The first marketplace of the Slavic settlement of Lipsk was further north at the crossing point of Via Regia and Via Imperii in the area of today's Richard Wagner Square. After the incorporation of Leipzig into the German Reich, it was relocated to its current location. From then on it formed the center of public life. A large part of the goods turnover at the Leipzig Fair took place here before it was converted into a model fair in the late 19th century and a separate presentation room was created with the old fairgrounds.
Before 1500, a total of twelve knight games took place on the market as cultural highlights. The first town houses were built in the 16th century, such as Hommels Hof, Baarmanns Hof and the Eckoldsche Haus, in which the lawyer and philosopher Christian Thomasius was born in 1655. In addition to the royal house that still existed, imposing baroque buildings were the Jöchersche Haus (built in 1707), Stieglitzens Hof (built in 1733), Aeckerleins Hof (built in 1714) and Kochs Hof (built in 1735).
The market was also a court of law. According to city council records, executions had been carried out at the market since 1525. The last execution in the city took place in 1824, it was carried out on the wig maker Johann Christian Woyzeck, who had stabbed his lover out of jealousy.
The market was called Peace Square from 1950 to 1954.
Source: Wikipedia