800 years of Leipzig's water history
11.03.2026 – 17.05.2026
Studio exhibition
Leipzig Museum of City History, Böttchergäßchen Building, Böttchergäßchen 3, 04109 Leipzig


How does water shape a city – and how does a city shape its waters? The exhibition guides visitors through eight centuries of the history of water and landscape in Leipzig. Through historical maps, technical devices, archival documents, and modern scientific insights, it reveals how closely the city’s development has been intertwined with the rivers Pleiße, Elster, and Parthe. 

The exhibition highlights the changing courses of these rivers and the far-reaching human interventions that transformed them: from medieval mill channels and early drinking water systems to technological innovations and conflicts over resource use, pollution, and flood protection. Impressive maps from the 16th to the 18th century bring the diversity and dynamism of Leipzig’s floodplain landscape to life. 

At the same time, the exhibition sheds light on past environmental risks and challenges – extreme floods, poor sanitation, and the impact of local industries on water quality. A dedicated section demonstrates how scientific knowledge emerges and evolves: sediment cores, microscope slides, and modern analytical techniques illustrate how researchers today reconstruct river history and trace environmental change. 

Bringing together urban history, natural landscapes, and scientific discovery, the exhibition paints a vivid and cohesive picture: Leipzig – a city in flux.

A studio exhibition by the Museum of City History Leipzig and the research project “Leipzig, 
City in a State of Flux: Urban-Fluvial Symbiosis in a Long-Term Perspective”, conducted by 
the Chairs of Early Modern History and Physical Geography at Leipzig University and 
the Humans and Environment Department of the GWZO.

The exhibition is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the 
Priority Programme 2361 “On the Way to the Fluvial Anthroposphere”.