The Forum of Contemporary History is a free museum in Leipzig…read more They have a labyrinthian setup of interesting WWII-era exhibitions, with signs and descriptions written primarily in German. There are a few tidbits of English here and there, but for the most part this is a visual experience if you don't sprechen Deutsch. Still, it's worth a wander for an hour so, especially on a rainy day.

This is a pretty comprehensive exhibition of all things GDR. I haven't seen it so detailed and yet…read moreso interesting in a long time. And it's also free, which is sort of amazing too. But what really, really puzzles me that it's all in German and not translated into other languages such as English, French, maybe Spanish? I'm not sure why those people forgot that. It would be perfect otherwise. I'm not sure if you can get a tour guide from them who explains and translates all the info, but something like that would be necessary if you take people to this exhibition who don't speak any German.

On April 14th 2012, I went to see the show Entdeckung Korea. The exhibit was displayed in a dimmed…read moreroom, which gave it a mysterious feeling. Each piece was seperatly lighted to draw focus to the piece. First coming in to the dimmed room made me very curious of what was to come. A handful of people were there to enjoy the exhibit, which made it easy to discuss and observe each piece as there was little distraction. The show was focused on the cultural aspect of korean everyday life. Many objects such as mirrors, hair brushes, clothing and home made pottery were on display.A lot posters gave background information about Korean history. In addition a few paintings were displayed mainly by unknown artists. A piece that stood out was the waterfall brush painting, which was a metaphor for Korean seperation into north and south. Many paintings displayed were related to myths and showed connections between humans and nature. However they clearly conveyed the korean values. The religious theme was also stronlgy present in all forms of art, especially in the heaven and hell painting I first had an aversion to it, looking closer there were many things to discover and life was reflected. Although the pottery was detailed and beautiful to look at, it would have been interesting to see more paintings and be able to learn about korean artists. Overall it was a nice little show. The museums entrance guard was very helpful and informative. He allowed me to exhibit other parts of the museum which were not included in my ticket. After an hour I had seen evrything and became aware of the beautiful korean art.

From the owner: Mit seinem erstrangigen Sammlungsbestand reiht sich das Museum weltweit unter die führenden Museen…read morefür Angewandte Kunst ein. Die Sammlungen umfassen heute weit über 90.000 Bestandseinheiten des europäischen und außereuropäischen Kunsthandwerks von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart.

We visited this museum on October 5 and enjoyed it. Although I'm not a fan of modern art (whereas…read moremy husband is), there was a good variety and the (spacious) building has a very attractive interior. Also, all of the guards were really friendly.

In late November,I visited this fine art museum with very unique modernistic architecture.I…read morethoroughly enjoyed its fine collection of Old Master paintings.I especially enjoyed its fine Renaissance Period paintings by Master Francke("Man of Sorrows"),Rogier Vander Weyden("Visitation"),Cima da Conegliano,Marrioto di Nardo("Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence"),Lucas Cranach the Elder("Christ and The Good Samaritan at Well"),Hans Schaufelein("Flagellation"),Jean Bellegambe("Tripych"),and Georg Lemberger,among others.I savored their fine Baroque Period oil paintings.I especially enjoyed their fine paintings by Diego Polo("Saint Jerome"),Jacopo Tintoretto("Resurrection of Lazarus").Frans Hals("Mulatto"),Emanuel de Witte,Hendrick Van Vliet,Salomon Van Ruisdael,Pieter de Hooch,El Greco("Annunciation") Anton Graff,,and Pieter Pietersz,among others. I appreciated their fine collection of 19th and early 20th paintings by French painters ,especially enjoying fine paintings by Charles Daubigny,Gustave Courbet,Camille Corot,Claude Monet("Boats on Beach"),Gustave Loiseau,and Stanislaus Lepine,among others. I also liked their fine array of paintings and sculpture by native son,Max Klinger("Beethoven").There were fine early 20th paintings by Franz Von Stuck("Crucifixion"),Giovanni Segantini,and Hans Thoma worthy of attention.There was a tip top creation by Edith Karlsen from the present day which fascinated me("Dragon") The works of Art from the German Romantic,Realist(Leibl,Marees),and Impressionistic(Liebermann)were not on display,because of renovation when I visited.Currently,there is labelling of this art museum's works in English as well as German at the Bildenden Kunste in the heart of robust Leipzig.

€5 to visit, and includes an audio guide. The museum tells the story of the Stasi, operating in…read moreLeipzig during the East German Russian occupation. It's small, but has a number of interesting displays. All signage is in German, but between the audio guide and Google translate, I was well informed. Anyone interested in history (and most especially interested in not repeating it) will find this museum well worth their time.

From the owner: Das Gebäude, in dem 40 Jahre lang die Leipziger Bezirksverwaltung für Staatssicherheit ihren Sitz…read morehatte, beherbergt heute die Gedenkstätte Museum in der "Runden Ecke". In den ehemaligen Büros der Stasi-Offiziere können sich nun Besucher über Funktion, Arbeitsweisen und Geschichte des MfS informieren. Das Bürgerkomitee hat versucht, das authentische Umfeld weitgehend zu erhalten, um die Gäste etwas von der Arbeitsatmosphäre erahnen zu lassen, die bis 1989 in der "Runden Ecke" herrschte. Linoleumfussboden, gelbbraune Tapeten, Scherengitter an den Türen und Fenstern, Kabelkanäle und alte Heizkörper sind noch im gesamten Museum zu sehen. Geschichte wird hier sichtbar und greifbar.

How am I the first person to write a review on Yelp about the Stasi museum in Leipzig? Wow. Just…read morewow. It's amazing to learn the many layers of history a country has and we all know Germany is rich in history. The 20th century alone was just craziness. Who knew Leipzig was the epicenter of the German secret police? I sure didn't. When my friend took me here to explore the museum it was mind blowing. It's so unreal to think that this didn't happen that long ago and it was happening in my generation. Husbands told on Wives. Children told on parents. Neighbors told on neighbors. Located in the former Stasi headquarters (that's deep!), it's free to enter and you have the option to purchase an audio guide (recommended, unless you can read German). It's nice because it's self guided, so you can stay in each room as long as you want. Each room is different, with various scenes depicting Stasi Germany. I think my favorite things (if you can call it that) were the disguises they used. It's literally out of the movies. Fake mustaches, briefcases with wigs, powder, suglasses, anything. It's really fascinating and scary that this wasn't scripted. It was real life for people not that long ago. You can also go to the site where they executed and tortured victims. More good times. We skipped that. A definite must see if you you're in this part of the world.

Although the displays were old fashioned, the artifacts and the information relayed to the visitor…read morevia audioguide was fasinating. I returned to this part of Germany to see this museum in particular and learned that Vladimir Putin served some time in Dresden and Leipzig. If you want to understand why those who lived under the Eastern Bloc are the way they are, then understand each of us are the sum total of our experiences. There was no trust on the part of the authorities.

Had interesting displays and had refurbished/replica items, but small exhibition. Museum admission…read morewas a bit expensive for our 40 minute visit. They give you a translation paper to assist with reading the displays as they are all in German. Owners/attendants were friendly but smoked around the displays so it had a VERY heavy smell of cigarettes.

The Bach Museum is in a building across from Thomaskirche. I am a fan of Bach's music, but this…read moremuseum provided education and insight to Bach, the composer as well as his music. Lockers are provided for coats and backpacks, but I was able to keep my purse. The 10 euros entrance fee includes a self guided tour. Me and Hubby stayed and enjoyed the interactive activities. Loved learning about the six generations of Bachs and their music. Good stop for a Bach or classical music fan!

Excellent history of Bach's life, especially leading up to his days in Leipzig. They do offer…read moreinteractive tablets to guide you through. Took about an hour.