Half a million soldiers fought – and one in five died – in the epic 1813 battle that led to the decisive victory of Prussian, Austrian and Russian forces over Napoleon’s army. Built a century later near the killing fields, the Völkerschlachtdenkmal is a 91m colossus, towering sombrely like something straight out of Gotham City. Views from the top are monumental. If you need to bone up on your history, stop by the integrated Forum 1813 exhibit within the monument complex.
Völkerschlachtdenkmal
Leipzig
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
28.55 MILES
This large medieval castle on the hill above town is one of Freyburg’s highlights. It houses an excellent museum that illuminates various aspects of…
2.45 MILES
This church has Romanesque and Gothic roots, but since 1797 has sported a striking neoclassical interior with palm-like pillars and cream-coloured pews…
2.05 MILES
The university-run Museen im Grassi harbours three fantastic collections that are often overlooked, despite being a five-minute walk from Augustusplatz…
2.65 MILES
This imposing modernist glass cube is the home of Leipzig's fine art museum and its world-class collection of paintings from the 15th century to today,…
Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte
23.33 MILES
This phenomenal collection of major archaeological finds is one of the most significant in Europe. Priceless permanent exhibits shed light on the early to…
1.14 MILES
The happy marriage of a panorama (a giant 360-degree painting) and a gasometer (a giant gas tank) is a panometer. The unusual concept is the brainchild of…
2.04 MILES
At Leipzig's Ethnological Museum, you can plunge into an eye-opening journey through the cultures of the world.
21.21 MILES
The very name Colditz is enough to send goosebumps down many people's spines, and so it might come as a surprise that the famous WWII-era high security…
Nearby Leipzig attractions
0.18 MILES
Leipzig's largest cemetery is a vast and beautiful park, filled with rosebay shrubs, populated by squirrels, rabbits and foxes and centred on a building…
1.14 MILES
The happy marriage of a panorama (a giant 360-degree painting) and a gasometer (a giant gas tank) is a panometer. The unusual concept is the brainchild of…
3. Museum für Angewandte Kunst
2.04 MILES
Leipzig's Museum für Angewandte Kunst is the second-oldest applied arts museum in Germany and has one of the finest collections of art-nouveau and art…
4. Museum für Musikinstrumente
2.04 MILES
At the fabulous Musikinstrumenten-Museum, you can discover music from five centuries in the prestigious and rarity-filled exhibits, as well as an…
2.04 MILES
At Leipzig's Ethnological Museum, you can plunge into an eye-opening journey through the cultures of the world.
2.05 MILES
The university-run Museen im Grassi harbours three fantastic collections that are often overlooked, despite being a five-minute walk from Augustusplatz…
2.09 MILES
A key figure of the Romantic age, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was appointed music director of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester in 1835 and held the…
2.17 MILES
The 'Spring Symphony' is among the works Robert Schumann composed in this house where he and his wife, pianist Clara Wieck, spent their first four years…