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16-463: This piece of land and architectural monument reflects 500 years of Leipzig's inner city's history of trading and culture. From 1477 to 1498, the first Gewandhaus ("cloth-house") was constructed there at the Gewandgässchen and Universitätsstrasse. Due to the imperial fair privilege from 1497, Leipzig quickly became important as an emporium. The Gewandhaus was home to foreign cloth merchants and hosted

32-615: Is a concert hall in Leipzig , the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra . Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. The first concert hall was constructed in 1781 by architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe inside the Gewandhaus , a building used by cloth (garment) merchants. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (The Emperor Concerto ) premiered here in 1811. Felix Mendelssohn

48-503: Is particularly associated with the first Gewandhaus, of which he was director from 1835. Other well-known works which premiered at the Altes Gewandhaus include: The Altes Gewandhaus was used for concerts until 1884, sporadically between then until 1886. Despite several expansions, it eventually became too small to accommodate the burgeoning number of concertgoers from Germany's newly emergent middle class. Thus between 1893 and 1896 it

64-494: The airport , the Städtisches Kaufhaus nowadays is home to offices (some 13,000 m² rental office space), retail outlets and restaurants (some 7,000 m² rental non-office space). In this sense, the name 'municipal store' is even more misleading than ever. The origin of the name is not known. In addition to reconstruction, an underground parking garage and an underground event location have been built. Touristic attractions are

80-644: The Gewandhaus Orchestra's permanent home today is the (third) Gewandhaus, located ON the Augustusplatz . As the Leipzig trade fair changed its focus during the Industrial Revolution in 1893, some storeys of the municipal library were reconstructed to serve as sample fair booths. This concept immediately proved successful, so all other buildings on the site were torn down in 1894. The Städtisches Kaufhaus

96-644: The Zeughaus (armory). After nearly 250 years of utilisation, the first Gewandhaus was torn down and, from 1740 to 1744, replaced by the municipal library, which was erected elaborately and again hosted an armory (in its east wing). Many parts can still be recognised in today's building. In 1780/1781, the armory was reconstructed into a concert hall, the first permanent home of the Gewandhaus orchestra (Germany's oldest civic orchestra, as opposed to one under royal or aristocratic patronage). Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe designed

112-495: The grounds in 2002. The third and current Gewandhaus on Augustusplatz and the eastern part of the inner city ring road opened on 8 October 1981, two hundred years after the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra moved into the original hall. The foundation stone was laid by conductor Kurt Masur on 8 November 1977. The architect was Rudolf Skoda , who like his predecessor Dauthe was also a native of Leipzig. The design of

128-585: The hall carefully took into consideration its precedents' reputation for excellent acoustics . During construction, the hall was even filled up several times with soldiers of the East German Nationale Volksarmee to test its sound quality at full capacity. During the Autumn of Nations in 1989, the Gewandhaus became a platform for political dissent against the Communist authorities, as Masur opened up

144-542: The hall for public discussion on the future and reform of the GDR (the so-called "Gewandhaus Talks"). Today's Gewandhaus has a seating capacity of 1900, and features a Schuke concert organ with 6,845 pipes. 51°20′16″N 12°22′50″E  /  51.33778°N 12.38056°E  / 51.33778; 12.38056 Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe (26 September 1746 – 13 July 1816)

160-407: The hall. It saw numerous famous concerts, e.g. by Mendelssohn Bartholdy , Mozart and Liszt . Even though the hall's capacity was extended a couple of times, in the long run, it was too small. Hence, the Gewandhaus orchestra in 1884 moved to the newly built Neues Concerthaus (new concert house), home to the orchestra until 1943, when it was destroyed by bombing. After an interim in the congress hall,

176-639: The statue of emperor Maximilian at the Universitätsstraße, the baroque stairway (with memorial badge at the former entrance to the Gewandhaus orchestra hall), Leipzig's oldest conserved elevator and the 'Straße der Stars', a walk of fame-like exhibition of hand imprints of prominent people (e. g. Mariah Carey , Max Schmeling , Hans Dietrich Genscher ) in the courtyard. 51°20′18″N 12°22′38″E  /  51.33833°N 12.37722°E  / 51.33833; 12.37722 Gewandhaus Gewandhaus ( German: [ɡəˈvanthaʊs] )

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192-551: Was a German architect and etcher who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. Dauthe was born in Leipzig and educated by Adam Friedrich Oeser . In his hometown, where he had been the city's construction official most of his buildings have been built, such as the first concert chamber of the Gewandhaus (1781), the square now known as the Augustusplatz (1785) and the interior of the St. Nicholas Church (1794). Dauthe became member of

208-523: Was repurposed, partially demolished, and refitted to form an annexe of the Städtisches Kaufhaus . The second Gewandhaus was designed by Martin Gropius . It opened on 11 December 1884, and had a main concert hall and a chamber music hall. During this era the Gewandhaus was directed by some of the most renowned conductors of the day, such as Arthur Nikisch , Wilhelm Furtwängler and Bruno Walter . It

224-408: Was severely damaged and partly destroyed by aerial bombing . Part of the Städtisches Kaufhaus was reconstructed after World War II during GDR times, but the northern parts remained ruined until the 1980s. After German reunification , the building was completely reconstructed from 1993 to 1996 with particular attention to monument protection. As Leipzig's Trade Fair Site was newly constructed near

240-569: Was severely damaged in the firebombing of Leipzig in World War II during two separate raids on 4 December 1943 and 20 February 1944. Despite initial plans for rebuilding, the East German government deemed the ruins too structurally unsound, and they were demolished on 29 March 1968. The site was used as a carpark for several decades, until the Humanities faculty of Leipzig University was opened on

256-409: Was then constructed from 1894 to 1901 in three construction stages. The building was the prototype of a specialised sample fair building - a building type prevalent in Leipzig's inner city. Unlike the other sample fair buildings (or fair palaces, as they were called), the Städtisches Kaufhaus assimilates the elaborate manner of the municipal library, which was integrated. In 1943, the building complex

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