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The project “Leipzig, city in a state of flux. Urban-fluvial symbiosis in a long-term perspective” focuses on Leipzig’s evolution as a city of water, pre-industrial water management, and the historical use of the city’s floodplains. At a kick-off meeting last week, the interdisciplinary project team of researchers from Leipzig University and the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), together with other external project partners, took a walk along the ditches that still exist in Leipzig.

The project is part of Priority Programme 2361, On the Way to the Fluvial Anthroposphere, which is being funded by the German Research Foundation from 2023 to 2026. It is investigating the pre-industrial floodplains in Central Europe and the fluvial societies that operated there.

“Our research findings inform today’s efforts to protect the environment and prevent flooding, and will be made accessible to a wider audience through an exhibition at Leipzig’s Museum of City History,” says Professor Julia Schmidt-Funke, Professor of Early Modern History, who is involved in the project.