Saint Nicholas Church, Leipzig
20 years ago, here in Leipzig something wonderful happened. A prayer meeting was held at Saint Nicholas church. After the meeting the people did something that was very dangerous, something others had been imprisoned for, something people had been killed for; they said they were unhappy with their government. The next Monday they met again to pray and voice their opposition, they met together every Monday in September 1989. By October thousands of people were demonstrating and Germans in the west were adding their support. November 9, 1989 the Wall came down, Germany was to be one country again. The fall of East Germany was nothing less than a miracle. Some may have said that the Wall would come down; it had to, because capitalism kicked communism’s butt – it was all about the money. That may have been true, but that wasn’t the miracle; the miracle was that this revolution was so fast and so peaceful and had at its heart, prayer.
196 years ago this month Napoleon suffered one of his greatest defeats in Leipzig, Germany, leading to his first exile to Elba. When flying into Leipzig today (if you land on runway 8R) the monument to this battle stands out even from 10 miles away. The Völkerschlachtdenkmal stands 300 feet tall and is the biggest memorial in Europe. My pictures don’t give any scale, but this structure is massive. The Knights on top of the monument are about 50 feet tall. Soldiers from 20 different nations fought in the battle, but the monument is all-German. Down the hill from the Völkerschlachtdenkmal is a cemetery with another memorial; this one built by the DDR (East German) government. A monument to those who gave their lives fighting fascism; this is the polar opposite to the Battle of the Nations monument. German national pride always seems to be way too big or way too small.
Memorial for those who fought against fascism
A mural commorating reuionification.
One of the best meals in Germany - Brat at the train station.
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