If you have never been to Chemnitz, be prepared for surprises …
Chemnitz has a unique story to tell, a story of ground-breaking inventions in car manufacture, mechanical engineering or textile industry, and of daring entrepreneurs like Richard Hartmann, Carl Gottlieb Haubold or Louis Schönherr. Chemnitz has written history and is still writing on this story. As a modern industrial city, Chemnitz is among Germany‘s fastest growing towns. The city is a centre of technology focusing particularly on automobile and car supplier industries, information technology and engineering.
Forging ahead, venturing into new territories and living the inventive spirit – these are the ingredients to a recipe that makes the city and its citizens successful. Famous inventions like the thermos flask or the first mild detergent, patented ideas among thousands of others, have come from Chemnitz. Today first-rate machinery and production equipment that is used for manufacture all over the world comes from here.
Tradition and modernity are also reflected in exciting contrasts of urban construction. Fans of architecture might not only be thrilled by unique examples in Bauhaus and New Objectivity style or by one of Europe’s largest contiguous Art Nouveau (Wilheminian) style quarters – the Kaßberg – but also by the reshaped Chemnitz city centre that was planned in the last 20 years by internationally renowned architects like Helmut Jahn, Hans Kollhoff or Christoph Ingenhoven.
“Own ways, new dare and inventor spirit live, this recipe makes the city and its people successful.”
The University of Technology, as the intellectual centre, research facilities like the Fraunhofer-Institutes and successful medium-sized companies, most of them family-run businesses, lay the basis for an economic success story. By developing the future city campus, Chemnitz is bringing education and science right into the heart of the town. Centrally located historical quarters like the Brühl will develop into young urban neighbourhoods offering a high quality of life.
For lovers of fine art there is a lot to explore in Chemnitz, such as the art galleries Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz or the Museum Gunzenhauser that houses one of the most impressive collections of classic modernism. The Saxon Museum of Industry illustrates historic and present industrial development. The Saxon Theatres along with the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonic Orchestra attract people from all over Germany.
The more than 100-year-old town hall is worth a visit too. The monumental mural by Max Klinger “Work – Prosperity – Beauty” can be admired in the municipal councillors’ hall along with the artwork “The Balancing Act” by Neo Rauch, one of the most significant contemporary artists.
Anyone just seeking rest and relaxation will also find plenty of suitable places in Chemnitz such as the Schloßteich Lake with the adjacent Küchwald Park and the historic municipal park alongside the river Chemnitz that invite for a stroll or a little rest.
Many celebrities were born and grew up in Chemnitz. These include famous athletes like the Queen of figure skating Katarina Witt, footballer Michael Ballack, Olympic weight-lifting champion Matthias Steiner, the world champions in pair figure skating Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, discus thrower Lars Riedel, and Nico and Denny Ihle. The list of celebrities from art and culture is similarly impressive comprising names like the writer’s Stefan Heym, the painter’s Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Bauhaus style icon Marianne Brandt or the artist Carsten Nicolai, the band KraftKlub and the actor Matthias Schweighöfer.
Let yourself be surprised by Chemnitz, come and explore the city – it is worth it!
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