Massive Augustusplatz may look nondescript at best, and foreboding at worst, but it is actually flanked by some of Leipzig's most famous buildings, including the Gewandhaus and the opera house . On its western front, the 11-story Kroch-Haus was Leipzig's first high-rise and is topped by a clock and two buff sentries. More eyecatching is the glass-fronted Paulinum , the university church and new campus building, which is being constructed on the same spot as the medieval Paulinerkirche that was demolished in 1968 by GDR authorities. Delays to the construction have plagued the project, but it should be open in 2016. The boldly modern structure is by Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat.
