Hello Leipzig: Here’s how Friday 11 September kicks off the weekend

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Alongside more than 90 other venues, the Stadtbad is hosting an Open Monuments Day this weekend – and treating visitors to birthday cake. Construction plans for Plagwitz railway station are being presented, whilst on Naunhofer Straße, creative ideas are being put into practice. And in the south of Leipzig, there are job opportunities behind doors that usually remain closed.

Greater road safety for everyone

Traffic on Naunhofer Straße, nestled between mighty plane trees, isn’t just a smooth affair – from today, there are actually two. A roundabout has already been successfully installed at the Schönbachstraße junction, which not only provides greater safety for those using the diversion routes during the works on Prager Straße, but also gives pupils at the Neue Nikolaischule a safer, calmer crossing of the zebra crossing.

From today, a second roundabout will be added some 300 metres further along on Ludolf-Colditz-Straße. Construction work on both roundabouts began on 20 July 2026, with the city having scheduled 11 September 2026 as the completion date for the entire project. Around 267,000 euros are being spent on the project. The scope of the work includes, amongst other things, road construction, asphalting and paving, as well as road markings, signage, traffic islands and guidance elements.

The Naunhofer Straße/Ludolf-Colditz-Straße junction has long been regarded as an accident blackspot. The redesign is also linked to the future role of Naunhofer Straße
within Leipzig’s cycle network. The section to the south, extending to Kolmstraße, is scheduled to be designated as a cycle route in 2027. The facilities, which have been erected quickly as interim measures, are not intended to be short-lived. According to the Office for Mobility and Civil Engineering, there are no plans to set a time limit for them; they are intended to remain in place for several years. In the long term, the guide kerbs and roundabout islands could be replaced by permanent kerb installations.

Ideas workshop on Plagwitz railway station

Once upon a time, heavy steam locomotives puffed along here; goods were loaded from the Plagwitz factories, and this was also where the coal and raw materials for their production arrived. Freight transport and industry have long since become a thing of the past in this district of Leipzig. What remains are sites and buildings that, more than three decades after the end of the GDR, are still awaiting a new purpose.

This includes the site of the former Plagwitz railway station. Today, a ‘Transparent Workshop’ offers an opportunity to explore what the future might hold for the site. From 2 pm to 8 pm, designs from three architectural firms will be presented and discussed. Behind today’s event lies a lengthy planning and public engagement process for one of the most contested sites in terms of urban development policy in the west of Leipzig.

The current pre-selection process is being carried out by LEWO AG and the City of Leipzig’s Town Planning Office. The owner, LEWO AG, launched the specific competition process in early June with the support of the City Planning Office. Initially, seven architectural practices were commissioned to produce designs; three of these are still involved and will present their proposals today. A jury is due to make a final decision on the designs in November 2026. The planning area covers around 2.5 hectares.

IMPORTANT: The presentation of the designs will NOT take place on the future construction site, but at the ‘VDI GaraGe’ Technology Centre, Karl-Heine-Straße 97, directly opposite the Jahrtausendfeld, which, as a derelict industrial site, has itself been the subject of heated debate in recent years regarding its future development (as reported by the LZ).

This job is crisis-proof

Are you drawn to working in prison, but only if it means being able to go home again at the end of your shift? For nursing staff interested in working at the prison hospital at Leipzig Prison, the application deadline ends today. The State of Saxony is seeking, under reference number JVAL-E2404/37/5 or 163/2026, is seeking nursing staff (m/f/d) for permanent positions, to start as soon as possible, with both full-time and part-time options available.

Applications should be submitted by email. A complete CV, proof of qualifications, certificates and employment references must be submitted, with all attachments combined into a single PDF file. The duties of the nursing staff we are seeking include, amongst other things, providing nursing care for sick prisoners, as well as tasks relating to hospital hygiene and infection prevention. Employees will also work a three-shift system.

Remuneration is based on pay band KR7 or KR8 under the TV-L collective agreement, depending, amongst other things, on previous professional experience, and is supplemented by a nursing allowance. In addition, the vacancy notice provides for a monthly prison service allowance of €82.67 from the second year and €165.34 from the third year; for part-time employment, these amounts are paid on a pro rata basis.

The Leipzig Prison Hospital has 80 beds. Of these, 50 are in a psychiatric and psychotherapeutic ward and 30 in a somatic ward. Following earlier refurbishments and modernisations of the old hospital building, the Free State commissioned the construction of a new building from 2017 onwards. This was inaugurated on 15 July 2022. According to the Ministry of Justice, the investment amounted to around 21.5 million euros.

Birthday cake at Leipzig’s oldest public baths

Anyone wishing to explore Leipzig’s Stadtbad beyond the usual events and regular guided tours will have the opportunity to do so on Sunday, 13 September 2026. To mark Heritage Open Days, the historic building at Eutritzscher Straße 21 will open its doors from 11 am to 3 pm. No booking is required, and photography is permitted.

Visitors can explore parts of the Stadtbad independently along designated routes. Information boards provide details about the building’s history, and representatives from the Leipziger Stadtbad Support Foundation will be on hand in the foyer to answer any questions. There is no fixed timetable for group tours on this day. This distinguishes the special programme from the regular Stadtbad tours, which are normally offered on the first Sunday of the month, last about an hour, cost 19 euros and require advance ticket booking.

According to the Stadtbad, both the disused ‘lost places’ and the event areas will be accessible on Heritage Day. Among the architecturally remarkable areas of the building are the former men’s and women’s swimming halls, as well as the listed ladies’ sauna in the Moorish style, featuring columns, arches, ornaments, gold embellishments and wall mosaics. The former men’s swimming hall housed a wave-generating system capable of producing waves up to around one metre high. The Stadtbad states that, when it first came into operation, it was the first facility of its kind in Europe.

The building complex was opened in 1916 after three years of construction, based on designs by the Leipzig architect and city planning officer Otto Wilhelm Scharenberg. And because, in keeping with tradition, Sunday is also intended to be something of a birthday celebration for the Stadtbad, the first 110 visitors will be treated to 110 slices of birthday cake to mark the 110th anniversary of its opening. Doors open at 11 am.

Across Germany, more than 5,500 monuments and listed buildings will be open to the public on 13 September. The city has summarised everything that can be visited in Leipzig HERE ONLINE.