On July 1st, 1846, thirteen professors at Leipzig University petitioned the Saxon Ministry of Culture. Their goal was ambitious: to establish a learned society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge. This marked the birth of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig. The Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften, initially named the Royal Saxon Society of Sciences, was founded on the 200th birthday of Leipzig-born polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. The academy embodied Leibniz’s vision of a collaborative space where scholars from diverse disciplines could exchange ideas. The Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften was divided into two distinct classes. These were the mathematisch-physische (mathematical-physical) and the philologisch-historische (philological-historical) classes. Twice a year, the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften held public sessions. These coincided with the birthdays of Leibniz and the Saxon King, Friedrich August II, who officially approved the academy’s statutes. The academy’s members published their research in dedicated publications. This ensured their work reached a wider audience. In 1919, the institution was renamed the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig. Today, it boasts around 70 members from the Saxon-Thuringian region. Since the 1990s, the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften has been housed in a building on Karl-Tauchnitz-Straße.
water tower Markkleeberg
From its perch overlooking Markkleeberg this water tower silently guards the town’s history. The Markkleeberg water tower stands tall a