Mädler-Passage: Leipzig Travel Guide (4.7★)

A Milanese arcade on Grimmaische Straße

Look up as soon as you walk in. The glass roof runs above stone facades and polished shopfronts. Suitcase manufacturer Anton Mädler had the passage built between 1912 and 1914 as a trade-fair building. It was modelled on Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and the resemblance is deliberate.

The arcade stands at Grimmaische Str. 2-4 and cuts through the block to Neumarkt. That makes it a covered shortcut between the Markt and the streets to the south. Under the central rotunda hangs a carillon of Meissen porcelain bells, which plays at set times through the day.

It is well-visited, so expect company. People come for the architecture, and they also come for Goethe.

Faust at the door

Two bronze groups flank the stairs down to Auerbachs Keller. On one side, Faust and Mephisto. On the other, the students Mephisto bewitches in the cellar scene of Faust I. Goethe drank here as a law student in Leipzig, and he set that scene in this very cellar.

The restaurant is still open and still serves Saxon food in vaulted rooms. Some of those rooms carry murals of the Faust legend.

What to look for:

• Faust’s left shoe, rubbed to a golden shine by visitors hoping for luck
• The porcelain carillon in the rotunda
• The Neumarkt exit, quieter than the Grimmaische Straße end
• Specks Hof and Barthels Hof, other old trade-fair passages a few minutes away

Getting the arcade to yourself

Timing matters more here than almost anywhere in the old town. On Saturdays, 11am to 6pm is the busiest stretch, with shoppers and tour groups crowding the rotunda. Avoid it if you want photos without strangers in them.

At the moment the shops open 10am–7pm Monday to Friday and close an hour earlier on Saturdays, at 6pm. The passage is closed on Sundays. A weekday visit soon after 10am gives you the clearest view down the arcade.

Some etiquette:

• Rub the shoe, then step aside. A queue forms at the statue, and lingering holds everyone up.
• Book Auerbachs Keller ahead for dinner, especially during the Leipzig fairs and in December. Its hours are separate from the arcade’s, so check the restaurant’s own site.
• Pay and tip the German way. Cards are widely accepted, but carry some cash for smaller businesses. When you pay, tell the server the total you want to give, rounded up. Don’t leave the tip on the table.
• Keep your voice down on the cellar stairs, because diners below can hear the passage.

Half an hour, then the old town

The arcade alone takes 20–30 minutes. Allow two hours if you eat downstairs. The nearest rail stop is Leipzig Markt, on the City-Tunnel S-Bahn lines, a short walk across the Markt.

From the Grimmaische Straße entrance you are steps from the Altes Rathaus and its Renaissance gables. Nikolaikirche, where the 1989 Monday demonstrations began, is a few minutes east. Thomaskirche, Bach’s church, is a short walk west along Thomasgasse.

A good short loop is Markt, then Mädler-Passage, then out at Neumarkt. From there, carry on to the Moritzbastei or back towards the Thomaskirche for the Thomanerchor if a service is on. Check the church’s schedule before you go.