Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig

The Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig is a museum devoted to the history of German division, everyday life in East Germany, and the reunification process. As a branch of the Foundation House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany, it opened in 1999 on the tenth anniversary of the massive Leipzig demonstration. The permanent exhibition, which covers 2,000 square meters (about 21,500 square feet), takes you from the postwar era to the present day and sheds particular light on the revolutionary upheavals of 1989 in the very place where they happened. Since its overhaul in 2018, the period after reunification has also moved more strongly into focus, with topics such as digitalization and globalization. More than 2,000 objects, photos, films, and eyewitness interviews illustrate this history. In front of the entrance stands the bronze sculpture "Der Jahrhundertschritt" (The Step of the Century) by Wolfgang Mattheuer, which has become the museum's landmark. The offerings are rounded out by temporary exhibitions covering 450 square meters (about 4,850 square feet) as well as in the foyer. Admission is free, and the museum also houses the artistic estate of the married couple Edith and Johannes Hegenbarth.