Petersstraße (Peter Street), Leipzig

Petersstraße (Peter Street), Leipzig

Peter Street is a pedestrianized commercial street that connects the Market Square of Leipzig with Wilhelm-Leuschner-Square. It is part of the medieval Imperial Road (Via Imperii), possibly the oldest street in the city. One of the city's main shopping streets, it got its name from the Saint Peter's Chapel (Petrerskapelle), the site of the former Saint Peter's Church (1507-1885).

Important buildings on the street include the Three Kings House, the Concentrahaus, and the Greenlander House, the oldest house on the street, built in 1749-1751 by architect George Werner for the Haugk family. Above the door is a gold relief of a Greenlander in a boat. This goes back to a Haugk family story - a member of the family was saved on a voyage off Greenland. The narrow building with an owl on the roof a little further to the right was built for Otto Hoffmann’s bank by his brother Julius Hoffmann. The façade design picks up on the symbolism of a bank house.

A building complex, the Petershof, on the left of the old bank was once a toy fair building and a cinema called the Capitol. It was built from 1927 to 1929 according to plans by the Leipzig architect Alfred Liebig. In 2004 the Petershof was demolished, to be rebuilt in 2006 as an office building with underground parking. The original facade and most of the atrium were retained.

The new Peter Arcade (Petersbogen) holds a supermarket, the University of Law (Juridicum), a multiplex cinema with eight screens, and a library. The building complex includes businesses and some buildings destroyed in the allied air raid of December 4, 1943.

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Petersstraße (Peter Street) on Map

Sight Name: Petersstraße (Peter Street)
Sight Location: Leipzig, Germany (See walking tours in Leipzig)
Sight Type: Shopping
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Leipzig, Germany

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Create Your Own Walk in Leipzig

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Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.4 Km or 1.5 Miles