In the page's words:

Cultural Foundation Leipzig

The Alte Nikolaischule - a house of culture

The Leipzig Cultural Foundation is a child of the peaceful revolution in the autumn of 1989. 14 intellectuals, artists, scientists and clergymen met on January 26, 1990 in what was then the artists' café in the historic "Coffebaum" in Kleine Fleischergasse, where council meetings were still held in the first year of the foundation. The occasion was the plan to establish a Leipzig "Foundation for the Protection of Monuments and the Environment". In view of the ruinous state of Leipzig's buildings and the environmental pollution, which had reached unbearable proportions at the end of the GDR era, the foundation's objectives were obvious. The men of the first hour were Heinz-Jürgen Böhme, Gunter Böhnke, Günter Hanisch, Werner Heiduczek, Horst Hennig, Wolfgang Hocquél, Bernd-Lutz Lange, Friedrich Magirius, Kurt Masur, Wolfgang Mattheuer, Kurt Nowak, Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, Manfred Unger and Bernd Weinkauf. In the period that followed, the foundation's work and organization had to be developed and efforts made to secure the foundation's financial resources and thus its ability to operate. At the beginning, 15 private individuals, associations and companies were won over to the foundation's cause and made the start possible with donations of around DM 27,000. A charity concert by the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Frankfurt am Main, conducted and initiated by Prof. Kurt Masur, was decisive in increasing the foundation's capital by DM 500,000. Also in 1990, a cultural raffle was organized in Frankfurt am Main together with the International Bankers Forum e.V. at the International Frankfurt Bankers Ball, the proceeds of which went to the Cultural Foundation. In 1993, the Leipzig Culture Days were opened in Cologne under the patronage of the then Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Johannes Rau, with another benefit concert by the Gewandhaus Orchestra initiated by Prof. Kurt Masur, and numerous cultural events took place, including a performance by the Thomanerchor, theater performances, presentations of documentary films and contributions from the fields of literature, fine arts, monument preservation and environmental protection. In October 1989, similar cultural days of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia had already taken place in Leipzig.

The Leipzig Cultural Foundation was registered on January 18, 1991 with the number 1 in the list of foundations of the Leipzig Regional Council. Prior to this, there was a transitional approval from the Leipzig District Council. The first Board of Trustees was elected in the second half of 1990. It was made up of personalities, most of whom were also founding members. The Board of Trustees elected both the President and the Board of Directors from among its members.