The Free State of Saxony is a state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area (18,413 km²) and the sixth largest in population (4.3 million), of Germany's sixteen states.

Located in the historical heart of German-speaking Europe, the history of the state of Saxony spans more than a millennium. It has been a medieval duchy, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, a kingdom and, since 1918, a republic.

During the early Middle Ages the term Saxony referred to the region occupied by today's states of Lower Saxony and northern North Rhine-Westphalia. The term Saxon does not always correlate with Saxony: a Saxon is not necessarily an inhabitant of Saxony (e.g. Saxon people, Anglo-Saxons or Transylvanian Saxons).

Tourism
Except for Dresden and perhaps Leipzig, Saxony is not known as a primary destination for foreign tourists. Areas along the border with the Czech Republic, such as the Lusatian Mountains, Ore Mountains, Saxon Switzerland, and Vogtland, attract significant visitors, largely Germans. Saxony has well preserved historic towns such as Meissen, Freiberg, Pirna, Bautzen, and Görlitz.

Languages
The most common patois spoken in Saxony are combined in the group of "Thuringian and Upper Saxon dialects". Due to the incorrect usage of "Saxon dialects" in colloquial language, the Upper Saxon attribute has been added to distinguish it from Old Saxon and Low Saxon. Other German dialects spoken in Saxony are the dialects of the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), which have been affected by Upper Saxon dialects, and the dialects of the Vogtland, which are more affected by the East Franconian languages.

Upper Sorbian (a Slavic language) is still actively spoken in the parts of Upper Lusatia that are occupied by the Sorbian minority. The Germans in Upper Lusatia speak distinct dialects of their own (Lusatian dialects).

Leipzig is, with a population of 515,459, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany and in the New states of Germany. It was after East Berlin the largest city in East Germany before German reunification.

Main sights
St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche): Most famous as the place where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor and home to the renowned boys choir Thomanerchor
In front of this church stands a monument to Felix Mendelssohn. Destroyed by the Nazis in 1936, it was rebuilt on October 18, 2008.
Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Battle of the Nations Monument): the largest monument in Europe, built to commemorate the victorious battle against Napoleonic troops
Gewandhaus: home to the famous Gewandhaus Orchestra, it is the third building of that name
Altes Rathaus: the old city hall was built in 1556 and houses a museum of the city's history
Neues Rathaus: the new city hall was built upon the remains of the Pleißenburg, a castle that was the site of the 1519 debate between Johann Eck and Martin Luther in 1519
City-Hochhaus Leipzig: built in 1972, it was once part of the university and is the city's tallest building
Auerbachs Keller: a young Goethe ate and drank here while studying in Leipzig; it is the venue of a scene from his Faust
Städtisches Kaufhaus (municipal department store): the world's first sample fair building and today home to offices, retail stores, restaurants and interim classrooms for the University of Leipzig (its name is misleading, as it is privately owned)
Bundesverwaltungsgericht: Germany's federal administrative court was the site of the Reichsgericht, the highest state court between 1888 and 1945
The Leipzig Botanical Garden is the oldest botanical garden in Germany

Among Leipzig's noteworthy institutions are the opera house and the Leipzig Zoo, the latter of which houses the world's largest facilities for primates. The St. Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche) was the starting point of peaceful Monday demonstrations for the reunification of Germany. Leipzig's international trade fair in the north of the city is home to the world's largest levitated glass hall. Leipzig is also known for its passageways through houses and buildings.

Music and Arts in Leipzig
Johann Sebastian Bach worked in Leipzig from 1723 to 1750, at the St. Thomas Lutheran church, and Richard Wagner the composer was born in Leipzig in 1813, in the Brühl. Robert Schumann was also active in Leipzig music, having been invited by Felix Mendelssohn when the latter established Germany's first musical conservatoire in the city in 1843. Gustav Mahler was second conductor (working under Artur Nikisch) at the Leipzig Theater from June 1886 until May 1888, and achieved his first great recognition while there by completing and publishing Carl Maria von Weber's opera Die Drei Pintos, and Mahler also completed his own 1st Symphony while living there.

This conservatoire is today the University of Music and Theatre. A broad range of subjects can be studied, both artistic and teacher training, in all orchestral instruments, voice, interpretation, coaching, piano chamber music, orchestral conducting, choir conducting and musical composition. Musical styles include jazz, popular music, musicals, early music and church music. The drama departments teach acting and dramaturgy. Advanced students may, after a test, stand in for members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. As at 2006, approximately 900 students were enrolled at the school.

The city's musical tradition is also reflected in the worldwide fame of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the choir of the St. Thomas Church.

Leipzig is known for its independent music scene and subcultural events. Its most famous indie-labels are Moon Harbour Recordings and Kann Records.

As for contemporary music, Leipzig has for more than 10 years been home to the world's largest electronic music festival, the annual Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT), where thousands of electro fans from across Europe gather in the early summer.

The city’s contemporary arts highlight is the Neo Rauch retrospective opening in April 2010 at the Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts. This is a show devoted to the father of the New Leipzig School of artists. According to the New York Times, this scene "has been the toast of the contemporary art world" in the past decade. Further there are eleven galleries in the so-called Spinnerei, a former cotton mill that attracts all kinds of independent artists.