Day of action at Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz: the ‘Stadtnatur’ initiative plans to protest dressed entirely in black

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There is as yet no timetable for the transformation of Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz into a green oasis. However, the city intends to celebrate what is to come on Wednesday, 26 August. With a day of events on the square: between 2 pm and 6 pm, city departments and the institutions set to be based there in future will provide information on the plans. The people of Leipzig are invited to take part in a ‘White Dinner’ from 5 pm onwards – dressed in white. But the Stadtnatur initiative intends to use the day as a protest: dressed entirely in black, of course.

“The currently barren space will be transformed into a green town square, a space for encounters and a place to commemorate the Peaceful Revolution,” says the city,

in an attempt to whet the curiosity of Leipzig’s residents

ahead of 26 August. In addition to the planning departments and offices, representatives from the University of Leipzig, the Natural History Museum, the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography and the Peaceful Revolution Foundation will also be in attendance.

And to round off the day of events, from 5.00 pm until around 7.00 pm, there will be a so-called ‘White Dinner’. “This idea, which originated in France, involves a communal meal under the open sky. The traditional dress code is all in white. Anyone wishing to take part should bring their own food and drink, as well as a blanket or chair if desired. Beer bench sets will be provided; no advance booking is necessary,” says the administration.

Black instead of white

Of course, there is as yet no date set for the unsealing of the square and its greening. And the Stadtnatur initiative sees no reason to celebrate anyway.

“The city of Leipzig is celebrating the creation of concrete boxes and the destruction of valuable urban green spaces. WE at the Stadtnatur initiative are protesting and will be dressed entirely in black,” the initiative announces.

However, it does not wish to disrupt the White Dinner in any way, but intends to protest from 2 pm to 4 pm. Not against the greening of the square, but against the tree felling – some of which was carried out long ago – particularly in the eastern part of the site, where the University of Leipzig’s Global Hub and the new building for the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography are currently under construction.

“It has long been established that the tree felling carried out was illegal – a ruling by the Bautzen Higher Administrative Court from May 2026 confirms this,” emphasise Wiebke Engelsing and Axel Schmoll from the Stadtnatur initiative, setting out their position.

“Yet the implementation of these unlawful plans is still being pushed ahead with. In total, over 200 mature trees (aged 60 to 80 years), countless young trees, shrubs and hedges are set to be felled! The city is attempting to greenwash the destruction of urban green spaces and claims that an ‘ecotopia’ will emerge alongside the concrete buildings – even though the listed building, open-air seating areas and a wide variety of usage requirements prevent green development, and new plantings will have little chance of survival in the coming hot summers, trapped between concrete and without shade. These plans are irresponsible in the face of the climate emergency and the dwindling urban green spaces!”

Which is why the initiative is calling for an immediate ‘construction freeze to clarify the legal breaches’ and for ‘building only if the remaining tree population is preserved!’

On this occasion, they also intend – dressed entirely in black – to read out passages from the court ruling. This is unlikely to have much effect on the development plans for Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz, all of which have so far been backed by city council resolutions.