Dark days at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig

Just as Whitsun arrives each year, tens of thousands of people dressed in black also arrive to the the beautiful city of Leipzig.

The annual Wave-Gotik-Treffen is one of the largest sub-culture events in the world. Fans of genres such as gothic, industrial, EBM and much more are drawn to the city where Johann Sebastian Bach once roamed the streets.

It’s such a bliss to be able to wander around and explore the stages and performances scattered across the city. Walk under the trees around Parkbühne with bands playing at the stage. See a spoken word performance by Lydia Lunch at a cinema. Navigate the crowd under the ceiling paintings of Absintherie Sixtina. Meeting familiar faces at Sleepy Lion.

Pagan market at Moritzbastei.

Hundreds of bands are performing each year at the festival, but Wave-Gotik-Treffen is so much more than only concerts. The entire town comes alive and in every corner there is someone passing with bells on their feet. It happened to be Stadtfestival at the same weekend as Wave-Gotik-Treffen, so the streets were extra crammed with people.

At the old Moritzbastei, the only remains of the ancient fortifications from year 1554, there is a medieval pagan market in the sun. But most of us black-clad vampires ventured beneath the brick vaults, into the dark tunnels and onto great dance floors.

New Town Hall has the tallest city hall tower in Germany.

The large hall of Agra is where the largest bands are playing. The reunion of Nitzer Ebb featured a hyperactive Douglas McCarthy backed up by energetic Bon Harris and a vibrant Kourtney Klein on live drums. I also enjoyed Deine Lakaien (where large men dressed in chains were moved to tears by the voice of Alexander Veljanov), Clan of Xymox and more in the hall.

Until next time, Leipzig!