The city embodies a charming culture crash between growth and decline.
Leipzig - the name is redolent of Thoma agents, Bach, and the Gewandhausorchester, of Goethe, Schiller, and Brockhaus. Or maybe book, automobile, and computer conventions? Perhaps it smells of coffee, tastes sweet like the irresistible pastry called the Leipziger Lerche, and, in the end, defies description. For the Leipzschers (as they are called) have big mouths, whether with their "we the people" they demonstrate German unity or deride the train station with its glittering malls under the platform as a "shopping paradise with rail access." No wonder that the irreverent cabarets of the city are almost as famous as the fair. And if you relish a little dispute, ask Leipzigers whether their home is now more known for music and culture or for conventions and media. To anticipate: The bustling city in the Leipzig lowlands (with a population of almost 500,000 inhabitants plus about 1 million overnight visitors per year) has opera and orchestras of world renown and is one of the most modern exhibition locales on the continent -- of course, it's both. And what's more, the 35,000 university students at the Academy of Visual Arts and the first private business school in Germany, among other top institutions, provide both the casual lifestyle and the creative impulse.
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