VIDEOS: Population: 494,000
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Leipzig: The “old” Zentralstadion, which opened in 1956, was once the largest stadium in Germany, with a capacity of 100,000. In October 1997, the city council of Leipzig decided to construct a new purpose-built football stadium within the old stadium walls.
Leipzig is currently experiencing a time of social upheaval. Tradition and progress can be felt everywhere, the former being reflected in the historic old town with its splendid architecture showing evidence of a great past as a Fair city. Book printing and book trading made Leipzig a centre of European culture in the late Middle Ages. Education, culture and science have always played an important role: Leibniz, Goethe, Schiller and Bach were all drawn to the city, whose university was founded as early as 1409. Leipzig is a bourgeois city and its citizens have always felt obligated to the arts. The "Gewandhaus Orchestra", founded in 1743 by Leipzig citizens, the opera house and the famous "Thomaner Choir" have their roots in this tradition. Although numerous wars and the separation of Germany have left deep marks, Leipzig's citizens have always retained their pioneering spirit and their courage to tackle problems. This attitude became particularly evident in the events in autumn 1989. At the height of the "Monday Demonstrations" on 9 October, 70,000 people marched around the Leipzig Ring. With their slogan of "We Are The People" they triggered the end of the German Democratic Republic in a peaceful revolution and cleared the way for the re-unification of Germany. Leipzig can look back on a proud tradition as a sports city and has been considered "Germany's City of Gymnastics" since the 19th Century. In the German Democratic Republic, Leipzig was the absolute sports centre with the Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur (DHfK) - the German College for Physical Education. Football has played a major role, too. The German Football Association, DFB, was founded in Leipzig in 1900; and VfB Leipzig achieved the first national German football title in 1903. The great tradition in football is documented in major international matches hosted by Leipzig's largest and most famous sports venue, the Zentralstadion. About 60,000 keep-fit enthusiasts in Leipzig exercise sports in 300 clubs which are the soul of the sports city of Leipzig. The top athletes prepare for international events at the Olympic Training Centre Leipzig. Whether professional sport or sports for all - many venues offer excellent training conditions. The International Equestrian and Show Jumping event, the DFB Indoor Cup series, the Grand Prix of Germany in freestyle wrestling, the International Women's Grand Prix event in tennis, the World Cup event in women's foil fencing or the International Leipzig Six Days in cycling have made Leipzig famous beyond Germany's borders. Major events at the Leipzig Zentralstadion
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