Introduction

Leipzig : Past

Leipzig was founded in 1165, and since has seen its share of ups and downs.

1165- Founded

1409- University of Leipzig Founded

1481- First Printing Press in Leipzig

1545- Martin Luther Gives Fourth and Final Lecture in the City

1555- City profits from Copper, Tin and Silver, Large Buildup Occurs

1618- 1648- City Besieged Five Times During the Thirty Years War

1642- Sweden Takes Control of Leipzig

1723-1750- Johann Sebastian Bach Works in Leipzig Until His Death

1813- Richard Wagner Born

1813- Population: 35,000

1871- Population: 107,000

1907- Leipzig the Largest Industrial City in Saxony

1938-1945- Leipzig Devastated by Allied Bombing- 44,000 Homes Destroyed

1945- Captured by US Troops, and Turned Over to Russia/DDR

1989- Monday Demonstrations Begin- Peaceful Protests Against East Germany- Grows to 500,000 People

1990- Reunification, First Free Elections Since 1933

1996- Leipzig Airport Opens

Leipzig : Today

Leipzig is southwest of Berlin, in the state of Saxony, Germany . Leipzig lies at the confluence of four rivers, the White Elster, Parthe, Luppe, and Pleisse. The Pleisse was buried by the DDR, but was opened after reunification in the 1990's.

Even after reunification, Leipzig has had trouble. Its Industry base has been abandoned, and the service sector is inactive, leading to an unemployment rate of 16-30%. At reunification, 80% of older and 60% of residential buildings were in "poor" condition, with 60% of apartments having no functional bath.

Current Statistics

Area: 289.8 Sq. Kilometers (111.9 Sq. Miles)

Population: 495,000 People

Open Space: 44 Sq. Km (16%)

Leipzig : "With Lime Trees"

The first attempt Leipzig made at a green movement was with the "Leipzig Ostraum Project" in 1991. It was a citizen lead movement to unite people under the umbrella of "demonstration of ecologically-oriented, urban-rural development". There were 12 projects picked based on their locations and missions. One of the key parts of the project was a series of principals set up to maintain the stability of the projects. One of the principals was that the project should be run by a non-city entity. Unfortunately, this principal was broken when control of the project was given to a city agency, which promptly resulted in it being shut down in 1996.

Next, in what seems to be a move similar to the Civilian Conservation Corps started by the USA's new deal, Leipzig begins the "Green Ring Leipzig" program in 1996. This is intended to provide employment, a zone for female entrepreneurship, and environmental improvement through a ring of open space with development zones throughout. It is fitting that a large ecological movement would take place in this city, as "Leipzig" means "With Lime Trees". This project involved not just Leipzig, but a series of 8 cities, 16 municipalities, and one district. By 2006, as a result of additional support and some annexation, the number had grown to 11 cities, 4 municipalities, and 2 districts.

Gruener Ring Leipzig is the group that was formed to coordinate the Green Ring project. The project essentially works when the member municipalities pledge to do certain sub-projects. These projects range from building roads, to replanting woodlands, to vegetating swales. These are organized to create a green ring around the city, with areas of green extending back into the city, creating passages from the inner city to open space to the area outside the city.

From an ecological point of view, the project had a few different goals:

Water:

-Natural Surface Water Flows

-Restore Wetlands

-Floodplains

-Surface Water Cleansing

- Lake and Stream Connectivity

Landscape Conservation

-Landscape Conservation

- Forest Increase

-Green Ring Connectivity

Pollution Control

Brownfield Redevelopment