Hello Leipzig: Here’s how Wednesday 9 September 2026 gets underway

Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar: Zum deutschen Artikel.

A small break, a big impact. A burst sewage pipe is causing disruption for visitors to Lake Cospuden. Traffic is a bit slower than usual on the A38 today, whilst the Mendelssohn House commemorates Gustav Mahler’s tragic love affair and its impact on the world of music. And the Capa House is kicking off the autumn season with an exhibition on synagogues.

Puddle in Markkleeberg

In Markkleeberg, Zöbigkerstraße between Birkenweg and Fliederweg has had to be closed following an incident. A sewer pipe had burst and washed away the road surface. Cars and lorries are being diverted via Koburger Straße, Seenallee and Städtelner Straße whilst the work is carried out. Public buses will follow a different route via Lindenthal-Straße and Schmiedestraße.

At the same time, two temporary bus stops have been set up: one at the junction of Schmiedestraße and Sonnenweg, and another at the junction of Schmiedestraße and Koburger Straße. The footpath along Zöbigkerstraße remains accessible despite the full closure. Cyclists can also pass through the affected section, but must dismount there.
According to the city council’s current plans, the closure is scheduled to last until 18 September inclusive.

Caution on the motorway

On the A38 motorway towards Leipzig, particular caution is advised today between the Fuchsaue Ost service area and the Leipzig-Süd exit. This is due to surveying work taking place there. According to the latest traffic warning from the Saxony Police, a “daytime roadworks site on the hard shoulder” will be in place there from 7 am to 5 pm.

There is no need to close the entire carriageway in that direction or to put a diversion in place for this work. Drivers should simply expect reduced speed limits. Apart from this daytime roadworks site, more extensive construction work will take place on the A38 in the Leipzig area in 2026.

The Federal Motorway Company (Autobahn GmbH) is currently resurfacing approximately 7.2 kilometres of carriageway between Leipzig-Neue Harth and Leipzig-Südost in the direction of Dresden, with work set to continue until December. In addition, safety barriers will be replaced and nine bridge structures repaired.

Mahler’s heartbreak and his 10th Symphony

This love affair broke him, yet he did not manage to do so with his 10th Symphony: when Gustav Mahler’s wife Alma began an affair, it plunged the Bohemian-born composer into a deep crisis, which ultimately led him to Siegmund Freud’s consulting room. Under the title ‘To live for you! To die for you’, music journalist Hagen Kunze will be giving a lecture today on Mahler’s unfinished 10th Symphony.

The event is part of the ‘Treffpunkt Salon’ series at the Mendelssohn-Haus, Goldschmidtstraße 12. Hagen Kunze, a publicist, music journalist and dramaturg, has published several books on musical and historical topics, including works on the St Thomas Choir, the Leipzig Opera Chorus and the musical history of the city of Leipzig. The journalist will accompany his talk with his own piano playing. The event begins at 4 pm and admission is free.

Mahler worked on his final symphony from July to September, but did not live to see the completed score. He died on 18 May 1911 in a sanatorium in Vienna. After Mahler’s death, his widow finally consummated her romance and married her lover, the architect Walter Gropius, albeit for only five years.

Start of the season at the Capa House

The museum at the Capa-Haus is bringing its summer break to a close with an exhibition opening this evening at 7.00 pm. ‘100 Synagogues in Germany’ showcases works from a photo book by the photographer and musician Alex Jacobowitz, in which he documents historic buildings that have been preserved over the centuries, as well as former synagogues that were later put to other uses. It also features new buildings erected by revitalised Jewish communities.

In doing so, the exhibition links historical records with contemporary Jewish life. The Leipzig Museum of City History describes it as a testament to “the Jewish past and present in Germany”. Jews were already living in what is now Germany as early as the 4th century.

As the communities grew, numerous synagogues of varying architectural styles were built over the centuries. Some survived war and destruction through the so-called ‘Aryanisation’, whilst many others were destroyed. Even synagogues that were still standing after 1945 were lost, demolished or put to other uses.

Jacobowitz was born in 1960; he is an American and an Israeli and lives in Leipzig, amongst other places. As a xylophone virtuoso, he specialises in traditional Jewish music. He is also committed to promoting Jewish culture, music and literature in Europe. Anyone unable to attend today’s opening can still see the exhibition until 30 November.

The Capa-Haus is normally open Tuesday to Friday from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm, and on the third Sunday of every month from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm (excluding public holidays). Admission to the Capa-Haus is free.

The building is situated in the west of Leipzig (Jahnallee 61), diagonally opposite the Angerbrücke tram terminus. It is named after the American war photographer Robert Capa, who took his world-famous photo series ‘Last Man to Die’ there on 18 April 1945, which, amongst other things, documents the death of the US soldier Raymond J. Bowman during the liberation of Leipzig. The Capa House can be reached by tram lines 3, 7, 8 and 15. Get off at the Angerbrücke stop.