The Alma Mater Lipsiensis was founded in 1409 by an initiative of scholars who emigrated from the University of Prague, and in 1519 the Leipzig Disputations at the university were the beginning of the schisma between Rome and the Lutherans. During the reformation the university received donations that turned it into one of the riches universities in the Holy Roman Empire. Numerous scholars of world fame have taught and studied here, and time and again important impulses for the development of science emerged in Leipzig. Moreover, due to its role as leading university of the kingdom (and later state) of Saxony it contributed markedly to the development of the wider region. A corner stone of these endeavors has always been its Motto Surpassing Borders by Tradition.

Leipzig University was inaugurated on 2 December 1409, and in 1512 the Nikolai School accepted its first students. Since this time academic institutions play an important role in the Leipzig’s civil society. Currently, Leipzig has five universities that look back to a history of more than 100 years.

As Leipzig’s first municipal school, the Old Nikolai School at Nikolai churchyard is one of the city’s most valuable cultural monuments. It first opened its doors in 1512. Famous alumni of the school include Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Johann Gottfried Seume, Richard Wagner, and Karl Liebknecht. Today it houses a permanent exhibition on Richard Wagner, and the Leipzig University Museum of Antiquities.

The University of Music and Theatre »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« Leipzig (Hochschule für Musik und Theater, or HMT) emerged in 1992 as the successor to Germany’s oldest Academies of Music (1943) and Theater (1953, with roots in the Leipzig Theatre School founded in 1875-1876). Approximately 175 years ago, the concept of creating a musical educational institution in order to be able to provide the best possible education for young talent was a revolutionary idea. Today, it is important to continue to live up to this core mission in the midst of a rapidly changing, globalization-oriented world, without forgetting its traditional roots.

The Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst/Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (HGB) is one of the oldest and most prestigious Colleges of Fine Arts in Europe. The Academy provides art and design education at the highest level since more than 250 years. Its excellent reputation is due to countless graduates who continually make a significant impact on the areas of fine art and graphic design, and many renowned professors and dedicated tutors working at the HGB. The college maintains a superb international network of more than 100 collaboration partners from various areas of the art and graphic design industry, as well as from the world of science and economics. Quality and sustainability of teaching and practice is what they stand for.

The Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK) was founded on July 15th, 1992 as a merger of the HTWK’s predecessor institutions in Leipzig — the Leipzig University of Technology, the Leipzig School of Librarians and Booksellers, the School of Librarianship, and the Institute of Museology. As one of Germany’s largest universities of applied sciences, the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences incorporates learning institutions that are especially typical for the city of Leipzig, such as librarians, book traders, and museologists, as well as for a wide range of engineering professions.

In 1778, Samuel Heinicke opened the first German public school for the education of the deaf. Arguably, it was the first oral school for the deaf in the world.

In the 1770’s, wealthy merchants and publishers in Leipzig established tuition-free public schools, meaning public schools without fees. On April 16th, 1792, the first free public school was opened between Pleißenburg and Thomaskirche. The school initially housed three classes, educating 171 students aged 7 to 13. The lessons were taught by permanent teachers, as well as university students. In honor of the school, the street where it was located was renamed Ratsfreischulstraße on December 6th, 2000.

The Henriette Goldschmidt School was founded in 1911 by Henriette Goldschmidt at its current location in Leipzig. It was the first university in Germany to give women and girls the opportunity to acquire a scientifically based education, as well as the self-esteem and opportunity of financial independence entailed by a profound professional education — a privilege not widely available in that period. Presently, the school is a modern school centre for professional education of podologists, childcare and healthcare support workers, and a city college for health care and social professions.

Since 2005 the German Institute for Literature Leipzig (DLL) resides in a bourgeois villa in the Wächterstraße 34. This central institution of Leipzig University is devoted to the education of prospective German writers. A key objective of its study program in the fostering and reflexion of individual literarary projects and writing. The bachelor program addresses on a broad range of oeuvres in prosa, lyrics and scenic writing. The focus of the masters program is on developing a project for a novel. Regularly, the institute can be visited for readings and other public events.

The Leipzig Adult Education Center is the municipal continuing education center for all Leipzig residents. Founded in 1922, it offers over 4,000 course offerings every year with the help of around 750 freelance course instructors. Its tradition goes back to the Enlightenment and workers’ education movement. Today it stands for lifelong learning, a wide range of high-quality educational offerings, the combination of education, communication and experience, individual advice and competent service as well as socially acceptable remuneration. The Adult Education Center offers educational opportunities for all-round and professional development, interesting leisure activities and opportunities to get to know other people, exchange ideas, and share experiences.