Hello Leipzig: Here’s how Friday 7 August 2026 kicks off the weekend

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‘Polizeiruf’ star Peter Schneider and his outstanding band will bring the Marktmusik festival to a close on Sunday. LZ explains the story behind it. The City Library is back to its normal opening hours from today following refurbishment, whilst the Welcome Centre is offering a special service from today for foreign skilled workers and interested employers. And Leipzig’s most famous pub district is being transformed into a cycling venue.

Unobstructed access to Leipzig’s books

Doors open, noses in the books! Following the completion of necessary building work in the entrance area of the City Library on Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz, the facility is once again fully accessible from today. Since 13 July, new lighting has been installed and painting work carried out there.

The library was completely closed for a few days whilst the work was carried out, and there were also restrictions on access and use between 15 July and 5 August. During this period, the self-service return machines, the platform lift and access to the lift in the entrance area were unavailable.
Fortunately, special arrangements were in place for returning borrowed items during the construction phase. The loan periods had been adjusted so that items do not need to be returned until 12 August 2026. Leipzig City Libraries asked for the public’s understanding regarding the resulting restrictions: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” a statement said.

With the completion of the works, Leipzig City Library’s services are once again fully available from today. The district libraries in Holzhausen and Wiederitzsch, however, are closed for the summer holidays. They will remain closed until 16 and 21 August respectively.

Incidentally, children and young people up to the age of 19 can use the library free of charge! Adults pay 25 euros a year. This includes access to the PRESSREADER media service, where you can read countless daily newspapers, magazines and specialist journals – including international titles – as e-papers. The municipal library on Leuschnerplatz is open on weekdays from 10 am to 7 pm. On Saturdays, it is open until 4 pm. On Sundays, the staff, books and paper all take a break.

More services to bring people together

A new advisory service for international skilled workers and employers is launching today at the Specialist Information Centre for Immigration (FiZU). The free consultation sessions will take place every two weeks on Fridays in even-numbered calendar weeks from 9 am to 1 pm at the Welcome Centre at Otto-Schill-Straße 2, and are aimed at anyone who need support in entering the regional labour market or in integrating international employees.

The service covers all key areas of workplace integration. Advice is provided, amongst other things, on issues relating to employment and residence, targeted language learning in the workplace, and long-term integration management. In addition, employers and international professionals receive support with other challenges that may arise in day-to-day working life with international team members. The new consultation sessions were developed in collaboration with the recently opened ‘Centre for Immigration and Internationals’.

Together, the partners aim to make it easier for new arrivals to settle in Leipzig and to further strengthen the city’s position as an attractive location for foreign skilled workers. No prior booking is required. Those with no knowledge of German can seek advice on site from the multilingual team or with the help of video interpreters.

Apart from the new consultation hours, the recently opened Welcome Centre is open on Mondays from 1 pm to 5 pm, Tuesdays from 1 pm to 6 pm, Thursdays from 1 pm to 5 pm and Fridays from 9 am to 1 pm, and can also be contacted by telephone or email: 0341-123 2676 / willkommenszentrum@leipzig.de

Karli as a cycle track

It’s a pub-hopping strip, linking Leipzig city centre with the southern district. And on Saturday (!!) it’ll even become a race track! Karl-Liebknecht-Straße is hosting the ‘Karli Krit’ inner-city cycle race for the third time! What sounds like a fun party is actually registered as an official road race with the Saxon Cycling Federation.

The start and finish are at Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 31. Race numbers will be handed out from 8 am. The programme kicks off as early as 9 am with the ‘Karli Lauf’, which takes place at the same time. On the same circuit, a five-kilometre and a ten-kilometre run will be held over six and twelve laps respectively. At 10.30 am, the Leipzig City Championships for schoolchildren (born between 2012 and 2017) will follow.

Children may take part on standard children’s and youth bikes; road bikes are expressly not permitted. Participation is free of charge. The licensed races will then begin at 11.20 am. The programme features competitions for various junior and age groups, a public race, and races for women and junior women, running until late afternoon.

According to the organisers, late registrations on the day of the event are possible for an additional fee, subject to availability of starting places. The circuit runs along Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, Paul-Gruner-Straße, Bernhard-Göring-Straße and Shakespearestraße before returning to Karli. Due to ongoing construction work, the route originally planned further south via Südplatz, Alfred-Kästner-Straße and August-Bebel-Straße cannot be used.

It’s a shame, though: visitors will have to do without an accompanying street festival this year. Unlike in 2024 and 2025, only a few refreshment and cycle stalls are planned. According to the organiser, the federal funding used in previous years for a street festival is no longer available for 2026. Full details of the start times are available online HERE.

Marktmusik draws to a close with a fitting tribute

Since 31 July, ‘Marktmusik’ has been a fixture in front of the Old Town Hall. It grew out of an idea by the former impresario Peter Degner, who, with his ‘Classic Open’, presented the people of Leipzig with top-class music in a convivial atmosphere in the heart of the city for 29 years.

The concept was simple but charming: the performances were free of charge and were funded by sponsors and local restaurateurs, who sold drinks and freshly prepared food at proper tables during the events.

Ultimately, disagreements between the city, other interested parties and the dedicated organiser led to a rift. According to his own account, it broke the heart of the founder, Peter Degner, at the time. He died far too young on 15 January 2020.

Another artist whose music will bring this year’s Marktmusik to a close on Sunday evening also died far too young: Gerhard Gundermann. Known as a rock poet and excavator operator in the Lusatian coalfield, he was an artistic influence during the period of German reunification, describing in his songs the conflict of moving his excavator – in more than just a figurative sense – towards his own home.

It was ‘Die Saitlinge & Singers’ who discovered Gundermann’s material for themselves. The band centres around the Leipzig-based singer-songwriter Bernd Christen and TV star Peter Schneider (‘Polizeiruf’, ‘Die Summe meiner einzelnen Teile’). In an interview with the LZ, Schneider explains the connection to Gundermann by noting that the “Saitlinge” played as the support act for Gerhard Gundermann on several occasions.

Some time after the death of their role model, they are now performing a programme that references Gundermann’s song “Linda”: ‘Die Alten sind noch mal am Start’. The concert begins at 8 pm on Sunday in front of the Old Town Hall.

As on all previous days, admission is free. Anyone wishing to book a table in the catering area of the square can still reserve one here in good time.