Summer Festival Historic Museum Borsdorf

30 Years Hirtenhaus Local History Museum

The Hirtenhaus Local History Museum in Borsdorf, a municipality in the Leipzig district transitioning from the Leipzig Lowland to the Mulde region, celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026. The Borsdorf Local History Association established the historic Hirtenhaus – a preserved former residence of the village shepherd – as a museum in 1996 and has developed it over three decades into one of the best-documented local histories in the region.

The summer festival on July 18, 2026, is the central anniversary event. Integrated into the program is the special exhibition 'Wilhelm Liebknecht in Borsdorf Exile', shown on the occasion of the 200th birthday of the co-founder of the German Social Democracy. Liebknecht lived in Borsdorf from 1881 to 1890 – a period during which he repeatedly commuted between exile, imprisonment, and political activity due to Bismarck's Anti-Socialist Laws.

Wilhelm Liebknecht in Borsdorf Exile

The Liebknecht episode makes Borsdorf one of the historically little-known but significant places of German Social Democracy. Wilhelm Liebknecht (1826–1900), co-founder of the Social Democratic Workers' Party and father of Karl Liebknecht, used his stay in Borsdorf as a phase of retreat and work. The special exhibition documents these years – letters, press clippings, memories – and adds an accent to Borsdorf's history beyond the usual village chronicles.

Borsdorf in the Leipziger Neuseenland

Borsdorf is located about 15 km east of Leipzig, at the transition between the Leipzig Lowland and the Mulde Valley, in the Leipzig district. The municipality belongs to the so-called Leipziger Neuseenland – a landscape that has been transformed in recent decades from abandoned lignite mining areas into a recreational area. Visitors to the summer festival can combine their stay with a walk on the Markkleeberger See or a visit to neighboring Brandis.