Royal Visit to Germany: Leipzig

Day 2:

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall continued their four-day visit to Germany today with engagements in Leipzig. 

Having arrived into Leipzig Hauptbahnhof Station, Their Royal Highnesses visited St. Thomas’ Church, built in 1212. After a tour, The Prince and The Duchess heard about the Church’s connection with Martin Luther, Bach, Wagner and Mendelssohn. It was here that the University of Leipzig was founded in 1409, and Martin Luther preached the implementation of the Reformation in 1539. Bach also has a strong association with the church, as he was musical director at St. Thomas’ from 1723 until his death in 1750. The Prince and The Duchess then listened to a brief concert of organ and choral music, before seeing Bach’s grave, and meeting choristers and organ masters. 

Their Royal Highnesses also visited Leipzig City Hall, which houses a public museum showcasing 200 years of Leipzig history, and signed the Golden Book for the City of Leipzig and for the State of Saxony. 

Later, The Prince and The Duchess visited the St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig’s oldest and largest church, where Their Royal Highnesses saw the Coventry Cross of Nails and the ‘Peaceful Revolution’ Cross. The Prince lay a white rose at the memorial column commemorating the ‘Peaceful Revolution’, the events of which led to the end of the division of Germany in November 1989 and German Unification a year later, after meeting three key figures involved in the demonstrations.

To end the day, The Prince of Wales toured Wörlitz Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site of which His Royal Highness is Patron, and boarded one of the long rowboats for a short journey across Wörlitz Lake to the Garden’s main island. Wörlitz Gardens is one of the biggest landscape gardens in Germany. It is part of a 430 square kilometre protected biosphere reserve and provides shelter for many species of plant and animal. The park is also home to a number of listed monuments and art collections. During the visit, His Royal Highness planted a tree and had the opportunity to meet gardeners and staff.