Hello Leipzig: Here’s how Friday 28 August 2026 kicks off the weekend

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Hands up – the weekend? No chance! Pushing people in orange to get those annoying but necessary roadworks finished.  And even where there’s a party, there’s work to be done. Big celebrations don’t organise themselves. LZ tells you which highlights to choose from. The choice is vast. The columnist has a personal favourite, ‘Am Fenster’ – if I may be so bold…

Roads clear after construction work ends

This weekend, major roadworks in Leipzig and Markkleeberg are coming to an end. Full closures are set to end today on no fewer than three roads. In Leipzig, this includes Reichpietschstraße. The full closure there has been in place since 4 May 2026.

Road users on August-Knauer-Straße have had to put up with restrictions for even longer. Work there began as early as 13 April 2026 and has therefore been ongoing for more than four months. The Leipzig-based group carried out section-by-section full closures on the road, during which drinking water and mixed-water pipes were replaced.
Meanwhile, in Markkleeberg, the full closure of Raschwitzer Straße – which was only due to last a week – is set to end. An official overview cites “new drinking water supply and separation of old drinking water supply” as the reason for the works.

And even though drink-driving has no place on the roads, there is a fly in the ointment for motorists wishing to use Raschwitzer Straße: a further traffic restriction has been announced there from 2 September to 9 October due to scaffolding being erected.

Festivities around Leipzig

North-east of Leipzig, the “Tauchscher” 2026 begins today. The three-day Taucha town festival will be celebrated until Sunday. Entry to the festival is free. Kicking things off today is the 21st Sparkassen Tauchscher City Run, which will take place in the city centre from 4 pm to 10 pm. The official opening will follow at 7.15 pm on the festival grounds, featuring Mayor Tobias Meier, the Bürgerschützen shooting club, and performances by the Regenbogen and Partheland schools.

At 8.15 pm, the traditional beer barrel tapping will take place there. Afterwards, the celebrations will continue on several stages until late into the night. Highlights of the weekend on Saturday include the large children’s play street, the lantern parade and a fireworks display from 10 pm to 10.15 pm. On Sunday, the grand parade will wind its way through the town from 2 pm to 4 pm. Visitors should expect road closures throughout the weekend!

Bag checks have also been announced at the entrances to the fenced-off festival grounds. The full programme, including all stages, events and timings, as well as information on traffic and safety, is available online from the town of Taucha HERE. But that’s by no means all….

Leipzig Symphony Orchestra congratulates the former ‘onion capital’

From today, Borna will be celebrating its 775th anniversary over the course of four days. Among the highlights of the festive weekend are undoubtedly the concert by the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, the Borna 775 Anniversary Run, an ecumenical service and the grand parade on Sunday.

‘Rock in Symphony Vol. 6 – The Wild 80s’ begins today at 8.00 pm on Volksplatz. Conducted by Stephan König, the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, together with rock musicians and three soloists, combines orchestral sound with the music of the 1980s. Songs from the era of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince and the Neue Deutsche Welle will be given fresh interpretations. At the same time, the programme recalls the social changes and political upheaval in East Germany. The box office opens at 5.00 pm; doors open at 6.00 pm. Tickets cost from 45.00 euros, with concessions from 39.00 euros.

On Sunday, the programme begins at 10.00 am with an ecumenical service on the market square. This is followed by the ‘Borna 775 Anniversary Run’ from 11.00 am to 12.45 pm. Finally, at 3.00 pm, the grand parade sets off. Right up until Sunday, the town is hosting numerous other concerts, activities and events in the town centre. The detailed programme for all four days of the festival is available ONLINE HERE.

Incidentally, the town didn’t get its nickname ‘Zwiwwelborne’ by chance. For centuries, vegetable cultivation played an important role in Borna, with market gardeners specialising in onions in particular as early as the 16th century. ‘Borna onions’ became a widely renowned trade commodity and were later exported as far afield as Bavaria, Bohemia, Thuringia, Hamburg and even England.

With the rise of lignite mining, the landscape and economic structure underwent fundamental changes, and many traditional farming areas disappeared. To this day, the sculpture group ‘The Miner and the Onion Woman’ at the Breiter Teich serves as a reminder of these two chapters in the town’s history.

Rock legend Toni Krahl at the Lantern Festival

There’s another traditional festival taking place this weekend in Leipzig’s charming sister city, Halle: the 89th Lantern Festival transforms Peißnitz Island, Ziegelwiese, the banks of the Rieve and the River Saale into one huge party venue. Highlights on Sunday include the Saale swim at Amselgrund at 11 am and the traditional bridge-jumping event at Giebichenstein Castle at 1 pm; the Giebichenstein Bridge will remain closed from 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm.

On Saturday at 8.30 pm, the ‘Leuchtende Boote’ (Glowing Boats) parade sets off from Peißnitz Bridge towards Giebichenstein Bridge, followed at 9 pm by the ‘Glühende Saale’ (Glowing Saale) event, featuring the release of glowing ‘fireflies’.

On Saturday evening, the Ziegelwiese will literally draw you to your windows. Following the break-up of the rock band City, singer Toni Krahl has gathered a new group of musicians around him and captivates audiences with both his latest material and hits from his City days (‘Am Fenster’, ‘Casablanca’).

The festival has its roots in 1928, when the idea arose to raise the profile of the Saale Valley and involve visitors. Back then, 30,000 handheld lanterns were handed out. Today, the city counts the Lantern Festival amongst its major public cultural events, citing around 200,000 visitors last year as well as a “far-reaching, supra-regional impact”. The full programme, including all venues and times, is available ONLINE HERE
to print out and pop in your pocket.

But why venture so far afield …

On Saturday, things will once again take on a mystical, colourful atmosphere here at agra Park: Leipzig and Markkleeberg are also hosting a joint festival of lights from 5 pm to 11 pm. Entry is free. The park will feature music on three stages, light installations, projections and plenty of activities for young night owls. After all, you can sleep in on Sunday!

A highlight awaits at 8 pm on the Sommerblumenwiese: Sachsen Ballooning’s ‘Balloon Glow’ is set to make the park glow in the light of the hot-air balloons – provided the weather cooperates. Before that, at 7.30 pm, two lantern processions will set off from the Dölitz Gatehouse and the Buchenwiese. This will be followed by a light show by ‘Freaks on Fire’ from 9 pm to 9.30 pm.

These true magicians of light promise: “Our show is more than ‘just light’ – it is a visual performance that enhances programme items, creates atmosphere and brings content to life. Instead of a traditional stage backdrop, we make targeted use of light, movement and technology to shape the atmosphere and direct the audience’s focus.”

The organisers point out that there are a very limited number of parking spaces and therefore ask visitors to come on foot, by bike or by public transport. Among other options, tram line 11 runs to the festival site. The Festival of Lights itself is free of charge, though there may be a charge for certain additional activities. The full programme, including all times, venues and the site map, is available ONLINE HERE on the Markkleeberg town website.

The joint agra festival organised by Leipzig and Markkleeberg illustrates in magnificent colours just how wonderful it can be to come together. But does it also offer any consolation for the visually jarring barrier between the two areas of the spacious park – a barrier that, after so many years of discussion and planning, is now to be removed when the concrete monstrosity of the huge bridge, which visibly divides the site, is to be demolished and yet rebuilt?