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16-462: It is sometimes known as the "Museums in the Grassi", or as the "New" Grassi Museum (to distinguish it from the older building with this name, now home to the municipal library). The museum is named after Franz Dominic Grassi , a Leipzig businessman of Italian descent, who bequeathed over two million marks to the city upon his death in 1880. This helped pay for a number of new constructions, including

32-604: A main concert hall and a chamber music hall. During this era the Gewandhaus was directed by some of the most renowned conductors of the day, such as Arthur Nikisch , Wilhelm Furtwängler and Bruno Walter . It was severely damaged in the firebombing of Leipzig in World War II during two separate raids on 4 December 1943 and 20 February 1944. Despite initial plans for rebuilding, the East German government deemed

48-530: A merchant in Leipzig who was of Italian descent. Through his extensive heritage to the city, it was possible to construct numerous monuments and buildings. He was born as son of Franz Josef Grassi (merchant and financier) and his wife Rossi. The family originate from central Italy and immigrated to Leipzig. After his commercial training and numerous trips abroad, he founded his own trading firm for Russian products, indigo dye and tropical fruits in Leipzig. After

64-467: A new building, to be paid for with the Grassi bequest. The winning firm designed a building with elements of New Objectivity and Art Deco , based around several courtyards. It was built from 1925 to 1929 (one of the few new museums of the Weimar Era ), on the site of the old Johannis Hospital. The urban planner Hubert Ritter had intended for it to be the starting point of an eastward expansion of

80-516: A toothpick. Grassi is buried at the Alter Johannisfriedhof ("Old St. John's Cemetery"). Although Grassi largely considered in his testament even distant relatives, godchildren and servants, he left the city a fortune of 2.327 million Gold Mark (approx. 23 million euro). From this property numerous construction projects, parks and monuments have been supported, some of which were destroyed during World War II ( New Gewandhaus and

96-636: The Gewandhaus and the Mende Fountain , as well as the "Old Grassi Museum". Built from 1892 to 1895 on the Königsplatz (now Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz), this originally housed the Museum of Ethnography and the Museum of Arts and Crafts , and is now the municipal library. The old museum became too small for the collections, prompting its director to call for an architecture competition to design

112-629: The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in New Zealand. The Grassi Museum hosts an annual trade fair in October, the Grassimesse, whose origins go back to 1920. 51°20′15″N 12°23′18″E  /  51.33750°N 12.38833°E  / 51.33750; 12.38833 Franz Dominic Grassi Franz Dominic Grassi (* 11 May 1801 in Leipzig ; † 14 November 1880 Leipzig) was

128-622: The TU Chemnitz endow the "Franz Dominic Grassi Prize" for services to promote the German-Italian trade and economic relations. Gewandhaus Gewandhaus ( German: [ɡəˈvanthaʊs] ) is a concert hall in Leipzig , the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra . Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. The first concert hall

144-630: The Museum of Applied Arts did not reopen until 2007. It is a historically preserved building, and is one of around 20 so-called "Cultural Lighthouses" in the German government's Blue Book of culturally significant sites in the former East Germany . As such, it is a member of the Konferenz Nationaler Kultureinrichtungen . In 2023 the museum was one of seven German museums to return Māori and Moriori remains to

160-514: The city. It contained originally the Johannis Church, demolished in 1963. The New Grassi Museum was severely bombed in 1943, with the loss of tens of thousands of items. Rebuilding began in 1947, with the first exhibitions in 1954. It was closed from 1981 to 1985 due to a problem with the heating system. It was completely renovated from 2001 to 2005, including the removal of some of the front windows. It reopened partly in 2005, though

176-480: The death of his father in 1847, he operated mostly in the speculation and exchange business. After the death of his mother in 1854, he retired completely from active commercial life. Grassi remained a unmarried all his life. He was a theater and horse lover, and therefore one of the founders of the Leipzig racing club. He also supported Leipzig citizens, who were in emergency situations. Grassi wad also popularly called "The Wood Sucker" because of his habit of chewing on

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192-725: The museums on Augustusplatz . Of the remaining buildings is the Grassi Museum at Johannisplatz, the "Old Grassi Museum" (now Leipzig city library) and the Mendebrunnen mention. Furthermore parts of the money was used for the erection of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal , and the monuments for Johann Sebastian Bach and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . Since 2002 the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Germany and

208-561: The original hall. The foundation stone was laid by conductor Kurt Masur on 8 November 1977. The architect was Rudolf Skoda , who like his predecessor Dauthe was also a native of Leipzig. The design of the hall carefully took into consideration its precedents' reputation for excellent acoustics . During construction, the hall was even filled up several times with soldiers of the East German Nationale Volksarmee to test its sound quality at full capacity. During

224-559: The ruins too structurally unsound, and they were demolished on 29 March 1968. The site was used as a carpark for several decades, until the Humanities faculty of Leipzig University was opened on the grounds in 2002. The third and current Gewandhaus on Augustusplatz and the eastern part of the inner city ring road opened on 8 October 1981, two hundred years after the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra moved into

240-494: Was constructed in 1781 by architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe inside the Gewandhaus , a building used by cloth (garment) merchants. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (The Emperor Concerto ) premiered here in 1811. Felix Mendelssohn is particularly associated with the first Gewandhaus, of which he was director from 1835. Other well-known works which premiered at the Altes Gewandhaus include: The Altes Gewandhaus

256-580: Was used for concerts until 1884, sporadically between then until 1886. Despite several expansions, it eventually became too small to accommodate the burgeoning number of concertgoers from Germany's newly emergent middle class. Thus between 1893 and 1896 it was repurposed, partially demolished, and refitted to form an annexe of the Städtisches Kaufhaus . The second Gewandhaus was designed by Martin Gropius . It opened on 11 December 1884, and had

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