At this site you may find some brief information about the Moritzbastei Leipzig.
If you need further details or want to know more about our cultural work you´re welcome to contact us via mail or phone!

Moritzbastei
Universitätsstrasse 9
04109 Leipzig
Telephone 0049+341+702590
www.moritzbastei.de
info@moritzbastei.de

General Manager: Mario Wolf
Art Director: Rick Barkawitz, booking@moritzbastei.de
Public Relations: Torsten Reitler, presse@moritzbastei.de

Opening Hours:
Mo – Fri from 10am, Saturdays from 12pm, Sundays from 9am
Office Hours: Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm


In the heart of Leipzig, nestled behind the Gewandhaus Concert Hall and City Skyscraper, you find the Moritzbastei, the only remaining part of the ancient city fortifications. The Moritzbastei was commissioned by Elector Moritz of Saxony in the 16th century and later named after him. It has survived 400 tumultuous years and it was used in many different ways, only to end as part of the rubble of the Second World War.
In 1974 students began to work on the Moritzbastei, freeing it of the debris it was filled with and turning it into a students’ club, which opened in 1982.
For almost 10 years the club had been a students’ club, but in 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Moritzbastei opened its doors to all visitors interested in culture.
Since 1993 the “MB”, as locals lovingly call the building, has been run by the “Moritzbastei Foundation” as a non-profit organisation without external financial support.
Annually around 300,000 guests visit the impressive vaults to attend one of the 600 events which take place here. The MB has something for everyone, from rock and jazz concerts through readings and play performances to exhibitions and discussions. And those people who are simply looking for a cosy place to enjoy a glass of wine or a snack will be charmed by the atmosphere in the Café Barbakane or one of the comfortable bars.



History

1551 to 1553
The architect Hieronymous Lotter, at that time the Lord Mayor of Leipzig, is commissioned by Elector Moritz of Saxony to build modern fortifications for Leipzig. Four corner fortifications are to protect the city wall; the Petersbastei is erected on the site where the Hangman’s Tower had stood before it was destroyed in the Schmalkaldian War. It becomes commonly known as the “Moritzbastei”.


1756 to 1763
The town is captured in the 30 Years’ War and in the 7 Years’ War the city fortifications lose their significance altogether. Leipzig’s city wall is torn down – only the Moritzbastei remains standing. It is used as a warehouse for trading goods and as a place of work for bell-founders, printers and other tradesmen.

1796 to 1834
Leipzig’s first Free School is built on the walls of the Moritzbastei. The old bulwark is “hollowed out”, so creating the impressive vaults of what is today known as the “Upper Cellar”.

1812 to 1814
During the Napoleonic Wars the Moritzbastei’s cellars are used to house wounded Russian Soldiers.

1848 to 1878
In Leipzig’s Free School catholic and protestant children are taught side by side, which is unusual at the time. A local wine merchant uses the cellar to store his wares.

1875 The school becomes “St. Annen’s Occupational School for Women”

1943 to 1945
Air raids destroy large parts of the centre of Leipzig, including the school and the Moritzbastei. The ruins of the school and houses once situated around it are put into the Moritzbastei’s vaults.

1945 to 1973
The site on which the Moritzbastei once stood is now only a mound, covered in trees and bushes. Although occasionally suggestions are made regarding the redevelopment of the area, it is not until students from the University of Leipzig take things into their hands that the redevelopment begins.

1974 to 1982
It takes 150,000 working hours for students to clear 40,000m³ of rubble on the GDR’s largest unofficial building site. A modern cultural centre is born within historic walls. The official opening ceremony takes place in 1982.

1993 to present
The “Moritzbastei Foundation“ takes responsibility for the “MB“ and puts the enterprise in the form of a private limited company. The goal of the organisation is to maintain the Moritzbastei as a forum for cultural gatherings in Leipzig’s academic life.