The article explores the question what kind of economical impact late-medieval universities could make on their surrounding cities. By studying the sources for the university of Leipzig (founded in 1409) it can be shown, that despite a proportionately rather high amount of students in the city, the economic impact should not be overestimated. Consumption of beer and other consumables might have boosted the business volume of local markets, but not to such a degree, that cities would profit from universities on a higher scale. On the contrary, late-mediavel univerities could only survive in cities with a thriving market already in place. Where universities really could make an impact was the market for books and prints, especially since the consumption of documents of all forms war always high amdits the student body.