'Forty years ago, faith and science were to be separated, yet they do belong together. It is good that in future they will have a common ground at the Leipzig Augustus Square.'
Jochen Bohl, former Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Saxony, on 30 May 2008 in his sermon during the memorial service in the St Nikolai Church in Leipzig on the fortieth anniversary of the demolition of the University Church in Leipzig.


Bronze sculpture of the blown up, old University Church together with the new opened building
     



Preamble to the Foundation 'University Church of St Paul, Leipzig'
The establishment of the Foundation 'University Church of St Paul, Leipzig' is inspired by the ambition to revive the University Church as an intellectual, spiritual and cultural centre of the University of Leipzig, as close to its historic model as possible, after it had been blown up in an act of cultural barbarism on 30 May 1968 at the behest of the SED. The Foundation promotes the creation and use of a structural and functional unit of the site as a church and assembly hall of the University. Its purpose is to be a memorial and to maintain the unique and rich significance of the site for the history of the humanities, theology and music and as an open space for the encounter between science and the Christian faith. As church and assembly hall it is to be a symbol of tolerance, respect and reconciliation and a sign against violence and tyranny. The restoration of the University Church will create a space of encounter for the University to use for occasional events, exhibitions and concerts and as a space for worship and a place of remembrance for members of the University and the people of Leipzig. The recovery of the University Church is a sign of protest of the people against the injustice of the demolition, against forgetting and ignoring the culture of the urban built environment, which has been marked by the church for centuries.