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A burst pipe on Käthe-Kollwitz-Straße overnight has temporarily disrupted the water supply, whilst private transport will remain hampered for a few more weeks. Also: It has been revealed who is likely to succeed the ousted CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn in the Bundestag. The LZ summarises the key events from Wednesday, 22 July 2026, in Leipzig, Saxony and beyond.
Burst pipe on Käthe-Kollwitz-Straße: closure expected to last until mid-August
Due to a burst pipe, Käthe-Kollwitz-Straße is closed to private vehicles heading into the city centre at the junction with Marschnerstraße until further notice: As the Leipzig Group reported early on Wednesday morning, the water supply to local residents, amongst other things, had been restricted, which is why a water tanker had to be provided.
An update was then issued at midday: the section between Marschnerstraße and Hauptmannstraße remains closed to private vehicles, whilst trams are due to resume service from Wednesday afternoon. However, it is advisable to check the LVB’s disruption service for the latest information regarding tram lines 1, 2 and 39.
The damage to the drinking water pipe that occurred last night has now also been repaired. However, the reconstruction of the busy road is expected to take until 14 August.
Frei takes the reins: Head of the Chancellor’s Office to succeed Jens Spahn as CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader
Thorsten Frei, Head of the Chancellor’s Office, is set to succeed Jens Spahn as leader of the Union parliamentary group in the German Bundestag: this is being reported today by several media outlets.
According to these reports, the leaders of the CDU and CSU, Friedrich Merz (70) and Markus Söder (59), have reached a joint agreement.
Thorsten Frei is set to officially take up the post in a week’s time, following an internal election within the parliamentary group. The 52-year-old from the Black Forest has been a member of the Bundestag since 2013; he served as First Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from 2021 to 2025 and is regarded as a close confidant of Chancellor Merz, who brought him into the Chancellor’s Office in May 2025. It is not yet clear who will succeed Frei in that role.
The previous leader of the Union parliamentary group, Jens Spahn, resigned at the weekend following widespread criticism: the 46-year-old had announced that he and his husband had become parents with the help of a surrogate mother in the USA . Surrogacy is banned in Germany, a ban which Spahn himself had supported in his political capacity. Consequently, the former Federal Minister for Health was widely accused of hypocrisy and double standards due to his private conduct.
What the LZ reported on today:
And the 2026 Axel Springer Award goes to: Peter Thiel! Why this comes as no surprise
Response to a reader’s comment: Does Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk have a definition of fascism? He does.
What else was happening:
A power container caught fire in Bautzen.
Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt am Main were searched once again: the action by the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office is said to have been taken on suspicion of alleged dodgy share dealings by the subsidiary Postbank.
The Bonn Regional Court dismissed a lawsuit brought by an entrepreneur against the federal government: the man had claimed nearly half a billion euros over a face mask deal during the coronavirus pandemic.
As part of the investigations into the group “Kingdom of Germany” – which is associated with the “Reichsbürger” movement and has since been banned – charges have been brought against four alleged leaders,, including its founder Peter Fitzek (60).
Calendar page: 15 years ago, the attacks in Norway shocked the world
On 22 July 2011, Norway was rocked by serious attacks; the harrowing images were seen around the globe: Eight people died in deliberate explosions in Oslo’s government district, whilst a further 69, mostly young people, were shot dead by a man posing as a police officer on the island of Utøya, where the Labour Party’s youth organisation was holding its summer camp. A counter-terrorism unit brought the unimaginable massacre to an end in the late afternoon and arrested the perpetrator, Anders Behring Breivik.
Oslo, 22 July 2011: Columns of smoke rise following the targeted explosions in the government district. Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Oslo_view_of_city_after_July_2011_bombing.jpg
The then 32-year-old right-wing extremist confessed without showing any remorse and earnestly claimed that he had wanted to defend Norway against Islam, “cultural Marxism” and multiculturalism. In 2012, he received the maximum sentence of 21 years’ imprisonment plus preventive detention. Attempts by the mass murderer to secure his release in court have so far failed . He remains in prison.
But an ideology cannot be locked away: just how topical this issue remains is also evident from the racist attack in Munich in 2016 , which claimed the lives of nine people and marks its 10th anniversary today.
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