The year 2009 is of outstanding importance for the city of Leipzig. The autumn of this year will see the 20th anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution.
 
In the autumn of 1989, it was the citizens – men and women – who filled the streets in Leipzig and other parts of East Germany to demand their basic rights and democracy. It started with only few people but finally, on 9th October, 1989, 70,000 walked along the Leipzig inner ring road thus laying the foundations for democratic changes and the re-unification of the two German states.
 
What happened in those days has now, 20 years later, become an integral part of the Federal Republic of Germany’s democratic tradition. The Peaceful Revol-ution and the re-unification of the two German states have shaped recent German history.
The anniversary year 2009 is therefore particularly important – for the people and the city of Leipzig and beyond. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary, the city of Leipzig is planning to emphasize the role of the autumn of `89 in the public perspective.