About Ahoi

Ahoi

Ahoi is an independent city magazine for Leipzig and its surrounding region in Saxony, published monthly in free print and digitally at ahoi-leipzig.de. Reporting on culture, leisure, family, gastronomy and city life, it positions itself as the magazine for the city — combining free print distribution with a city portal, a monthly newsletter and social media channels. The magazine is published by Media-Dampfer – Verlag und Beratung, with Stefan Felgenhauer serving as publisher and editor-in-chief, from offices on the Brühl in central Leipzig — a location in the historic city center that places the editorial team within walking distance of the cultural venues it covers.

Overview

Ahoi belongs to the German Stadtmagazin tradition: a locally produced magazine that tells residents what is happening in their city and where to go. Its editorial scope covers the full breadth of urban life — cultural events and the arts, leisure activities and excursions, family topics, the gastronomy scene, and the everyday questions of city living. The magazine appears monthly in print, distributed free of charge, and operates the ahoi-leipzig.de portal as a continuously updated city platform with news, articles and event information.

The magazine's self-description emphasizes independence and local roots: an independent city magazine for Leipzig and the region, reporting for many years on the topics that move the city. Its tone is service-oriented and close to readers' lives — interviews with local personalities, portraits of neighborhoods and initiatives, tips for events, cafés and family outings, and coverage of the civic debates that shape Leipzig, from mobility and public space to social projects. A monthly newsletter, sent on the first Friday of each month, extends the brand into readers' inboxes with stories, event tips and subscriber-only competitions.

Leipzig, Saxony's largest city, provides a rich editorial territory: a growing metropolis with a strong cultural scene, a large student population, vibrant subcultures and the transformation dynamics of a city that has reinvented itself since reunification. From the clubs and galleries of the city's former industrial quarters to the family neighborhoods and the surrounding lakes and forests, the magazine's coverage area spans the urban and the regional. Ahoi positions itself within that landscape as an innovative city medium, combining print and digital from a single source and cultivating close community engagement.

History

Ahoi was established as Leipzig's independent city magazine, published by Media-Dampfer – Verlag und Beratung, a Leipzig publishing and consulting company based at Brühl 6 in the city center. Under publisher and editor-in-chief Stefan Felgenhauer, the magazine developed the classic city-magazine model for the Leipzig market: a free monthly print magazine financed by local advertising, combined with a digital portal and social media presence.

Over the years, the magazine built its position in Leipzig's media landscape — a market that includes the long-established Kreuzer city magazine, the Leipziger Volkszeitung daily and various digital competitors. Ahoi's answer to that competition has been the combination of free print distribution, which gives it physical presence in the city's cafés, shops and cultural venues, with digital formats that reach readers between issues. The newsletter, the portal's daily updates and the social media channels on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn form a multi-channel presence unusual for a local independent title.

The magazine has also pursued collaborative storytelling projects with local and regional partners, producing editorial and visual content with high local relevance — a strategy that serves both the editorial mission and the advertising business, giving regional partners a credible platform within the magazine's independent journalism.

Coverage and Content

The print magazine's monthly issues mix the classic city-magazine formats: features on Leipzig people, places and ideas; cultural coverage spanning music, stage, literature and film; gastronomy reporting on the city's restaurants and cafés; family and leisure content with excursion tips; and service journalism on city life. Interviews are a signature format — the magazine's editors conduct in-depth conversations with local figures, from artists and activists to organizers and entrepreneurs, often exploring the less-visible sides of city issues.

The ahoi-leipzig.de portal publishes news and articles on a rolling basis, organized by topic: culture, music, film, art, family, excursion destinations and local news including the "Blaulicht" (emergency services) reports. Recent coverage demonstrates the breadth: from the Jewish culture year and chamber music festivals to pigeon-welfare initiatives, care-leaver support projects, cinema anniversaries and debates on mobility during the European Mobility Week. This mix of cultural journalism, civic reporting and practical service content defines the portal's character — a city magazine that takes both pleasure and responsibility seriously.

The newsletter curates the month's highlights for subscribers: stories that bring Leipzig's people, places and ideas to life, exclusive tips for events, cafés and family outings, and competitions available only to subscribers. Reader testimonials quoted by the magazine suggest the newsletter is valued as a discovery tool — a way to encounter sides of Leipzig even long-time residents had not known. Event dates can be submitted to the editorial team free of charge, making the magazine a platform for the city's cultural organizers as well as its readers.

Organization and Ownership

Ahoi is published by Media-Dampfer – Verlag und Beratung, based at Brühl 6, 04109 Leipzig. The company's name — "Media-Steamer" — nods to Leipzig's river and canal landscape and to the idea of steady forward motion. Stefan Felgenhauer is both publisher (Herausgeber) and editorial director (Redaktionsleitung, V.i.S.d.P.), giving the magazine a clear personal leadership. The imprint lists contact details for the editorial team, event submissions and advertising, following the transparency requirements of German press law.

The commercial model is that of the free city magazine: local and regional advertising — from gastronomy, culture, retail and services — finances the free print distribution, while digital advertising, newsletter sponsorships and cooperative storytelling projects with partners provide additional revenue. The magazine's own communications describe the formula as content with added value, long-term visibility and credible communication, print and digital from one hand. The editorial team includes staff for online marketing, social media and PR alongside the editors and contributors, reflecting the multi-channel nature of the operation. Concept, design and programming of the digital platforms are handled by an external agency, Kallinich Media.

Digital Presence

ahoi-leipzig.de is the magazine's digital headquarters: a city portal with continuously published articles, news, event information and service content, organized by topic channels. The site integrates video content, photo galleries and social sharing, and its article pages demonstrate active editorial production with current reporting on Leipzig affairs. The portal's design serves both readers planning their leisure time and those following the city's cultural and civic debates.

The monthly newsletter, dispatched on the first Friday of each month, is a key audience channel: free to subscribe, GDPR-compliant and cancellable at any time, it delivers curated stories, event tips and subscriber competitions. On social media, Ahoi maintains active profiles on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, used to distribute articles, promote the print issues and engage with the Leipzig community — the visual platforms carrying the magazine's photography and event content to younger audiences, while LinkedIn reaches the professional readership. For an independent local magazine, this digital infrastructure is the growth engine: the free print magazine provides the physical anchor in the city's venues, while the portal, newsletter and social channels build the daily relationship with readers that sustains the brand between monthly issues, year after year, in print and online.