Chemnitz was the richest city in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, is known for its many industrial age buildings and monuments,[3] and will be the European Capital of Culture of 2025.[4]
Etymology
Chemnitz is named after the river Chemnitz, a small tributary of the Zwickau Mulde. The word "Chemnitz" is from the Sorbian language (Upper Sorbian: Kamjenica), and means "stony [brook]". The word is composed of the Slavic word kamen meaning "stone" and the feminine suffix -ica.
It is known in Czech as Saská Kamenice and in Polish as Kamienica Saska. There are many other towns named Kamienica or Kamenice in areas with past or present Slavic settlement.
An early Slavic tribe's settlement was located at Kamienica, and the first documented use of this name was in 1143, as the location of a Benedictine monastery around which a settlement grew. Around 1170, Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor granted this the rights of a free imperial city. Kamienica was later Germanised as Chemnitz.
Meissen and Saxony
In 1307, the town became subordinate to the Margraviate of Meissen, the predecessor of the Saxon state. In medieval times, Chemnitz became a centre of textile production and trade. More than one third of the population worked in textile production. In 1356 the Margraviate was succeeded by the Electorate of Saxony.
Geologist Georgius Agricola (1494-1555), author of several significant works on mining and metallurgy including the landmark treatise De Re Metallica, became city physician of Chemnitz in 1533 and lived here until his death in 1555. In 1546 he was elected a Burgher of Chemnitz and in the same year also was appointed Burgomaster (lord mayor), serving again in 1547, 1551, and 1553. In spite of having been a leading citizen of the city, when Agricola died in 1555 the Protestant Duke denied him burial in the city's cathedral due to Agricola's allegiance to his Roman Catholic faith. Agricola's friends arranged for his remains to be buried in more sympathetic Zeitz, approximately 50 km away.[5] Chemnitz became a famous trading and textile manufacturing town.
In 1806, with the end of the Holy Roman Empire, the Electorate was renamed as the Kingdom of Saxony, and this survived until the revolutions of 1918 which followed the Armistice ending the First World War.
By the early 19th century, Chemnitz had become an industrial centre (sometimes called "the Saxon Manchester", German: Sächsisches Manchester, pronounced[ˈzɛksɪʃəsˈmɛntʃɛstɐ]ⓘ). Important industrial companies were founded by Richard Hartmann, Louis Schönherr and Johann von Zimmermann. Chemnitz became a centre of innovation in the kingdom of Saxony and later in Germany. In 1913, Chemnitz had a population of 320,000 and, like Leipzig and Dresden, was larger at that time than today. After losing inhabitants due to the First World War Chemnitz grew rapidly again and reached its all-time peak of 360,250 inhabitants in 1930. Thereafter, growth was stalled by the world economic crisis.
As a working-class industrial city, Chemnitz was a powerful center of socialist political organization after the First World War. At the foundation of the German Communist Party the local Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany voted by 1,000 votes to three to break from the party and join the Communist Party behind their local leaders, Fritz Heckert and Heinrich Brandler.[6] In March 1919 the German Communist Party had over 10,000 members in the
city of Chemnitz.[7] Chemnitz was one of the big German industrial centers. Due to the export traffic a modern marshalling yard was erected 1929 in Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf. At that time it was a leading city in the European textile market. Auto Union (today Audi) was founded 1932 in Chemnitz.
14/15 February 1945: The first major raid on Chemnitz used 717 RAF bombers, but due to cloud cover most bombs fell over open countryside.
2/3–5 March: USAAF bombers attacked the marshalling yards.[10]
5 March: 760 RAF bombers attacked.
The city was occupied by Soviet troops on 8 May 1945.
The headquarters of the auto manufacturer Auto Union was based in Chemnitz from 1932 and its buildings were badly damaged. At the end of the war, the company's executives fled and relocated the company in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, where it evolved into Audi, now a brand within the Volkswagen group.
The World War II bombings left most of the city centre in ruins and post-war, the East German reconstruction included large low-rise (and later high-rise Plattenbau) housing. Some tourist sites were reconstructed during the East German era and after German reunification. Today over 50 % of the city´s buildings date back to before 1950.[11]
GDR
Karl-Marx-Stadt in May 1980, during the German Democratic Republic–Soviet Union Friendship Festival
After the dissolution of the Länder (states) in the GDR in 1952, Chemnitz became seat of a district (Bezirk). On 10 May 1953, the city was renamed by decision of the East German government to Karl-Marx-Stadt (German: Karl Marx City) after Karl Marx, in recognition of its industrial heritage and the Karl Marx Year marking the 135th anniversary of his birth and the 70th anniversary of his death.[12]GDR Prime MinisterOtto Grotewohl said:
The people who live here do not look back, but look forward to a new and better future. They look at socialism. They look with love and devotion to the founder of the socialist doctrine, the greatest son of the German people, to Karl Marx. I hereby fulfill the government's decision. I carry out the solemn act of renaming the city and declare: From now on, this city bears the proud and mandatory name Karl-Marx-Stadt.[13]
After the city centre was destroyed in World War II, the East German authorities attempted to rebuild it to symbolise the conceptions of urban development of a socialist city. The layout of the city centre at that time was rejected in favour of a new road network. However, the original plans were not completed. In addition, the rapid development of housing took priority over the preservation of old buildings. So in the 1960s and 1970s, both in the centre as well as the periphery, large areas were built in Plattenbau apartment-block style, for example Yorckstraße. The old buildings of the period, which still existed especially in the Kassberg, Chemnitz-Sonnenberg [de] and Chemnitz-Schloßchemnitz [de] quarters, were neglected and fell increasingly into dereliction.[citation needed]
After reunification
Chemnitz at night, October 2015The restored market of Chemnitz
On 23 April 1990, a referendum on the future name of the city was held: 76% of the voters voted for the old name "Chemnitz". On 1 June 1990, the city was officially renamed.[14]
After the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990, the city of Chemnitz faced several difficult tasks. Many inhabitants migrated to the former West Germany and unemployment in the region increased sharply; in addition Chemnitz did not have adequate shopping facilities, but this was increasingly demanded.[15] Large shopping centers were constructed on the city periphery to the early 1990s.
Chemnitz is the only major German city whose centre was re-planned after 1990, similar to the reconstruction of several other German cities in the immediate post-war years. Plans for the recovery of a compressed city centre around the historic town hall in 1991 led to an urban design competition. This was announced internationally by the city and carried out with the help of the partner city of Düsseldorf. The mooted project on an essentially unused area of the former city would be comparable in circumference with the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.[15]
Numerous internationally renowned architects such as Hans Kollhoff, Helmut Jahn and Christoph Ingenhoven provided designs for a new city centre. The mid-1990s began the development of the inner city brownfield around the town hall to a new town. In Chemnitz city more than 66,000 square meters of retail space have emerged. With the construction of office and commercial building on the construction site "B3" at the Düsseldorf court, the last gap in 2010 was closed in city centre image. The intensive development included demolition of partially historically valuable buildings from the period and was controversial.[16][17] Between 1990 and 2007 more than 250 buildings were leveled.[citation needed]
Chemnitz during the Wir sind Mehr concert in September 2018
In late August 2018 the city was the site of a series of protests that attracted at least 8,000 people. The protests were attended by far-right and Neo-Nazi groups. News outlets reported about mob violence and riots. The protests started after two immigrants from the Middle East were arrested in connection with the murder of Daniel H., a 35 year old German man, the son of a German mother and a Cuban father, which had happened on 26 August. Violent clashes occurred between far-right protesters and far-left counter protesters, leading to injuries. The mobs outnumbered the local police presence. There were reports that rightist protesters chased down dark skinned bystanders and those that appeared to be foreigners on the streets before more police arrived and intervened. The riots were widely condemned by media outlets and politicians throughout Germany, and were "described as reminiscent of civil war and Nazi pogroms."[18][19][20][21]
The reports of mob violence and riots were criticized as incorrect later on. The German language Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung corrected its earlier reports, stating that there had evidently been no mob violence but there have been sporadic encroachments.[22] Minister President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer came to the same conclusion: "there were no mobs and man hunts".[23]
One week after the protests, a free "Concert against the Right" under the motto "We are more" (#wirsindmehr) attracted an audience of some 65,000 people.[24] A one-minute silence commemorated the murdered Daniel H., the son of a German mother and a Cuban father.[25] The concert itself has been criticized for far-left activities and violent song texts of some of the participating bands.[26][27]
Culture and sights
The city won the bid to be one of the two European Capitals of Culture (in 2025) on 28 October 2020, beating Hanover, Hildesheim, Magdeburg and Nuremberg.[28]
Theater Chemnitz offers a variety of theatre: opera (opera house from 1909), plays, ballet and Figuren (puppets), and runs concerts by the orchestra Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie (founded 1832).
Tourist sights include the Kassberg neighborhood with 18th and 19th century buildings and the Karl Marx Monument by Lev Kerbel, nicknamed Nischel (a Saxon dialect word for head) by the locals. Landmarks include the Old Town Hall with its Renaissance portal (15th century), the castle on the site of the former monastery, and the area around the opera house and the old university. The most conspicuous landmark is the red tower built in the late 12th or early 13th century as part of the city wall.
The Chemnitz petrified forest is located in the courtyard of Kulturkaufhaus Tietz. It is one of the very few in existence, and dates back several million years (details shown in the Museum of Natural Sciences "Museum für Naturkunde Chemnitz", founded 1859). Also within the city limits, in the district of Rabenstein, is the smallest castle in Saxony, Rabenstein Castle.
The city has changed considerably since German reunification. Most of its industry is now gone and the core of the city has been rebuilt with many shops as well as huge shopping centres. Many of these shops are international brands, including Zara, H&M, Esprit, Galeria Kaufhof, Leiser Shoes, and Peek & Cloppenburg. The large Galerie Roter Turm (Red Tower) shopping centre is very popular with young people.
The Chemnitz Industrial Museum is an Anchor Point of ERIH, the European Route of Industrial Heritage. Additional unique industrial monuments are located at the "Schauplatz Eisenbahn" (Saxon Railway Museum and Museum of Technology Cable Running System) in Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf. The State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz[29] opened in 2014 and is located in the former Schocken Department Stores (architect: Erich Mendelsohn; opening of the department store: 1930).
The Museum Gunzenhauser, formerly a bank, opened on 1 December 2007. Alfred Gunzenhauser, who lived in Munich, had a collection of some 2,500 pieces of modern art, including many paintings and drawings by Otto Dix, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and others.
The other great art museum in Chemnitz is located near central railway station, it is called "Museum am Theaterplatz" (erected 1909 as "König-Albert-Museum").
The Botanischer Garten Chemnitz is a municipal botanical garden, and the Arktisch-Alpiner Garten der Walter-Meusel-Stiftung is a non-profit garden specializing in arctic and alpine plants.
Near the city center is the "Villa Esche" located (Henry-van-de-Velde-museum). This historical house was built in 1902 in art-nouveau-style by van de Velde.
The City is home of the SCHLINGEL International Film Festival, a yearly festival created in 1996 and that focuses on cinema for young audiences.[30]
Chemnitz has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb; Trewartha: Dobk). The annual precipitation is 732.7 mm (28.85 in), and the precipitation in summer is about twice that in winter.
The Chemnitz weather station has recorded the following extreme values:[31]
Its highest temperature was 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) on 20 August 2012.
Its lowest temperature was −28.4 °C (−19.1 °F) on 11 February 1956.
Its greatest annual precipitation was 1,017.7 mm (40.07 in) in 1941.
Its least annual precipitation was 426.1 mm (16.78 in) in 1943.
The longest annual sunshine was 2,119 hours in 2011.
The shortest annual sunshine was 1,077.7 hours in 1977.
Climate data for Chemnitz (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1882–present)
The city of Chemnitz consists of 39 neighborhoods. The neighborhoods of Einsiedel, Euba, Grüna, Klaffenbach, Kleinolbersdorf-Altenhain, Mittelbach, Röhrsdorf and Wittgensdorf are at the same time localities within the meaning of Sections 65 to 68 of the Saxon Municipal Code. These neighborhoods came in the wake of the last incorporation wave after 1990 as formerly independent municipalities to the city of Chemnitz and therefore enjoy this special position compared to the other parts of the city. These localities each have a local council, which, depending on the number of inhabitants of the locality concerned, comprises between ten and sixteen members as well as a chairman of the same. The local councils are to hear important matters concerning the locality. A final decision is, however, incumbent on the city council of the city of Chemnitz.[33] The official identification of the districts by numbers is based on the following principle: Starting from the city center (neighborhoods Zentrum and Schloßchemnitz), all other parts of the city are assigned clockwise in ascending order the tenth place of their index, the one-digit is awarded in the direction of city periphery in ascending order.
The city area does not include a unified, closed settlement area after numerous incorporations. The rural settlements of mainly eastern districts are separated from the settlement area of the Chemnitz city center, whereas this partly continues over the western city limits to Limbach-Oberfrohna and Hohenstein-Ernstthal.
Politics
Mayor
The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Dieter Noll of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served from 1990 to 1991, followed by Joachim Pilz (CDU) until 1993. The mayor was originally chosen by the city council, but since 1994 has been directly elected. Peter Seifert of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) served from 1993 until 2006. Between 2006 and 2020 Barbara Ludwig (SPD) has served as mayor. Sven Schulze (SPD) was elected mayor in 2020.[1]
The most recent mayoral election was held on 20 September 2020, with a runoff held on 11 October, and the results were as follows:
Heavy destruction in World War II as well as post-war demolition to erect a truly socialist city centre left the city with a vast open space around its town hall where once a vibrant city heart had been. Because of massive investment in out-of-town shopping right after reunification, it was not until 1999 that major building activity was started in the centre. Comparable to Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, a whole new quarter of the city was constructed in recent years. New buildings include the Kaufhofdepartment store by Helmut Jahn, Galerie Roter Turm with a façade by Hans Kollhoff and Peek & Cloppenburg clothing store by Ingenhofen and Partner.
Economy
Chemnitz is the largest city of the Chemnitz-Zwickau urban area and is one of the most important economic areas of Germany's new federal states. Chemnitz had a GDP of €8.456 billion in 2016, with GDP per capita at €34,166.[34] Since about 2000, the city's economy has recorded high annual GDP growth rates; Chemnitz is among the top ten German cities in terms of growth rate. The local and regional economic structure is characterized by medium-sized companies, with the heavy industrial sectors of mechanical engineering, metal processing, and vehicle manufacturing as the most significant industries.
About 100,000 people are employed, of whom about 46,000 commute from other municipalities.[35] 16.3% of employees in Chemnitz have a university or college degree, twice the average rate in Germany.
Image gallery
Volkswagen is the largest employer in the Chemnitz-Zwickau Agglomeration.
The Klinikum Chemnitz GmbH is the largest hospital in the former East German states and the second biggest employer in Chemnitz.
Chemnitz is a shopping destination. Photo shows the Peek & Cloppenburg store in the city centre.
Chemnitz is the centerpiece of tourism in the Ore Mountains.
Demographics
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1466
3,455
—
1801
10,835
+213.6%
1852
35,163
+224.5%
1871
68,229
+94.0%
1885
110,817
+62.4%
1900
206,913
+86.7%
1905
244,927
+18.4%
1910
287,807
+17.5%
1913
326,075
+13.3%
1916
285,285
−12.5%
1920
313,444
+9.9%
1930
361,200
+15.2%
1933
348,720
−3.5%
1940
332,200
−4.7%
1945
243,613
−26.7%
1950
293,373
+20.4%
1955
290,153
−1.1%
1960
286,329
−1.3%
1965
295,160
+3.1%
1970
299,411
+1.4%
1975
305,113
+1.9%
1980
317,644
+4.1%
1985
315,452
−0.7%
1990
294,244
−6.7%
1995
266,737
−9.3%
2001
255,798
−4.1%
2011
240,253
−6.1%
2022
240,078
−0.1%
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.
Source for 2001-2022: [36]
Chemnitz's population since 1466
Chemnitz has a population of 246,000 people and is the 3rd largest city in Saxony. The population of Chemnitz grow rapidly since the early 1900s due to its industrialization. Chemnitz reached its highest peak of population in 1930 with population of about 362,000. Chemnitz in the East Germany era when the city was called "Karl-Marx-Stadt", it became a significant industrial city known for it textile and leather industries. Chemnitz was also the 4th largest city in then East Germany after East Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden. After the German Reunification Chemnitz faced a significant population decrease. Since 1988 Chemnitz has lost about 20 percent of its inhabitants. Chemnitz's population decreased from 300,000 in 1989 to under 250,000 in 2003, which made Chemnitz one of the cities with most population loss in Germany. Chemnitz's population started to grow again in the 2010s due to its immigration from mostly war active countries like Syria but it faced a problem due to many right-wing extremists and active Neo-Nazi groups where many foreigners experience racism and moved away from Chemnitz. The city had a fertility rate of 1.64 in 2015.[37]
Foreign population in Chemnitz by nationality as of 31 December 2022:[citation needed]
A large contributor to the city's foreign population is Chemnitz University of Technology. In 2017, out of its 10,482 students, 2712 were foreign students, which equals to about 25%, making Chemnitz the most internationalised of the three major universities of Saxony.[38]
Chemnitz is linked to two motorways (Autobahns), A4Erfurt – Dresden and A72Hof – Leipzig. The motorway junctionKreuz Chemnitz is situated in the northwestern area of the city. The motorway A72 between Borna and Leipzig is still under construction. Within the administrative area of Chemnitz there are eight motorway exits (Ausfahrt). The A4 motorway is part of the European route E40, one of the longest European E roads, connecting Chemnitz with the Asian Highway system to the east and France to the west.
Public transport
Public transport within Chemnitz is provided with tram and bus, as well as by the Stadtbahn. Nowadays, the city and its surroundings are served by one Stadtbahn line, five lines of the Chemnitz tramway network, 27 city bus lines, as well as several regional bus lines. At night, the city is served by two bus lines, two tram lines, and the Stadtbahn line.
Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof is the main station for the city. In June 2022, an intercity connection from Chemnitz via Dresden and Berlin to Rostock-Warnemünde was established again for the first time since 2006. Prior to this, Chemnitz was for a long time the largest German city without a connection of long-distance intercity services. 2 RegionalExpress routes connected Chemnitz to the larger cities of Saxony (RE3 from Dresden Hbf via Chemnitz to Hof & RE6 to Leipzig Hbf). In addition, 4 RegionalBahn and 4 CityBahn routes also operate from the Hauptbahnhof.
The length of the tram, Stadtbahn and bus networks is 28.73 km (17.85 mi), 16.3 km (10.13 mi) and 326.08 km (202.62 mi) respectively. In August 2012, electro-diesel trams were ordered from Vossloh, to support an expansion of the light rail network to 226 km (140 mi), with new routes serving Burgstädt, Mittweida and Hainichen.[40]
Airports
Three airports are near Chemnitz, including the two international airports of Saxony in Dresden and Leipzig. Both Leipzig/Halle Airport and Dresden Airport are about 70 km (43 mi) from Chemnitz and offer numerous continental as well as intercontinental flights.
Chemnitz also has a small commercial airport (Flugplatz Chemnitz-Jahnsdorf [de] about 13.5 km (8.4 mi) south of the city. When its current upgrade is completed it will have an asphalt runway 1,400 m (4,600 ft) long and 20 m (66 ft) wide.
^Agricola, Georgius. De re metallica. Translation by Hoover, Herbert Clark and Hoover, Lou Henry, 1912, reprinted by Dover Publications, New York, 1950, pp. vi-xii.
^Broué, Pierre (2006). The German Revolution: 1917 - 1923. Haymarket Books. p. 305. ISBN1-931859-32-9.
^W. Berthold, 'Die Kämpfeti der Chemnitzer Arbeiter gegen die militaristiche Reaktion im August 1919', Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung, no. 1, 1962,
p. 127.
^Travel Guide, German Democratic Republic. Dresden: Zeit im Bild Publishing House. 1983. p. 89. The town...was renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1953 to commemorate the 135th anniversary of the birth and 70th anniversary of the death of...Karl Marx
^Baden-Württemberg, Statistisches Landesamt. "Aktuelle Ergebnisse – VGR dL". www.statistik-bw.de (in German). Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
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