Hello Leipzig: This is how Monday 19 October 2026 begins

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The new week begins with a major tram diversion in the north-east of the city. Dance, light and music come together in an almost magical way at the Kunstkraftwerk. A tour of a former sanatorium explores the crimes committed there by the Nazis under the guise of medicine, in full view of society. And for those travelling via the A72, there will be a ‘logistical’ issue over the next few days.

Major diversion for a short time

Due to track works on Riesaer Straße, passengers in the east of Leipzig will have to put up with diversions from today. Tram line 7, bus route 38 and night bus route N17 are affected. Leipzig Transport Services (LVB)

has announced the restrictions will be in place from 4.00 am on Monday until 00.30 on Saturday 24 October. During this period, tram line 7 will be diverted in both directions between Wiebelstraße and Paunsdorf-Nord.

The trams will instead run via Torgauer Platz, Torgauer Straße and Portitzer Allee. For the section normally served by trams, the LVB is organising a rail replacement bus service which will run between Wiebelstraße and Paunsdorf-Nord via Riesaer Straße and Heiterblickallee. Passengers must also be aware of an additional restriction: when travelling towards Wiebelstraße, the replacement buses will not serve the Paunsdorf, Straßenbahnhof and Barbarastraße stops.

The route for tram line 38 is also changing. Trams will only run to and from Sellerhausen, Emmausstraße. Furthermore, the N17 night service is affected by the construction work. Between Lausen and Paunsdorf-Nord, the night service will be operated by buses via the main station. The reason for these transport restrictions is maintenance work on the tracks in front of and within the Paunsdorf tram depot. The work will be carried out during the second week of the autumn half-term holidays. As the track leading out of town on Riesaer Straße will be temporarily closed to traffic, tram route 7 will need to be diverted.

Commuters and passengers travelling to Paunsdorf

in particular will experience changes to their usual journeys due to the altered routes and the stops that will not be served. Passengers can find the exact departure times of the replacement buses, current services and any last-minute changes on the LVB website at www.l.de/verkehrsbetriebe/fahren/

and via the LeipzigMOVE app

.

Magic through dance, light and music

On Friday, The Little Prince arrived at the Kunstkraftwerk in Leipzig (as reported by the LZ
). And spending the whole day travelling there makes him rather tired. So, once the exhibition has closed, he goes to sleep. And he’ll think that what happens in the rooms at Saalfelder Straße 8b that evening is just a dream…

With ‘VOLT[AGE]’, the Kunstkraftwerk
and Musikalische Komödie are bringing an extraordinary fusion of ballet, digital art and electronic music to the stage today at 7 pm. The production, which lasts around 60 minutes, explores the relationship between humans and technology. It examines how digital systems capture and alter human movements, translating them into new forms of artistic expression.

Dancers from the Musikalische Komödie
ballet company move through a virtual visual world that reacts instantly to their actions. This is made possible by motion tracking, a technique for digitally capturing movement. The recorded movement data controls projections in real time, so that bodies, space and digital images merge into a constantly evolving overall composition. Large-scale 360-degree projections expand the stage space and blur the boundaries between real movement and the virtual environment.

The musical score combines electronic sounds with orchestral elements. The result is a production in which dance, music and visual effects do not unfold independently of one another, but directly influence one another. Mirko Mahr, Sara Cornelia Brandão and Lolita Valau are responsible for the choreography. The digital imagery and sound design are by the French digital artist Nicolas Landrieux. The production has received awards at the Creative Awards International and the Numix Festival Canada, amongst others.

The performance is recommended for visitors aged 14 and over. Due to the intense visual effects, the organiser warns of potential health risks for people with epilepsy. Doors open today at 6.30 pm. Further performances are scheduled for Tuesday 20 October at 6.30 pm and 8.30 pm, and for Wednesday 21 October at 7.00 pm.

Important: It is strongly recommended that you purchase tickets online in advance to secure a seat in your preferred category in good time. There is no guarantee that tickets will be available at the box office. Official ticket sales are available via the Kunstkraftwerk website at www.kunstkraftwerk-leipzig.com/exhibitions/voltage/
. There, those interested can select the available performances and seat categories.

Standing places cost 17 euros, standard seats from the second row onwards cost 29 euros, and premium seats in the front row cost 39 euros. Tickets already purchased are transferable but, as a general rule, cannot be exchanged, rebooked or refunded. Further information about the production is available HERE ONLINE
.

Commemorating the murders of children during the Nazi era

A tour of the former Leipzig-Dösen Sanatorium and Care Home today commemorates the victims of the Nazi killings of the sick. The occasion marks the 86th anniversary of the opening of Leipzig’s first so-called ‘special children’s ward’ on 19 October 1940. What sounds like specialist medical care actually refers to an extremely dark chapter in the history of medicine: behind this term lay an institution where children and young people with disabilities and illnesses were systematically murdered.

The group ‘erinnerungs.orte’ is organising the two-hour guided tour, which will cover not only the history of the institution but also Nazi racial hygiene, forced sterilisation and the involvement of medical institutions in these crimes. The meeting point is at the Pahlenweg bus stop. The event begins at 5 pm on the grounds at Chemnitzer Straße 50 and lasts until 7 pm. Participation is free of charge; no registration is required. The tour is suitable for wheelchair users.

The crimes committed in Dösen were part of a Reich-wide programme of murder which the Nazis carried out under the cynical term ‘euthanasia’ (from the Ancient Greek for ‘beautiful/good death’). On the basis of their racist and social Darwinist ideology, people with physical or mental disabilities, as well as those with mental health conditions, were stripped of their rights, forcibly sterilised, deported to extermination centres or murdered directly in hospitals and care homes.

Between 1934 and 1939 alone, 583 patients were forcibly sterilised in Leipzig-Dösen. On 5 October 1940, the Saxon Ministry of the Interior ordered the establishment of a ward for young children. That very same month, on the initiative of the Leipzig paediatrician and university professor Werner Catel, the so-called ‘Children’s Specialised Ward’ was established. Under the direction of the doctor Arthur Mittag, children and young people were deliberately killed there. Among the victims were also minors from other regions of Germany and children from families of foreign forced labourers. In December 1943, the department was relocated to Großschweidnitz, where the murders continued.

During the Nazi era, there were two so-called ‘paediatric departments’ in Leipzig: one in Dösen and one at the University Children’s Hospital. Due to incomplete records, it is not possible to determine conclusively how many children were actually murdered there. The announcement for today’s tour mentions more than 650 children who were killed in Dösen alone by the end of 1943. A memorial in Leipzig’s Friedenspark now commemorates the murdered children.

The tour in Dösen aims to help visitors understand the historical events at the site where they took place and to highlight the responsibility borne by state authorities, doctors and nursing staff in organising and carrying out the crimes. Another guided tour is scheduled for tomorrow, 20 October. It begins at 4 pm and will also be offered free of charge on the grounds at Chemnitzer Straße 50.

Service area on the A72 closed

Anyone in a real hurry tends to take the motorway. And anyone who, of all times, urgently needs to… will be glad to find a car park with a service area and toilet facilities. However, travellers on the A72 heading towards Leipzig will have to hold it in for the next few days. The federal motorway operator, Autobahn GmbH, is completely closing the PWC Hainer See service area due to work on the car parks and the rest area. The closure begins at around 8 am and is due to be completed on Thursday, 22 October, at around 3 pm.

This means the facility will also be unavailable for rest breaks for three days. The closure will particularly affect long-distance lorry drivers, commuters and other travellers who plan to stop off on this section of the A72. For long-distance lorry drivers switching from the A72 to the A38, there are 14 lorry parking spaces at the Am Pösgraben West service area in the direction of Göttingen, and a further 9 spaces further west at Fuchsaue West. Heading towards Dresden, the ‘Am Pösgraben Ost’ service area offers 15 lorry parking spaces; all three facilities are equipped with toilets. One consolation: the welcome Leipzig city boundary is reached after a good 10 kilometres.