing the remaining gap between Paul-Gruner-Straße and Wundt-/Dufourstraße. The newly installed speed camera on the corner of Straße des 17. Juni will be keeping a close eye on motorists. Speeding or colour blindness will, in future, result in costly ‘souvenir’ photos.

Park festival with ROCKHAUS and plenty of hustle and bustle

When music fills Schönauer Park, children are running riot across the festival grounds and the scent of tasty treats hangs in the air, it must be the biggest neighbourhood party in the west of Leipzig. Starting today, the Schönauer Park Festival invites you to a varied weekend of entertainment for the whole family.

The festival kicked off yesterday with an open-air cinema screening of the classic film “La Boum”. At the ‘Market of Opportunities’, socio-cultural organisations are introducing themselves and offering hands-on activities and craft sessions. The centrepiece of the Schönau Festival is the large Parkfest stage, which hosts dancing, singing and shows. One of the highlights is undoubtedly Saturday evening’s performance by the cult GDR band ROCKHAUS, which emerged in 1978 from two school bands.

Initially influenced by new wave, the band developed a dry, rougher style and, with songs such as ‘Mich zu lieben’, addressed social tensions that were generally taboo in public discourse in the GDR. The album “Gnadenlose Träume” addressed both the joy of overcoming division (“Mitten im November”) and the fear of rising nationalism (“Die Reichsadler fliegen”).

Rockhaus guitarist Reinhard Petereit has a very special connection to Leipzig. In 2003, he appeared as a guest at the Leipzig Schauspiel in the play “Sterne über Mansfeld” (Armin Petras). The protagonist, Tomas, ekes out a living as an insurance agent; he is fed up with it and dreams of a future as a rock star. Angry with himself and those around him, he declares: “Then I’ll just go to Berlin, to Reini. To Reini from Rockhaus.”

And then something happened that had everyone – especially those familiar with Rockhaus – rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Reini himself took to the stage, becoming one of the few rock stars ever to play himself on a theatre stage.

The full and thoroughly impressive programme for the Schönau Park Festival is available ONLINE HERE
. Tickets for the tenth edition of the hip-hop spectacle “Beatz im Block” (today at 5 pm) are available ONLINE HERE
and at the box office. Admission to the events on Saturday and Sunday is free.

A summer evening with ideas for the future and Sarah Lesch

There’s also a musical programme on offer today at GRASSI-Sommer. There, Leipzig’s singer-songwriter scene is hosting its first FLINTA* song and poetry reading event, entitled “Courage & Dignity – and you?”. The evening will focus on questions about personal aspirations, social visions and the prospects for a future based on equality.

The organisers, Masha Potempa and Marsha Richarz, aim to shed light on key contemporary challenges together with the audience and develop ideas for a fairer society. Well-known voices from the singer-songwriter scene will take the floor to present their views and hopes for the future.

Among the guests is Sarah Lesch, who, with six albums to her name and numerous awards, is now a successful part of the new German singer-songwriter scene. The winner of the Troubadour Chanson Prize, the FM4 Protest Song Contest, the Hanns Seidel Foundation Prize and the Udo Lindenberg Hermann Hesse Panik Prize is renowned for her lyrical and socio-political lyrics. Two prominent artists from the Leipzig scene will be taking to the stage as hosts.

Marsha Richarz is known as an author, stage poet and presenter, and her texts explore themes such as life, feminism, body image and observations of everyday life. She combines political content with humour, charm and satirical elements. Masha Potempa specialises in subtle poetry, quiet humour and keen powers of observation.

Tickets are available at the Grassi Museum box office for 12 euros (concession) or 15 euros (full price). The event begins at 7.30 pm.

A weekend dedicated to water and the climate

Two events in Leipzig are putting water, the environment and sustainable urban development in the spotlight. From Friday to Sunday, the 26th Leipzig Water Festival invites visitors to numerous venues between the city centre, the Karl-Heine Canal and Lindenauer Harbour. On Saturday in particular, from 10.00 am, there will be an extensive programme of family-friendly and hands-on activities, including water experiments, boat trips, an emergency services display, music and activities by and on the water.

Also on Saturday, the KlimaFAIR 2026 will take place at Leipzig Market from 1 pm to 10 pm. Initiatives, associations and organisations will be providing information there on climate protection, sustainability and social issues. Topics on the stage will include animal rights, family planning in the climate crisis, local transformation and the Leipzig mayoral election.

In this way, both events offer different opportunities to explore the question of how Leipzig can protect its natural resources and shape the city for the future.

Commemoration of Oskar Brüsewitz’s self-immolation

To mark the end of a week of remembrance to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the self-immolation of Reverend Oskar Brüsewitz (1929–1976), a memorial service will take place on Sunday at 1 pm in Rippicha Church (where Brüsewitz once served). The sermon will be delivered by Regional Bishop Dr Johann Schneider.

From 1964 to 1969, Brüsewitz attended the theological college in Erfurt. He was ordained in 1970 and took up the parish post in Rippicha near Zeitz. There, he made a name for himself through his intensive youth work and unusual public campaigns. Using slogans visible from afar, he promoted the Christian faith and spoke out against the restrictions on church work in the GDR. As a result, he came into increasing conflict with the authorities and was placed under surveillance by the Ministry for State Security.

On 18 August 1976, Brüsewitz drove to St Michael’s Church in Zeitz. He had affixed posters to his car in which he denounced communism for its oppression of the Church, as well as of children and young people. He then doused himself with petrol and set himself alight. Four days later, on 22 August 1976, the 47-year-old died of his injuries in a hospital in Halle.

The GDR leadership subsequently attempted to defame Brüsewitz as a mentally unstable loner. However, his act sparked discussions across Germany about religious freedom, the relationship between state and church, and the situation of Christians in the GDR. It also led to heated debates within the Protestant Church.

The church leadership at the time expressly rejected suicide, but did not wish to condemn Brüsewitz himself. The pastor’s act of defiance stemmed from a deep Christian conviction and was ultimately a reaction to years of repression by the ruling regime. His self-immolation is now regarded as one of the most sensational acts of protest against the SED dictatorship and as a significant event in the prehistory of the later GDR opposition.