[1] The main buildings of the Fair town are grouped round the Augustusplatz, which, in spite of an enormous amount of traffic, is very dignified and is the headquarters of commercial life of Leipzig.It is now dominated by the Opernhaus[3] on its northern edge, the Neues Gewandhaus[4] (with the Mendebrunnen)[5] on southern side, and the main buildings of the University of Leipzig, including the City-Hochhaus Leipzig[6] on the western side bordering the city centre.

[10][11] From 1996 to 1998 an underground car park was built under the Augustusplatz with many entrances and ventilation shafts leading on to the square, the construction of which proved controversial.

On 9 October 2009, a public art object by the artist Via Lewandowsky, the Democracy Bell, was unveiled opposite the curve of the tram tracks at Grimmaische Strasse.

The bell rings every Monday at 6:35 p.m., which was around the time the demonstration began, also every 9 October at 10:30 a.m., and every day between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. within each full hour randomly with one up to twelve beats.

If the middle lane is closed during events, tram traffic is guaranteed by the fact that the affected lines can turn from the stop on the inner city ring into Grimmaischer Steinweg via a connecting curve.