Every visit is special, but guests such as these make it extremely exciting: Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are visiting Leipzig on 8 May 2019 during their trip to Germany. They are planning half a day to view Leipzig's city centre, dividing their time between Bach and the Peaceful Revolution. Their programme includes St. Thomas Church, St. Nicholas Church and the Old Town Hall.
It is not the Royal Family's first visit to Germany, nor their first to Leipzig. In 1992, the Queen was a guest of the trade fair city of Leipzig. Two years ago, Prince William visited Berlin, Hamburg and Heidelberg with his wife and children. In 2015, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Berlin, Hesse and Lower Saxony. Thus relations between the two countries have been maintained and consolidated.
Leipzig is the second location on the itinerary of the royal visit. Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla will be arriving from Berlin and then continuing on to Munich after their stay in Leipzig.
Stop at the Old Town Hall
However, before they leave they will meet the citizens of the trade fair city. You can catch the couple in line to the throne in front of the Old Town Hall in the market square at 1:15 pm. They are stopping off there with Leipzig's Lord Mayor Burkhard Jung and the Minister-President of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer.
From Bach to the Peaceful Revolution
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall not only wish to see Leipzig, but also to learn something about the city. And what would Leipzig be without the music of Johann Sebastian Bach? The couple in line to the throne will listen to works by the most famous Leipzig choirmaster at St. Thomas Church, where Bach worked for many years. After a short concert by the St. Thomas boys' choir, Charles and Camilla will continue in Bach's footsteps, as the Old Town Hall is also particularly significant in his history. The only authentic portrait of the musician hangs there, where he also signed his employment relationship in 1723. In the rooms of the Old Town Hall, the Royals will meet with young people from Leipzig and the twin city of Birmingham and discuss the topic of sustainable development, which is the focus of a German-British school congress.
Afterwards, Prince Charles and his wife will dedicate time to another particularly important focus, the Peaceful Revolution. The last stop of the half-day walk is the St. Nikolas Church. Not only are Charles and Camilla visiting two of the city's most important and emblematic churches, but they will also learn about two outstanding events in Leipzig's history. Charles and Camilla's interest in the 1989 Leipzig civil peace movement is the final focus of their visit. At the St. Nikolas Church, the centre of the Peaceful Revolution, they will meet with civil rights activists to learn first hand about the events leading up to reunification.