From 19 May to 21 May 2025, an excursion to Leipzig took place as part of the workshop Old High German Lexicography - Working on the Old High German Dictionary organised and conducted by Barbara Aehnlich. The course spent the first two days of this excursion visiting the Old High German dictionary at the Saxon Academy of Sciences.

After a very warm welcome from the academy's staff, the visit began on Monday with a very interesting and comprehensive introduction to the work centre and the working methods of the Old High German dictionary. It was very interesting to learn more about the background and current developments of the project. After a brief refreshment, the students were given a guided tour of the research centre and the archive to gain further insights into the work at the Academy and thus also a first idea of how much work has already been invested in the lexicographical project by all those involved and will continue to be invested.

The first day ended with a presentation and guided tour of the so-called Hortulus theodiscus, a small garden that the employees built based on a historical model, the botanical didactic poem De cultura hortorum (On Horticulture) by Carolingian abbot Walahfrid Strabo.

The second day of the excursion began early at the Academy of Sciences. As part of micro-practicals, the students were given the opportunity to take a closer look at the individual processes involved in working on the Old High German dictionary and the very extensive work steps involved. In small groups, they took part in various stations that conveyed key aspects of lexicographical work. They practised creating an article header, learnt about the structure of a dictionary article and a word section and tried their hand at writing an article themselves using selected examples. They were also given an insight into the latest digital tools and the laborious final editing of a word section. In this way, the students were able to gain further exciting insights into the daily tasks and challenges that this work entails.

A lunch break for the students and staff in the academy's small garden with delicious sourdough focaccia was followed by a visit to the university library. Here, the excursion participants had the opportunity to take a closer look at some old manuscripts, some of which date back to the 9th/10th century. 
After this visit, they returned to the academy for a short ‘Music lesson from the Old High German period’, during which the students were given an insight into the treatise De musica by the monk Notker of St. Gallen, as well as an interesting musical performance on the so-called monochord. This evening also ended in the Hortulus theodiscus of the Saxon Academy.
On the third and final day of the excursion, the group took a trip to the German Museum of Books and Writing near the German National Library, where they were given a guided tour and learnt a great deal about the history of writing from the beginnings of the alphabet to book printing and beyond. After this visit, the return journey to Bremen began.

All in all, the three days of the excursion were a very interesting time with many impressions and exciting insights into the work of the Old High German dictionary at the Academy of Sciences and into German language history as well as the developments in German writing and book production over the course of time, an endeavour for which the book city of Leipzig provided an excellent backdrop.