The city of Chemnitz is located in the west of the Free State of
Saxony. It is located at the foot of the Ore Mountains in the
Kesseltal of the Chemnitz river of the same name, which forms from
the Zwönitz and Würschnitz near Altchemnitz and flows into the
Zwickau Mulde after 82 km between Wechselburg and Lunzenau. Chemnitz
describes itself as the city of modernity.
Emerging from a
Benedictine monastery, the imperial city of Chemnitz was founded in
the 12th century. After the city had repeatedly been pledged to the
Meissen margraves in the 13th century, it elected Margrave Friedrich
the Freidigen as its patron bailiff in 1308 and was given to Meissen
as a pledge by Johann von Böhmen as imperial vicar in 1311 and by
Emperor Ludwig in 1329. Although badly affected by the Hussite Wars,
Chemnitz soon rose again, and also as Wilhelm III. had burned down
the city in the civil war (1449), it quickly rose again. When Saxony
was divided (August 26, 1485), Chemnitz fell to the Ernestine Line
and in 1539 accepted the Reformation. During the Schmalkaldic War it
fell to Duke Moritz, but was soon snatched away from him by Elector
Johann Friedrich. The Thirty Years War completely destroyed the
city's prosperity. After it burned down in 1617 and in 1632 the
Swedes put it in ashes, it lay desolate and deserted. Here Banér
defeated the Saxon army on April 14, 1639. The rise as an important
trading center in the Vorerzgebirge followed in the course of the
emerging mining in the Erzgebirge in the 16th century, the
establishment of the city as a trading and later as an industrial
location.
The linen weaving mill had been at home in Chemnitz
since ancient times, which was later joined by the bleaching, dyeing
and cloth manufacturing. Supported primarily by coal mining in West
Saxony, Chemnitz developed into one of the most important centers of
German mechanical engineering and the textile industry in the 19th
century. Chemnitz was also called Little Manchester or Russchemnitz
at this time. During this time, among other things, the large
working-class neighborhoods built in the Art Nouveau style (Kaßberg,
Sonnenberg) were created.
The economic importance ensured
that Chemnitz was a primary target for the Allied air forces in
World War II, so that the city was almost completely destroyed in
1945.
From 1953 to 1990 Chemnitz was called Karl-Marx-Stadt -
although Karl Marx never visited the city - and was the capital of
the district of the same name. Many buildings still bear witness to
its industrial and, above all, socialist past, more than in other
cities in the new federal states.
By plane
Via Dresden Airport (IATA: DRS) (81 kilometers) and
Leipzig Halle Airport (IATA: LEJ) (113 kilometers), there are
connections from Frankfurt, Vienna, Zurich, Basel, Istanbul and Moscow,
among others. Also nearby at 146km is Prague International Airport
(IATA: PRG) in the Czech capital, making it the nearest airport with
significant international connections.
There is a commercial
airfield (ICAO: EDCJ) (private flight operations, corporate customers)
in nearby Jahnsdorf (Stollberg district, 16 kilometers).
By train
For several years, Chemnitz was the largest German city that was only
served by regional traffic. Since June 2022 there have been 1-2 daily
intercity services via Dresden to Berlin and Rostock. Chemnitz main
station is located directly on the Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale, which
offers hourly connections from Dresden and Hof. On the Dresden-Zwickau
route, trains run every 30 minutes via Chemnitz. From Leipzig there are
regional express trains every hour with a journey time of about one
hour.
Other local transport lines connect the city with Riesa and
Elsterwerda as well as with the Ore Mountain towns of Aue,
Annaberg-Buchholz, Vejprty and Olbernhau.
By bus
The bus
station is on Straße der Nations on the west side of the main train
station.
Autobus GmbH Sachsen connects Chemnitz with numerous
towns in the surrounding area in regional transport. There are also
seasonal long-distance lines from Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary), Prague, Ústí
nad Labem, from Budapest, from Lake Balaton and from the Baltic Sea
including the islands of Usedom and Rügen as well as the seaside resorts
of Zingst and Rerik.
Long-distance buses from Ber LinienBus,
Flixbus and Meinfernbus operate in the direction of Berlin, Frankfurt/M.
and Munich.
In the street
Chemnitz can be reached via the A4
from west to east. While it is now passable on six lanes to the east of
the city, the extension to the west is currently only about half
complete. When driving from the west, you should be careful at the
Limbach-Oberfrohna exit immediately before Chemnitz, because expensive
photos are often taken there at the permitted maximum speed of 100 km/h.
Connection points are symbol: AS 69 Chemnitz-Mitte, symbol: AS 70
Chemnitz-Glösa and symbol: AS 71 Chemnitz-Ost.
Coming from
Bavaria, you arrive via the A72. Since this motorway is only six lanes
between the exit symbol: AS 15 Chemnitz-Süd and the symbol: KN 68 Kreuz
Chemnitz and it is the main connection between southern Germany and
Saxony, the traffic load is quite high. The continuation of the A72 to
Leipzig is still under construction, although completion was planned for
the 2006 World Cup. In December 2006, a partial handover took place in
the direction of Leipzig up to the Niederfrohna junction.
The
federal roads B95 from Oberwiesenthal to Leipzig, the B169 from
Neuensalz/Vogtland to Cottbus and the B173 from Bamberg to Dresden lead
through Chemnitz. The B107 coming from the north from Pritzwalk and
leading via Eilenburg and Grimma ends in Chemnitz. The B174 also
starts/ends in Chemnitz and leads to Reitzenhain as part of the
long-distance road connection towards Prague.
By bicycle
Chemnitz is a start or end point of the Bayreuth-Chemnitz cycle path.
Public transport
Chemnitz has a fairly well developed local
transport system, which is operated by the Chemnitzer
Verkehrsaktiengesellschaft (CVAG). The five light rail lines and 39 bus
lines serve almost the entire city of Chemnitz during the day. At night,
eight bus lines run from the central bus stop in the city center to the
densely populated residential areas.
In the city of Chemnitz, an
attempt is currently being made to link the routes of the tram with
those of the railway using the so-called "Chemnitz model". Thus, there
are direct connections from Chemnitz city center to the surrounding area
to Stollberg, Burgstädt, Mittweida, Hainichen, Thalheim and Aue. The
routes of the Chemnitz model are operated by the City-Bahn GmbH.
"PlusBus" lines, which run regularly and on weekends to surrounding
towns, have also been or will be created. Route map Chemnitz (PDF)
The five Chemnitz Stadtbahn lines are:
Line 1/2: Schönau -
central station - Street of Nations - Wartburgstraße - Bernsdorf
Line
3: main station - central station - Technopark
Line 4: Hutholz -
Morgenleite - Mitte train station - central station - main train station
Line 5: Hutholz - Morgenleite - Markersdorf - Annaberger Straße -
central station - Gablenzplatz - Gablenz
The city of Chemnitz
forms tariff zone 13 in the Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen. The following
tickets are recommended
Single ticket: €2.50, reduced: €1.70
Day
ticket (1 person): €5.00, reduced €3.20
Group day ticket (staggered
2-5 people): from €8.50
Bicycles and luggage are transported free of
charge in the Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen
In the street
The
city has a very well developed road network within its urban area and
can rightly be described as a "paradise for drivers". The main traffic
arteries are all multi-lane and well marked with signs. There are rarely
traffic jams in the city center during rush hour, as the inner city ring
road and the southern network have created good alternatives for
avoiding traffic jams and thus ensure rapid progress.
There is a
well-functioning parking guidance system in the city center that
indicates the number of spaces available. It is generally not a big
problem to find a parking space, but these are usually associated with
fees. Parking in the city center costs around one euro for an hour.
After 20:00, all parking spaces (but not multi-storey car parks or
underground car parks) are free of charge.
By bicycle
Chemnitz
has little to offer for cyclists, as the city only has a few cycle
paths. The slopes of many parts of the city also make cycling quite
tedious. For example, the routes from Chemnitz city center through the
city park to the southern district of Altchemnitz and along the
Kappelbach to the western district of Reichenbrand are recommended. The
Chemnitztalradweg from Chemnitz city center to Markersdorf is also easy
to ride and highly recommended.
churches
The three-aisled Jakobikirche stands on the market
square. Its west facade is in Art Nouveau style.
The oldest
church in Chemnitz, the Johanniskirche, is located at the intersection
of Zschopauer Strasse and Bahnhofstrasse in the Park of Victims of
Fascism.
The castle church with the whipping column by Hans
Witten from 1515 is located on the castle hill.
In the district
of Ebersdorf is the collegiate church "To our dear women", built between
1400 and 1470.
On May 24th, 2002 the new synagogue of the city of
Chemnitz was consecrated. It was designed by the architect Professor
Alfred Jacoby and erected as a conical, elliptical building on
Stollberger Straße.
Castles, palaces and palaces
Rabenstein
Castle, the smallest medieval castle in Saxony, is located in the
Rabenstein district of Chemnitz. Not far from the castle is Rabenstein
Castle and the Oberrabenstein reservoir, which is adjoined by the
Rabenstein Forest.
Rabenstein Castle, Oberfrohnaer Strasse 149,
09117 Chemnitz. Tel.: +49 (0)371 488 45 01, fax: +49 (0)371 488 45 99,
e-mail: schlossbergmuseum@stadt-chemnitz.de. Open: May-October Tue-Sun
10:00-17:00. Price: adults €1.20, reduced €0.60, family €2.40
Klaffenbach moated castle (Neukirchen Castle), Wasserschlossweg 6, 09123
Chemnitz. Phone: +49 (0)371 26 63 50, email:
wasserschloss@c3-chemnitz.de. Built in the 16th century, the complex is
an example of a Renaissance moated castle that is almost unique in
Saxony. The castle complex was extensively renovated between 1991 and
1995 with the help of European funds. For several years, concerts of
various music genres have been held regularly in the palace.
buildings
The New Town Hall (1907-1911) with Art Nouveau furnishings
and a carillon consisting of 48 bells is located on the market square.
Right next to it is the old town hall (1498).
The Red Tower,
which is a remnant of the city wall that was torn down in 1860, is
located 200m from the town hall and the Jakobikirche.
monuments
The impressive bust of Karl Marx (1971), known as “der Nischel” by the
people of Chemnitz, stands in front of the former district council
building (from Markt across Straße der Nations). Behind it is the last
sentence of the manifesto in several languages on a huge aluminum board:
"Proletarians of all countries unite!"
Museums
Gunzenhauser
Museum, Stollberger Strasse 2, 2a. Museum with over 2500 expressionist
works.
Industrial Museum at Kappler Drehe, Zwickauer Strasse.
Natural History Museum at 1 dasTietz (Bahnhofstrasse, at the central
station)
Art collections at Theaterplatz, Theaterplatz 1, 09111
Chemnitz. Email: kunstsammlungen@stadt-chemnitz.de .
Schlossberg
Museum, Schloßberg 12, 09130 Chemnitz. Email:
schlossbergmuseum@stadt-chemnitz.de wikipediacommons. home history.
Ebersdorf School Museum
Deutsches SPIELEmuseum, Neefestraße 78.
Email: deutsches-spielemuseum@t-online.de wikipedia.
Henry van de
Velde Museum at Villa Esche
Museum for Saxon Vehicles Chemnitz e.V.
(in the Klaffenbach moated castle).
Medical history collections of
the Kliniken Chemnitz GmbH
State Museum of Archeology Chemnitz
(smac), Stefan-Heym-Platz 1 . Museum newly opened in 2014.
Tram
Museum Kappel
Rabenstein rock dome show mine, way after the lime
works 4; 5 .
Ebersdorf Museum Storage
Saxon Railway Museum, on the
Dresden railway line 130c, 09131 Chemnitz. Tel.: +49 (0)371 46 40 06 22,
fax: +49 (0)371 46 40 06 24, e-mail: info@sem-chemnitz.de. The former
railway depot for freight locomotives now houses the Saxon Railway
Museum. Two circular heating houses with 20-meter turntables and
formerly 26 locomotive stands each, supplemented by coaling and sanding
systems, water cranes, an axle sink, a washing system, the workshop with
historical machine tools, the cable run-off system of the former hump
and much more are still preserved today. The vehicle fleet, which is
well worth seeing, includes steam, diesel and electric locomotives of
various series as well as historic passenger and freight cars. Open:
Apr-Oct: Sat,Sun + public holidays + holidays: 10:00-17:00. Price:
adults €6, children: free.
streets and squares
The most
beautiful places in Chemnitz are certainly the market square and the
theater square.
Market: Some of the most important sights of
Chemnitz are located around the market, such as the old and 13 new town
hall, the Jakobikirche and the Siegertsche house.
Johannisplatz: One
of the oldest squares in the city. The Saxonia Fountain is located here,
not far from the Red Tower, the city's landmark and oldest building.
Theaterplatz: The most beautiful architectural ensemble in the city is
located on Theaterplatz: the neo-baroque 2 opera house, the König Albert
Museum and the neo-Gothic Church of St. Petri. All three buildings are
sandstone buildings.
Parks and forests
city Park
Küchwald
with park railway
At the castle pond
waterworks park
Schoenherr
Park
Rabenstein Forest with Totenstein (483 m)
Crimmitschau Forest
Zeisigwald with Beutenberg (421 m)
Ebersdorf Forest
Alte Harth am
Pfarrhübel (432 m)
Harthwald and Pfarrwald
Adelsberg (508 m)
Various
Tierpark Chemnitz, Nevoigtstr. 18. Tel.: +49 (0)371
850028, fax: +49 371 8577693, e-mail: tierpark@stadt-chemnitz.de .
Founded in 1964. Approx. 1000 individuals from 200 animal species are
kept on the approx. 10 hectare site. Large areas have been renovated in
recent years. The tropical house and the vivarium with a large number of
rare amphibian species are worth seeing. Open: November-February:
9am-4pm, March & October: 9am-5pm, April-September: 9am-7pm. Last
admission one hour before closing. Price: Admission: €6, reduced €3.
Dogs are not allowed.
Wildgatter, Thomas-Müntzer-Höhe, wing 3, 09117
Chemnitz. The game gate, which has existed since 1973, is an
approximately 36-hectare wildlife oasis in which around 100 wild animals
from 14 species can be observed under near-natural conditions. Open:
October-March: 8am-4pm, April-September: 8am-6pm, admission until
closing. Price: adults: €3, concessions: €2, combined ticket: €7, family
ticket: €9 - €15.
Golf courses
Chemnitz Golf Club (GCC)
Swimming pools
Stadtbad, Mühlenstraße 27. Tel.: +49 (0)371 488-5252 .
Swimming pool
Gablenz, Augustusburger Straße 194. Tel.: +49 (0)371 71126, +49 (0)371
722060 .
Swimming pool "Am Südring", Max-Schäller-Straße 5. Tel.: +49
(0)371 228124.
Swimming pool Bernsdorf, Bernsdorfer Straße 64. Tel.:
+49 (0)371 55144.
Outdoor pools
Rabenstein reservoir,
Oberfrohnaer Straße 165. Tel.: +49 (0)371 851060 .
Gablenz outdoor
pool, Am Gablenzer Bad 34a. Phone: +49 (0)371 7007997 .
Freibad
Bernsdorf, Bernsdorfer Strasse 213. Tel.: +49 (0)371 55503
Einsiedel
outdoor pool, Berbisdorfer Strasse 51. Tel.: +49 (0)37209 2436.
Erfenschlag outdoor pool, Am Erfenschlager Bad 13. Tel.: +49 (0)371
584864.
Wittgensdorf outdoor pool
The shopping streets are the Rosenhof and the Klosterstraße, both
leading east and west of the market. The Kaufhof Galeria shopping center
and the "Red Tower" gallery with numerous shops are located on the
Neumarkt (town hall). During Advent, the Chemnitz Christmas market is a
special attraction in the Erzgebirge foothills. Larger shopping centers
outside of the city center:
1 Chemnitz-Center, Ringstraße 17,
09247 Chemnitz. Saxony's largest shopping center. A4 Symbol: AS
Chemnitz-Mitte.
2 Neefepark shopping center, Im Neefepark 3, 09116
Chemnitz. Tel.: +49 371 815350. Shopping center with restaurants,
pharmacy and petrol station. A72 symbol: AS Chemnitz-Süd. Open: Mon-Sat
8am-9pm.
Sachsen-Alleeinfo edit
Altchemnitz Center (ACC)
vital
center
Eierlikörz, Elisenstr. 25, 09111 Chemnitz. Egg liqueur made from
organic egg yolk and fine spirits in various flavors. Crazy idea from a
few Chemnitz residents a few years ago. Eggnog is also available for
drinking in some restaurants- Open: Tue, Thu 3:30pm-8pm, Sat
12:00pm-5:00pm.
Cheap
As in other major German cities,
Chemnitz has numerous opportunities to grab a bite to eat. Whether
bratwurst, doner kebab, Asian noodles, pizza, hamburger or sushi - you
can get everything relatively quickly in Chemnitz. The food stands in
the shopping centers are not recommended, these are usually more
expensive than the numerous stalls and individual shops on the streets.
Gasthof Goldener Hahn, Zschopauer Strasse 565, 09218 Chemnitz.
Phone: +49 (0)371 772338, fax: +49 (0)371 8082662, email:
info@goldener-hahn-chemnitz.de. If you want to eat really well and
cheaply in an original Ore Mountain tavern, you should visit the
"Gasthof Goldener Hahn" in the district of Kleinolbersdorf-Altenhain.
Very tasty traditional cuisine from the Ore Mountains in the low price
segment. Open: Mon 10:00-14:00, Tue closed, Wed-Sun 10:00-22:00. Price:
Main courses €8.50 to €11.
Middle
A large selection of
restaurants with modern, mainly Mediterranean-inspired cuisine can be
found in the city center. The restaurants in the rustic half-timbered
houses on the Schloßberg (below the Castle Church, at the northern end
of the Castle Pond) serve typical regional cuisine.
3 Restaurant
Hispano, Street of Nations 104. Tel.: +49 (0)371 421799, fax: (0)371
421725, e-mail: info@hispanochemnitz.de. Very tasty Spanish cuisine. The
tapas are just gorgeous. Open: Mon-Sun 17:00-24:00.
4 Ristorante
Antica Roma, Hartmannstraße 7. Tel.: +49 (0)371 4660737. A nice Italian
place where you can enjoy delicious pizza or another Italian specialty
surrounded by a nice ambience. Open: Tue-Sun 11:30-14:30, 17:30-24:00.
5 Shalom, Heinrich-Zille-Strasse 15, 09111 Chemnitz. Tel.: +49 371
6957769. Jewish restaurant with excellent cuisine in the future "scene
quarter" at Brühl. According to "Süddeutscher", the largest kosher
restaurant in Germany: All dishes are shown on the menu as meaty, dairy
or neutral. Reservation recommended. Open: Sat-Sun, Tue-Thurs
17:00-22:00, closed Mon, Fri.
6 Franklin Hofmann (tavern and horse
meat shop), Augustusburger Str. 265, 09127 Chemnitz. Phone: +49 371
6761684 facebook. German cuisine, horse specialties from roasts to
burgers. Meat and sausage products from the horse from our own
production. Snack bar opening hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-15:00, Sat
10:00-14:00. Open: daily 11:00-22:00.
Upscale
7 Restaurant
Villa Esche, Parkstraße 58. Tel.: +49 (0)371 2361363, fax: (0)371
2361365, e-mail: info@restaurant-villaesche.de. Stylish restaurant in
Wilhelminian villa. Open: Tue-Sat 12:00-14:30 / 18:00-24:00 (kitchen
until 22:00), Sun 12:00-18:00.
Nightlife
The scenic landscape in Chemnitz is limited, but quite
diverse. We especially recommend the Atomino in the Kulturkaufhaus
Tietz, Club FX, Südbahnhof.
Cheap
CITY HOTEL CHEMNITZ, Blankenauer Strasse 75, 09113 Chemnitz.
Phone: +49 (0)371 45867100, fax: +49 (0)371 45867101, email:
info@cityhotel-chemnitz.de. Booking via the website is usually cheaper.
Middle
AMBER HOTEL Chemnitz Park, Wildparkstraße 6. Tel.: +49
(0)3722-5130, fax: +49 (0)3722-513100, e-mail: chemnitz@amber-hotels.de.
Feature: ★★★★.
1 Dorint Kongresshotel Chemnitz (Mercure Kongress),
Brueckenstrasse 19, 09111 Chemnitz. Tel.: +49 (0)371-6830, fax: +49
(0)371-683505, e-mail: info.chemnitz@dorint.com. The 96 meter high hotel
offers a panoramic view that extends to the Ore Mountains in good
weather. The hotel restaurant is located on the 26th floor. towering
construction; probably the best-known Chemnitz hotel
Hotel
Kleinolbersdorf, Ferdinandstr. 105. Tel.: +49 (0)371-772402, fax: +49
(0)371-772404, e-mail: info@hotel-kleinolbersdorf.de. Quiet, nice and
highly recommended address on the outskirts of Chemnitz in one of the
incorporated villages. The hotel has 13 rooms and a bridal suite. The
restaurant has a fireplace and seats 50 and serves good home cooking.
Upscale
Günnewig Chemnitzer Hof, Theaterplatz 4 (near the main
train station). Phone: +49 (0)371 6840, fax: (0)371 6762587, email:
chemnitzer.hof@guennewig.de.
c/o 56 formerly PENTA Hotel, Salzstraße
56 (behind the castle pond). Phone: +49 (0)371 33410, Fax: (0)371
3341111.
The adult education center in Chemnitz offers an extensive course
program twice a year.
It is possible to study at Chemnitz
University of Technology in many branches of science.
The
vocational school of the SWA Further Education Academy Saxony in
Chemnitz offers four types of training: foreign language secretary,
international tourism assistant, assistant for hotel management and
technical assistant for IT.
According to reports in the magazines Der Spiegel and Die Zeit, a very active right-wing scene is spreading in Chemnitz. In a report by MDR, a scene expert said: "The Chemnitz hooligan scene is the most violent of the extreme right-wing hooligan and camaraderie scenes in this country". Since the end of August 2018, there have been violent riots by right-wing extremists, even to the applause of "normal" citizens. This resulted in attacks against "foreign" looking people. Until these events are finally ended and processed, non-German people in particular should exercise caution when visiting Chemnitz.
internet cafes
Internet Café and more, Hainstraße 106. Tel.: +49
(0)371 4010113.
PC team, Oberfrohnaer Straße 62. Tel.: +49 (0)371
8577580.
Chemnitz forms a city triangle with the other two Saxon cities of
Leipzig and Dresden, with Chemnitz forming the southwestern corner. The
city is located in the natural area of the Ore Mountain Basin and the
urban area in the south on the foothills of the Middle Ore Mountains and
in the north on the approximately 300 m high elevations of the natural
area Mulde-Löss Hügelland, also known as the Mittelsächsisches
Hügelland. The river Chemnitz (river bed at about 290 meters above sea
level), which bears this name from the confluence of the two low
mountain range rivers Zwönitz and Würschnitz in Altchemnitz, favored the
creation of a settlement by digging out a wide valley.
The
geological underground of Chemnitz can be divided into three different
large units. The northern and north-western parts of the city lie on the
granulite mountains that extend as part of the central Saxon hill
country between Glauchau and Döbeln. This geological zone is further
divided from north to north-west into the Auerswalder Loess Hügelland,
the Untere Chemnitztal, the Wittgensdorf Loessplatte and the Röhrsdorfer
Schiefer Hügelland.
The Ore Mountain Basin near Chemnitz, which
is around seven to eight kilometers wide, runs through the city in a
southwest-northeast direction. Within the basin is the Beutenberg (420.9
m), which limits the city to the north-east. In addition to Rotliegend
sediments, the dominant rocks in the Erzgebirge basin are tuff and loess
loam layers. In the Chemnitz area, the Erzgebirge basin is divided into
the Zschopau high valley floor, the Kohlung plateau, the
Zeisigwald-Struth hill country, the Chemnitz valley, the Chemnitz
terraced area, the Siegmar-Borna hill country, the Neukirchen hill
country and the lower Würschnitz valley.
The northern edge of the
Ore Mountains shows a clear relief in the Chemnitz area. In this
geological unit south of the line from the Galgenberg in the Euba
district (471.2 m) via the Adelsberg (508.4 m) to the Klaffenbach
district, shale-like phyllites and floodplain sediments predominate.
Dissected by the valleys of the Würschnitz and Zwönitz, this level of
terrain southwest of the confluence with the Chemnitz reaches heights of
500 to 550 m above mean sea level. The highest mountain in the city area
is located here: the Klaffenbacher Höhe at 523.4 m above sea level. The
area is further subdivided with the designations of the northern edge of
the Erzgebirge, Lower Zwönitztal, Harthauer Würschnitztal, Berbisdorfer
Riedelgebiet and Dittersdorfer Riedelgebiet.
Nature
Chemnitz
is a city with extensive green areas and large parks. With more than
1000 hectares of parks, meadows and forest areas, there are
statistically more than 60 square meters of green space for every
inhabitant. There are four nature reserves in the city of Chemnitz (Um
den Eibsee, Am Schusterstein, Am Nordenen Zeisigwald and Chemnitzaue
near Draisdorf), as well as numerous landscape conservation areas. These
include, for example, the Chemnitztal, the Sternmühlental and the
Rabensteiner Forest.
City outline
After numerous
incorporations, the urban area does not include a uniform, closed
settlement area. The rural settlements, primarily in the eastern parts
of the city, are separated from the settlement area of the core city of
Chemnitz, while this continues partly beyond the western city limits to
Limbach-Oberfrohna and Hohenstein-Ernstthal.
Districts
The
city consists of 39 districts, which were determined according to urban
development, urban planning, settlement structure, statistical and
administrative aspects. They are clearly named and numbered in § 3 of
the main statutes of the city of Chemnitz and clearly described in the
associated annex with their respective boundaries. The district
boundaries were defined using clear, long-term stable and actually
recognizable objects, e.g. B. roads, railway lines, bodies of water and
other prominent, natural or structural boundaries. The district
boundaries thus deviate in part from the boundaries of the historical
districts.
The districts were officially identified by numbers
according to the following principle: Starting from the city center
(districts Zentrum (01) and Schloßchemnitz (02)), all other districts
were assigned the tens digit of their code in ascending order in a
clockwise direction, the ones digit was assigned in ascending order
towards the outskirts of the city episode assigned.
The following cities and municipalities border on the city of
Chemnitz. They are named clockwise, starting in the northwest:
in the
district of Mittelsachsen: Hartmannsdorf, Burgstädt, Taura, Lichtenau,
Frankenberg/Sa., Niederwiesa, Flöha and Augustusburg
in the
Erzgebirge district: Gornau/Erzgeb., Amtsberg, Burkhardtsdorf,
Neukirchen/Erzgeb., Jahnsdorf/Erzgeb. and Lugau
in the district of
Zwickau: Oberlungwitz, Hohenstein-Ernstthal, Callenberg and
Limbach-Oberfrohna
With its fully humid climate, Chemnitz lies in the cool-temperate
climate zone, but a transition to the continental climate is noticeable.
In the recording period from 1961 to 1990, July and August were the
warmest months with an average temperature of 16.6 and 16.4 °C, the mean
temperature minimum in January was −1.2 °C. The annual average
temperature was 7.9 °C. The mean sunshine duration is around 1530 hours
a year, with 200 hours of sunshine July is the sunniest month.
The absolute heat record is +37.8 °C and was registered on August 20,
2012 at the weather station of the German weather service DWD at an
altitude of 420 m above sea level. The previous cold record dates back
to February 10, 1956 with a low of −28.4 °C.
Due to the location
on the windward side of the Ore Mountains, there is relatively high
rainfall. The annual precipitation amounts in the urban area are between
650 and 800 mm. In the reference period from 1961 to 1990, an average
annual precipitation of 775 mm was recorded in the Küchwald. The month
with the most precipitation in the city area is June with 85 to 90 mm of
precipitation, while February has the least precipitation with 35 to 45
mm.
The previous maximum precipitation record on one day was 78
liters of rain per square meter, measured on August 12, 2002. The
highest recorded snow cover was measured on March 11, 1988 with a height
of 66 cm at the weather station in Stelzendorf.
Meaning and origin of the name
The name Chemnitz derives from the
river of the same name, which flows through the city. Its name, in turn,
goes back to Old Sorbian Kamenica "Steinbach" (to kamjeń "stone"; cf.
Kamenz).
prehistory and early history
The later urban area was
overgrown with tropical rain forest plants during the Permian period.
The region was characterized by active volcanism caused by tectonic
processes. The fauna and flora were buried under the ash and rock cover
ejected by volcanic eruptions. The petrified forest of Chemnitz was
created by the subsequent fossilization.
The Chemnitz area was
not permanently populated until the 11th century. Dense forests covered
land and mountains. The forest and waters were probably used to a small
extent by Slavic hunters and fishermen who had inhabited the old
settlement area around Rochlitz since the 6th century.
middle
Ages
In 1136, Emperor Lothar III. near Chemnitz the Benedictine
monastery of St. Marien, which received market privileges in 1143. City
rights were bestowed on the Chemnitz settlement (presumably) by the
Johanniskirche between 1171 and 1174 by Emperor Friedrich I
(Barbarossa). A new, larger urban area was created in the drained
Chemnitz floodplain from the 13th century. The new city layout
corresponded to the high medieval image of a walled city. Chemnitz was
the crossing point of two important long-distance connections, the road
from Leipzig/Altenburg via Zschopau to Bohemia and the Frankenstraße,
which was created in the 13th century, from Nuremberg/Hof to
Freiberg/Dresden and further east to Breslau. The town was a resting and
bartering place for merchants.
After the victory of the Wettins
in the Battle of Lucka in 1307 for supremacy in the Pleissenland,
Chemnitz became a Wettin country town, but the monastery retained its
imperial position. There were repeated disputes between the town and the
monastery up until the 16th century. In 1357, four citizens of the city
received the significant bleaching privilege from the Margraves
Balthasar and Friedrich. This gave Chemnitz a central position in
textile production and in the textile trade of the margraviate.
By buying land from almost all the monastery villages of the Benedictine
monastery (1402), the city expanded its area considerably and new
suburbs were able to develop.
In the 15th century, Chemnitz was
still characterized by textile production. A new industrial phase began
for Chemnitz with the Great Mining Cry around 1470, which was
accompanied by the discovery of silver in Schneeberg. Chemnitz families
not only participated in the mining business, but also in the subsequent
treatment and processing. Kupferhammer and Saigerhütte were built in
front of the city gates on the Chemnitz. At the end of the 15th century,
the town hall, the cloth makers’ cloakroom, the Latin school and several
town houses were built.
Early modern age
From around 1531, the
important universal scholar and founder of the mining sciences Georgius
Agricola lived and worked as a city doctor in Chemnitz.
With the
introduction of the Reformation in Albertine Saxony in 1539, the first
church visitation took place in Chemnitz. In 1540 the Franciscan
monastery in Chemnitz was dissolved. The Benedictine monastery was
secularly administered from 1541 and converted into a castle in
1546/1547.
Chemnitz was destroyed several times during the Thirty
Years' War. In 1645, as a result of the war, the city's population was
reduced to less than a quarter and numbered only 1,200 people.
In
the hundred years that followed, Chemnitz rose to become a center of
weaving and manufacturing. Hosiery knitting developed as an important
branch of industry in the town and in the surrounding area. The
publishing industry arose from the distribution of goods.
1756-1763 Chemnitz was occupied by Prussian troops during the Seven
Years' War. The city's losses amounted to 1.1 million thalers. In the
time that followed, Saxony experienced an upswing in economy, trade and
commerce thanks to state aid. Chemnitz and its surroundings developed
into a center for calico printing.
The Chemnitz economy achieved
a new quality through the mechanization of spinning using hydropower.
Following the English model, machine spinning mills were created under
the protection of electoral privileges, the first and the starting point
of the industrial revolution in Saxony from 1798 was the Bernhardsche
spinning mill in Harthau near Chemnitz.
The way to the industrial
city
In the course of the 19th century, Chemnitz developed into one
of the most important industrial cities in Germany, and above all into a
center of German mechanical engineering. Johann von Zimmermann built the
first machine tool factory on the continent in Chemnitz. Steam engines
have been built in Chemnitz since 1835 and locomotives since 1848 (by
Carl August Rabenstein and Richard Hartmann). The large number of
chimneys in the factories and foundries and the associated development
of smoke and dirt gave Chemnitz the nickname "Saxon Manchester". In the
industrially determined city, the social contradictions came to the
fore. In the middle of the 19th century, wage workers accounted for a
third of the population. In 1852 Chemnitz got a railway connection with
the opening of the Riesa–Chemnitz railway line. In 1842, 1852 and 1867
industrial and commercial exhibitions took place in Chemnitz.
In
1883 Chemnitz became a big city with 103,000 inhabitants. With the
growing population, the city was expanded from the middle of the 19th
century. In the last third of the 19th century, the residential areas of
Brühl, Sonnenberg and Kaßberg emerged.
At the turn of the 19th to
the 20th century, Chemnitz was identified as a "factory and trading
town" in administrative reports and address books. During this time, the
city recorded the highest per capita tax revenue and the highest per
capita value added of all German cities.
Until the First World
War, representative buildings for cultural institutions, for
administration and for trade, such as the Theaterplatz (1909) with the
König Albert Museum and the New City Theater (from 1925 Opera House),
the New Town Hall (1911) and the Tietz department store (1913).
Weimar Republic and the time of National Socialism
In the 1920s, many
projects with social goals in housing could be realized. New housing
estates in the style of garden cities and courtyards were built. A whole
series of new buildings for industry, commerce and administration were
built in the modernist style, such as the Schocken department store on
Brückenstrasse, designed by the architect Erich Mendelsohn, up until
1930. Chemnitz also received new modern school buildings, and the sports
and recreational facilities were expanded. This development culminated
in the erection of the Expressionist building for the industrial school
in 1928 (architect: Wagner-Poltrock; Germany's largest vocational
school), and in the construction of the city baths, which began in 1929
(architect: Otto; Bauhaus style). The “Tauber era” began in the
municipal theaters with General Manager Anton Richard Tauber. On March
2, 1913, his son Richard Tauber sang an opera at the municipal theater
for the first time in his career. Mechanical engineering gained world
renown.
In 1930, the city reached its largest population to date
with over 360,000 inhabitants.
In the 1930s, construction
projects that had started before the global economic crisis were
completed, such as the construction of the municipal baths and the
Südkampfbahn as well as the construction of the "Neue
Schlossteichanlagen" on the site of the former Hartmann works. In 1936,
Auto Union AG moved its headquarters to Chemnitz. Vehicle construction
became a decisive branch of production in Chemnitz, and “Wanderer”
automobiles were manufactured in Chemnitz.
Chemnitz was one of
the first German cities in which the National Socialists brought the
city parliament into line. The development of culture and education was
interrupted, 650 works of art were removed from the art collections and
3300 books from the city library.
The Jewish population, which
had contributed to the development and upswing of Chemnitz, was
discriminated against and persecuted. Jewish entrepreneurs were
expropriated. The synagogue was burned down on the night of the pogrom
and then completely eliminated. The Jewish population that could not
flee was deported to ghettos and extermination camps.
During the
air war in World War II, the city only became the target of Allied air
raids late due to the difficult accessibility. The attacks on 14./15.
February and March 5, 1945 by bombers of the British Royal Air Force as
part of the Allied Operation Thunderclap ( " Thunder Clap " ) were
mainly aimed at the city center. Attacks by the United States Army Air
Forces were concentrated on train stations and armament plants such as
Auto Union's Siegmar plant, where half of all the engines for the Tiger
and Panther tanks were built. The stock of churches, public buildings
and residential buildings in the historic city center and inner suburbs
was almost completely destroyed, and a quarter of the city's housing
stock was destroyed. A total of around 3,700 air war casualties were to
be mourned in Chemnitz.
In mid-April 1945 American troops reached
the north of Chemnitz. In accordance with Allied decisions, Chemnitz was
handed over to a Soviet city commander on the morning of May 8th. On the
same day, an advance commando of the Soviet Army marched into Chemnitz.
SBZ and GDR
The devastation caused by the war left 100,000 people
homeless. The city took in refugees and displaced persons. The resulting
large number of people looking for housing had to switch to the
surrounding communities.
The demolition of the city began
immediately. A debris track transported the salvaged material to the
Südkampfbahn, where a new cycle track was built by 1950. Other large
amounts of rubble were filled into the former quarries in the
Zeisigwald.
After the war, only about a seventh of Chemnitz
companies were still able to produce. Long-term losses were caused by
dismantling, removals and repairs. As a result of orders from the
occupying power and as part of the "referendum on the expropriation of
Nazi and war criminals" in Saxony (1946), 127 companies in Chemnitz were
expropriated.
On September 1, 1946, the SED achieved an absolute
majority in the municipal elections in Chemnitz. The city council made
its decisions based on the orders of the Soviet military administration
and the local command. In 1948, Chemnitz became the seat of the Wismut
Soviet joint-stock company, which operated uranium mining in the GDR.
Chemnitz remained a Soviet garrison town after the GDR was founded.
In 1952, the southwestern part of Saxony was merged into the Chemnitz
district as part of the "democratization of administration". Chemnitz
thus formed the administrative center of the most populous and densely
populated district in the GDR with 2 million inhabitants.
On the
occasion of the "Karl Marx Year" in 1953, Chemnitz was renamed
Karl-Marx-Stadt. On May 10, Prime Minister Otto Grotewohl carried out
the name change in a state act and justified it primarily with the
strong traditions of the workers' movement in Chemnitz and the city's
achievements in the reconstruction.
The renaming of the city was
associated with a special requirement for the reconstruction of the city
center. Initially, the reconstruction took place until the early 1950s
based on the old city plan and building on local building traditions.
With the reconstruction of the old town hall, the Siegertsches Haus am
Markt, the red tower and the opera house, important buildings of old
Chemnitz were restored. Different views on the layout of the "Central
Square" in the city center as a parade ground for political rallies and
on traffic routing via a new crossing area or the old Johannisplatz led
to the revision of the plans and delayed the further construction of the
city center. It was not until 1960 that the second phase of the
reconstruction of the Karl-Marx-Städter city center began with the
construction of the buildings on the Street of Nations and the Rosenhof.
A revised plan provided for a holistic redesign of the streets in the
city center. The architecture of the buildings was characterized by
industrial construction. In the 1960s, the city center saw extensive
construction. In addition to residential and administrative buildings,
infrastructure facilities such as the central bus stop (1967) and the
bus station (1968) were also built.
Between 1969 and 1974, the
Karl-Marx-Stadt Stadthalle complex with the “Kongress” high-rise hotel
was built as the core of the new city centre. The "Zentrale Platz"
originally planned as a parade ground was modified as a park at the town
hall. It was framed by the administrative buildings of the
Karl-Marx-Stadt industrial center and the district council, which were
newly erected between 1966 and 1971, with the Karl Marx Monument
unveiled on October 9, 1971. In the course of the housing construction
program of the GDR decided in 1973, after the completion of the
high-rise hotel "Kongress".
In the course of the redesign of the
inner city, old quarters that had been preserved here since the
mid-1960s were demolished. On March 15, 1961, the ruins of the Pauli
Church, built in 1750-1756, were blown up.
Since the 1960s,
several new large residential areas have been built in Karl-Marx-Stadt,
such as the Flemming area (Altendorf) 1962-1965, the Beimler area
(Gablenz) 1967-1970 and the Yorck area 1970-74. The largest new
residential area, the Fritz Heckert area, was built from 1974 using
industrial construction methods and by 1990 had a population of 80,000
people.
Karl-Marx-Stadt developed a high industrial density. 20%
of the industrial production of the GDR was concentrated in the city,
almost half of the textile machines manufactured in the GDR and about a
third of the machine tools came from here. The Karl-Marx-Städter
industry produced products and technologies of international standing
(such as the Malimo stitch-bonding technology). The VEB cotton spinning
mill in Karl-Marx-Stadt was the parent company of the VEB cotton
combine, with more than 70,000 employees one of the largest combines in
the GDR.
The economic problems and democratic deficits of the GDR
led to their end, see article Wende and peaceful revolution. There was
an open exchange of ideas in the already existing church groups and in
the new citizens' initiatives and movements that emerged in the
summer/autumn of 1989. On October 7, 1989, the first demonstration for
democratic reforms in the GDR took place in Karl-Marx-Stadt.
In
addition, a movement in Karl-Marx-Stadt called for the historic city
name to be returned. The residents of the city could put a cross for
Karl-Marx-Stadt or Chemnitz on voting cards until April 22, 1990. On
April 23, 1990, the result was: 76% of the votes for Chemnitz. At its
first session on June 1, 1990, the new, democratically elected city
parliament decided to rename Karl-Marx-Stadt to Chemnitz.
1990 to
present
Chemnitz and the Chemnitz region experienced a structural
change after 1990. The lack of sales markets in Eastern Europe affected
the classic Chemnitz branches of industry in particular and – combined
with the problems associated with the privatization by the
Treuhandanstalt – resulted in the loss of jobs. Chemnitz, with its high
potential of well-trained specialists, was able to develop into a modern
location for business, technology and innovation with globally active
companies in the more than two decades after reunification. Since 1995,
more than 7,000 new companies have emerged in Chemnitz and the region.
In connection with the reestablishment of the Free State of Saxony
in October 1990, the district of Karl-Marx-Stadt, which had existed
since 1952, was dissolved. However, Chemnitz remained an important
administrative location. Chemnitz has been the headquarters of the
Saxony State Directorate since March 1, 2012.
After 1990, the
cultural offerings of the city of Chemnitz were expanded. The
construction of the Saxon Industrial Museum in Chemnitz began, which
opened in 1992 and has been located in the reconstructed former machine
tool factory "Hermann and Alfred Escher AG" on Zwickauer Straße since
2003. In 1992, after four years of renovation, the Chemnitz Opera House
reopened as one of the most modern in Europe. In September 1995, after
15 years of construction, the Schloßbergmuseum Chemnitz reopened as a
museum of city history in the former Benedictine monastery of St.
Marien. In particular, the Chemnitz Art Collections, under their
director Ingrid Mössinger, have made the city nationally known as a city
of culture since the 1990s with well-attended exhibitions. In 2004, the
culture department store "DAStietz" opened in the former department
store built in 1913 on Bahnhofstraße. It houses the Chemnitz Adult
Education Center, the Chemnitz City Library, the Chemnitz Museum of
Natural History, the New Saxon Gallery as well as shops and cafés on an
area of around 20,000 square meters. In 2003, Alfred Gunzenhauser
transferred a large part of his private collection of 20th-century
German art to a foundation based in Chemnitz, where the former Sparkasse
Chemnitz headquarters from 1930 was converted into a museum for this
purpose in 2005-2007. The Gunzenhauser Museum was opened on December 1,
2007 by the then Federal President Horst Köhler. Since May 15, 2014,
Chemnitz has had a state museum with the State Museum for Archeology
Chemnitz.
"The demolition of some historically valuable monuments
from the Wilhelminian period in favor of the upgrading of prefabricated
building areas, which was also associated with the "Stadtumbau Ost", was
therefore very controversial." Between 1990 and 2007, more than 250
monuments were leveled. Supported by state-subsidized home building,
there has been a strong emigration to the surrounding area since the
mid-1990s, from which rural urban areas such as Reichenhain and
Adelsberg have benefited.
There was a citizen protest movement in
Chemnitz against the demolition of the old building, supported by the
local and national press. After the end of the demolition subsidy and
the associated demolitions, there was an extensive change of ownership
of the unrenovated Chemnitz old building substance from the municipal
housing association to the private sector in the years 2010 to 2013.
This was followed by increased renovation activity by the private sector
on the old building stock in Chemnitz, benefiting from the interest rate
situation for construction financing. Part of this development was the
Gründerzeit district of Brühl, which was converted into a shopping
street at the end of the 1970s and has been largely vacant since the
2000s.
Chemnitz has an extensive inventory of historical
industrial buildings. Due to the decline of industry after 1990 and the
creation of new commercial areas, the old industrial sites in the city
lost their use. Many monuments of industrial history have been renovated
in Chemnitz since 1990 through new usage variants, such as office use,
residential use or use for gastronomic facilities.
It was only
with the urban framework planning for the city center in 2000, which,
based on the floor plan of the city center until 1945, provided for the
immediate core of the city center to be concentrated around the town
hall complex, and with the construction of the Galerie Roter Turm
shopping center and the Kaufhof department store Chemnitz city center.
Numerous internationally renowned architects such as Hans Kollhoff,
Helmut Jahn and Christoph Ingenhoven provided the designs for the new
buildings. In the 2000s, a new structural edging of the market square
and the Neumarkt was created, as well as the "Mittelstandsmeile", a
small-scale quarter between the inner Klosterstraße and the Stadthalle
complex. More than 66,000 square meters of retail space have been
created in downtown Chemnitz since 1990. Hardly any building
construction projects have been realized in Chemnitz since the 2000s,
but since 2013 more and more apartment buildings have been built in the
city. New urban planning plans provide for the structural densification
of the inner-city quarters.
At the end of August 2018, Chemnitz
hit the national headlines after there were spontaneous protests in the
city following the killing of a 35-year-old German-Cuban man, but also
xenophobic and right-wing extremist riots and demonstrations and clashes
between various political groups that lasted for days.
As a
reaction to the events and as a protest against the right-wing extremist
riots, an open-air concert took place on September 3, 2018 under the
motto "We are more" by well-known bands such as Toten Hosen and
Kraftklub with an estimated 65,000 visitors.