Armenia
and
Saxony

Relations between Saxony and Armenia were established in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when a large number of Armenian merchants settled in Leipzig, especially for the fur trade, and in Dresden for tobacco production. During this time, the University of Leipzig became attractive to Armenian students, and a group of them founded the first Armenian organization in Germany, the Armenian Academic Association, in 1860.

After the Second World War, when Soviet military bases were stationed in East Germany from 1958, many Armenians were temporarily stationed as soldiers at military bases in various cities in Saxony such as Leipzig, Chemnitz, Dresden, and Wurzen. Many of the Armenian soldiers who served in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s settled here when they left or completed their service. Thus, the Armenians who have settled in Saxony and East Germany in general since the 1990s are mainly former members of the Soviet army.

The number of Armenians in Saxony, as in the whole of Germany, increased after the collapse of the Soviet Union due to the difficult socio-economic situation of the Republic of Armenia, the war in Artsakh, and the war in Syria.

The Armenian community in Leipzig has been active since the early 2000s, but it was only registered as a cultural association in December 2018, organizing numerous cultural events.

Saxon-Armenian relations took on a new dimension when Prof. Dr. Lucas Flöther was appointed Honorary Consul in the Free State of Saxony in February 2021.

Another notable event that has contributed to the deepening of Armenian-Saxon relations is the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the two cities of Leipzig and Yerevan on September 13, 2021.

The Honorary Consulate of Saxony has many visions to ensure more multi-layered and deeper relations between Armenia and Saxony. Many programs and projects have already been implemented and are being carried out during the three years of the consulate's existence.