First tour for team members and friends
Krisnendu Majumdar
With glimmer in our eyes and ebullience in our hearts we set out on 10 August to take a first run of the entire Wissensspur.
We started with the Alte Messe where we learnt how time did its bit in sailing the place from the age of glaciers and hunter gatherers to the the age of trade. The former influence of the Soviet Union was still evident with the presence of a big red star on top of the Stadtarchiv, and recent developments manifested in terms of modern research institutes.
Next the German National Library awaited us. I was flabbergasted by not only its enormous book and media collections but also its rich collection of sheet music. There were galleries with pianos where you could try out the music right on the spot, amazing! … and then we moved from the age-old historic building into the brand-new wing that is hosting the German Museum of Books and Writing — grasping first hand how old tradition can turn into an educated polyglot appraisal of our cultural heritage.
Concord, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
While strolling past the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology towards the physics and chemistry buildings in the Linnéstraße we couldn’t help but admire the flabbergasting contributions to science during the golden ages of the university in the 19th and early 20th century. In the Linnéstraße we entered the Botanical Garden which proudly showcased a plethora of plant species and also butterflies. We learnt the story about a magnificient lotus plant, and how Queen Victoria’s water lilies (Victoria amazonica) captured the imagination of the public when it arrived in Europe in the 19th century. Indeed, one of the few greenhouses from those times is still preserved in the Leipzig Botanical Garden.
Unknown (Illustrated London News), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
We took a brief look into the garden of the Leipzig Institute of Meteorology and had our lunch on the lawn in front of the Grassi Museums. Then we hurried to the Egyptian Museum where we were given a guided tour by its chief conservator-restorer: Karl Heinrich von Stülpnagel. We admired the stone work and the craftsmenship needed to cast the bronze incense holders. The tour ended with an exposition of the tomb equipment of the death priest Herishefhotep, and a contemplation about ethical concerns regarding displacing the mummies from their graves: How does the transfer to Leipzig hinder the afterlife of the priest and his successors in view of their belief in soul reunification.
Our ventures then made its way to the Leipzig University Antikenmuseum in the Alte Nikolaischule where we had an inspiring guided tour that turned into a discussion about the evolution of childrens toys and gender role models from the antiquity till modern times.
After having brief halts to learn about the historical role and present importance of the Deutsches Literaturinstitut, University of Music and Theater »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy«, and Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst for the education of writers, musicians and actors, and artists, respectively, we finally ended up in the famous Bibliotheka Albertina. Go and admire its amazing interior with a very antique bent. Moreover, the exhibits in the foyer showcase facsimilies some of its rich collections. We were particlarly impressed by a copy of Kopernikus treaty on celestial spheres (1543) with hand-written remarks by Kepler, and the facsimile of the Papyrus Ebers that offers precious antique advise for various medical predicaments.
What an amazing day!