German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Elster Elster may refer to: Places * Black Elster (''Schwarze Elster''), a river in Germany * White Elster (''Weiße Elster''), a river in Germany and the Czech Republic ** Elster Viaduct, a railway bridge over the White Elster ** Elster Viaduct (Pirk ...

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

Plauen Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest cit ...

Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...

Freiberg Freiberg () is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and ...

Central German Metropolitan Region The Central German Metropolitan Region () is one of the officially established metropolitan regions in Germany. It is centered on the major cities of Leipzig and Halle, extending over Central German parts of the states of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia ...

Ore Mountain Basin The Ore Mountain BasinCentral Saxon Hill Country to the north. The city stands on the

Chemnitz River The Chemnitz is a river in Saxony, Germany, a right tributary of the Zwickauer Mulde. It gave name to the city of Chemnitz, where it is formed by the smaller rivers Zwönitz and Würschnitz. It joins the Zwickauer Mulde near Wechselburg, south ...

, which is formed through the confluence of the rivers

Zwönitz Zwönitz (; Upper Sorbian language, Upper Sorbian: ''Zwonica'') is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated south of Stollberg, and southwest of Chemnitz. Parts of the town Zwönitz consists of: Populati ...

and

Würschnitz The Würschnitz is a river of Saxony, Germany. At its confluence with the Zwönitz in the southern suburbs of Chemnitz, the river Chemnitz is formed. See also *List of rivers of Saxony A list of rivers of Saxony, Germany: A * Alte Luppe B ...

in the borough of Altchemnitz. The name of the city as well as the names of the rivers are of

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

origin. Chemnitz is the third-largest city in the

Thuringian Thuringian is an East Central German dialect group spoken in much of the modern German Free State of Thuringia north of the Rennsteig ridge, southwestern Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent territories of Hesse and Bavaria. It is close to Upper Saxon s ...

-

Upper Saxon Upper Saxon (, , ) is an East Central German dialect spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it is mostly extinct and a new r ...

dialect area after Leipzig and Dresden. The city's economy is based on the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

and

manufacturing industry Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ...

.

Chemnitz University of Technology Chemnitz University of Technology () is a public university in Chemnitz, Germany. With around 8,300 students, it is the third largest university in Saxony. It was founded in 1836 as ''Königliche Gewerbschule'' (Royal Mercantile College) and ...

has around 10,000 students. Chemnitz is known for its many industrial age buildings and monuments, and is the

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

of 2025.

Toponymy

Chemnitz is named after the river

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

, the main tributary of the

Zwickau Mulde The Zwickauer Mulde () is a river in Saxony, Germany. It is the left tributary of the Mulde and in length. The source of the river is in the Ore Mountains, near Schöneck, in the Vogtlandkreis. It runs northeast to Aue, then northwest to Z ...

. The word "Chemnitz" derives from the

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

expression for "stone" (), which is the root of the Upper Sorbian designations for the river (; "stony

rook Rook or rooks may refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess that moves horizontally and vertically * Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game People, characters, individuals *a rookie, a rook * Russell Rook, Baron Rook (The Lord Rook; 21 ...

), as well as for the city itself (also ). The term is composed of the stem , and the Slavic feminine suffix . The city is known in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

as and in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

sometimes as . Chemnitz is one of many places worldwide whose name derives from the Slavic root such as

Kamianske Kamianske (, ; ), previously known as Dniprodzerzhynsk from 1936 to 2016, is an industrial city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine, and a port on the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It serves as the administrative center of Kamianske Raion and Kamianske ...

and

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...

in Ukraine,

Kamensk-Uralsky Kamensk-Uralsky ( rus, Ка́менск-Ура́льский, p=ˈkamʲɪnsk ʊˈralʲskʲɪj) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kamenka River (Sverdlovsk Oblast), ...

and

Kamensk-Shakhtinsky Kamensk-Shakhtinsky ( rus, Ка́менск-Ша́хтинский, p=ˈkamʲɪnsk ˈʂaxtʲɪnskʲɪj) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Rostov Oblast, located on the Seversky Donets River, around 15kms east of the border ...

in Russia, Kamenica (Serbia),

Kamienna Góra Kamienna Góra (, ) is a town in south-western Poland with 18,235 inhabitants (2023). It is the seat of Kamienna Góra County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Kamienna Góra, although it is not part of the territory of the latter (t ...

(Poland), Kamenz (Kamjenc) (Germany),

Kamień Pomorski Kamień Pomorski (; ; or ''Kammin'') is a spa town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship of north-western Poland, on the Baltic coast. It is the seat of an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Kamień County which lies approximately 63&n ...

(Poland),

Kamieniec Ząbkowicki Kamieniec Ząbkowicki () is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. The town is an important railroad j ...

(Poland), Kamenitsa (Bulgaria),

Kamenický Šenov Kamenický Šenov () is a town in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zone ...

(Czech Republic),

Kamieńsk Kamieńsk () is a town in Poland, in the Łódź Voivodeship, in Radomsko County. As of 2020, it had 2,703 inhabitants. It is located in the Sieradz Land. There is an airport named Kamieńsk-Orla Góra in Kamieńsk mainly used for agricultural pu ...

(Poland), Kamenskoye (Russia), and

Kamenac Kamenac (; sr-Cyrl, Kaмeнaц) is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Kneževi Vinogradi municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 177 people. Ethnic groups (2001 census) * ...

(Croatia). Of these, Chemnitz has the largest population.

History

Beginnings

The area was sparsely settled by Slavic tribes related to the modern Sorbs. The placename is first attested for the eponymous local river (1012/18: "Caminizi fluvium"). In 1143, a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery at "Kameniz" was founded, around which a settlement grew. Around 1170, the town was granted the rights of a free imperial city by emperor

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

.

Meissen and Saxony

In 1307, the town became subordinate to the

Margraviate of Meissen The Margravate or Margraviate of Meissen () was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' ( Saxon Eastern March ...

, the predecessor of the Saxon state. In

medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

, 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 The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

. Geologist

Georgius Agricola Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire, he was b ...

(1494–1555), author of several significant works on mining and

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

including the landmark treatise ''De Re Metallica'', became

city physician City physician (German language, German: ; , , from Latin ) was a historical title in the Late Middle Ages for a physician appointed by the city council. The city physician was responsible for the health of the population, particularly the poor, ...

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 Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony. History First a Slavic pagan settlem ...

, approximately 50 km away. Chemnitz became a famous trading and textile manufacturing town. In 1806, with the end of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, the Electorate was renamed as the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

, and this survived until the revolutions of 1918 which followed the Armistice ending the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. By the early 19th century, Chemnitz had become an industrial centre (sometimes called "the Saxon

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

", , ). Important industrial companies were founded by

Richard Hartmann Richard Hartmann (8 November 1809 – 16 December 1878) was a German engineering manufacturer. Life Hartmann was born on 8 November 1809 in Barr, Bas-Rhin, the son of a tawer (''Weissgerber'', a Tanner (occupation), tanner of white leather) ...

, 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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.

Weimar Republic

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 The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...

voted by 1,000 votes to three to break from the party and join the Communist Party behind their local leaders,

Fritz Heckert Friedrich "Fritz" Carl Heckert (28 March 1884 – 7 April 1936) was a German people, German trade unionist and politician who co-founded the Spartacus League and the Communist Party of Germany. He was a member of the Reichstag (Weimar Republic), ...

and

Heinrich Brandler Heinrich Brandler (3 July 1881 – 26 September 1967) was a German communist, trade unionist, politician, revolutionary activist, and political writer. Brandler is best remembered as the head of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) during the par ...

. In March 1919 the German Communist Party had over 10,000 members in the city of Chemnitz. 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 Auto Union AG was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm for ...

(today Audi) was founded 1932 in Chemnitz.

World War II

Allied bombing destroyed 41 per cent of the built-up area of Chemnitz during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Chemnitz contained factories that produced military hardware and a Flossenbürg

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

subcamp (500 female inmates) for Astra-Werke AG. The

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial processes, industrial process Factory, plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refining, refined into products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, Bitumen, asphalt base, ...

was a target for bombers during the Oil Campaign of World War II, and Operation Thunderclap attacks included the following raids: * 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 The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

bombers attacked the marshalling yards. * 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 Auto Union AG was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm for ...

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 Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

, Bavaria, where it evolved into

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

, now a brand within the Volkswagen group. The World War II bombings left most of the city centre in ruins and

post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

, the East German reconstruction included large low-rise (and later high-rise ) housing. Some tourist sites were reconstructed during the

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

era and after

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

. Today over 50 % of the city´s buildings date back to before 1950.

GDR

After the dissolution of the Länder (states) in the GDR in 1952, Chemnitz became seat of a district (). On 10 May 1953, the city was renamed by decision of the East German government to (German: ''Karl Marx City'') after

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

, 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. GDR Prime Minister

Otto Grotewohl Otto Emil Franz Grotewohl (; 11 March 1894 – 21 September 1964) was a German politician who served as the first prime minister of the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany) from its founding in October 1949 until his death in Septembe ...

said: After the city centre was destroyed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 apartment-block style, for example . The old buildings of the period, which still existed especially in the Kassberg, and quarters, were neglected and fell increasingly into dereliction.

After reunification

Das ehemalige Karl-Marx-Forum in Chemnitz 2015

On 23 April 1990, a referendum on the future name of the city was held: 76% of the voters voted for the old name "". On 1 June 1990, the city was officially renamed. After the

reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...

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."Kurzfassung zur Promotion des Dipl.-Pol. Alexander Bergmann zur Thematik 'Deutschlands jüngste Innenstadt – Rekonstruktion in Chemnitz verstehen'"
/ref> 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 . The mooted project on an essentially unused area of the former city would be comparable in circumference with the in Berlin. Numerous internationally renowned architects such as , and 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 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. Between 1990 and 2007 more than 250 buildings were leveled. WirSindMehr2018-FeineSahneFischfilet-22

In late August 2018 the city was the site of a series of

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

that attracted at least 8,000 people. The protests were attended by

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

and

Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

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." The reports of mob violence and riots were criticized as incorrect later on. The German language Swiss newspaper

Neue Zürcher Zeitung The (''NZZ''; "New Newspaper of Zurich") is German language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zurich. The paper was founded in 1780. It has a reputation as a high-quality newspaper, as the German Swiss newspaper of record ...

corrected its earlier reports, stating that there had evidently been no mob violence but there have been sporadic encroachments. Minister President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer came to the same conclusion: "there were no mobs and man hunts". 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. A one-minute silence commemorated the murdered Daniel H., the son of a German mother and a Cuban father. The concert itself has been criticized for far-left activities and violent song texts of some of the participating bands.

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.

Theater Chemnitz Theater Chemnitz is a German municipal theater organization based in Chemnitz. Performances of opera, ballet, plays, symphonic concerts, and puppet theater take place in its three main venues: * ''Opernhaus Chemnitz'' (for opera, ballet and musica ...

offers a variety of theatre: opera (opera house from 1909), plays, ballet and (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 The Karl Marx Monument () is a 7.10m (23.29ft)-tall stylized head of Karl Marx in Chemnitz, Germany. The heavy-duty sculpture, together with the base platform, stand over 13 meters (42 feet) tall and weighs approximately 40 tonnes. On a wall ju ...

by

Lev Kerbel Lev Yefimovich Kerbel (; – 14 August 2003) was a Soviet and Russian sculptor of socialist realist works. Kerbel's creations included statues of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Yuri Gagarin, which were sent by Soviet Government as gifts to soci ...

, nicknamed (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 An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

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 A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

. The

Chemnitz petrified forest The Chemnitz petrified forest is a petrified forest in Chemnitz, Germany, that is part of the Early Permian Leukersdorf Formation. Most of the trunks are exhibited in the Museum of Natural History in Chemnitz inside of Kulturkaufhaus Tietz, ...

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 Zara may refer to: Businesses * Zara (retailer), a fashion retail company based in Spain * Zara Investment Holding, a Jordanian holding company * Continental Hotel Zara, Budapest, Hungary People and fictional characters * Zara (name), primari ...

, H&M, Esprit, , Leiser Shoes, and Peek & Cloppenburg. The large (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 The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is a tourist route of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. This is a tourism industry information initiative to present a network of industrial heritage sites across Europe. The ...

. Additional unique industrial monuments are located at the "Schauplatz Eisenbahn" ( Saxon Railway Museum and Museum of Technology Rope Shunting System) in Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf. The

State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz The State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz (German language, German: ''Staatliches Museum für Archäologie Chemnitz''), abbreviated smac, is the archaeological and cultural-historical museum of the Free State of Saxony. It is in Chemnitz, Germany, a ...

opened in 2014 and is located in the former Schocken Department Stores (architect: Erich Mendelsohn; opening of the department store: 1930). The , formerly a bank, opened on 1 December 2007. , who lived in Munich, had a collection of some 2,500 pieces of

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

, including many paintings and drawings by , 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 is a municipal

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, and the is a non-profit garden specializing in

arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

and

alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxon, taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial g ...

s. 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.

Image gallery

File:Altes und Neues Rathaus am Chemnitzer Marktplatz 2015.jpg, Old and new city hall File:Chemnitz, Roter Turm und Galerie Roter Turm.JPG, Red tower File:Chemnitz Opernhaus 2002.jpg,

Chemnitz Opera Theater Chemnitz is a German municipal theater organization based in Chemnitz. Performances of opera, ballet, plays, symphonic concerts, and puppet theater take place in its three main venues: * ''Opernhaus Chemnitz'' (for opera, ballet and musica ...

at Opernplatz File:St.-Petri-Kirche in Chemnitz (Barras).JPG, St. Petri church File:Lutherkirche chemnitz.jpg, Lutheran church File:Schlossteich und -kirche in Chemnitz (Hiroshi).JPG, Castle church over the Castle Lake File:Hotel Mercure, Chemnitz, 2015.jpg, The Mercure Hotel, tallest building in Chemnitz File:Chemnitz-Glaesernes-Kaufhaus.jpg, The Transparent department store File:Chemnitz-Falkeplatz.jpg, View over at night File:Castle Rabenstein 1 (aka).jpg, File:Karl-Marx-Monument in Chemnitz.jpg, Bust of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

, the city's former namesake File:Hauptgebäude der TU Chemnitz, 2015.jpg,

Chemnitz University of Technology Chemnitz University of Technology () is a public university in Chemnitz, Germany. With around 8,300 students, it is the third largest university in Saxony. It was founded in 1836 as ''Königliche Gewerbschule'' (Royal Mercantile College) and ...

File:Weststraße Chemnitz.JPG,

Gründerzeit The (; ) was a period of Economic history of Europe (1000 AD–present), European economic history in mid- and late-19th century German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary between Industrialization in Germany, industrialization and the great P ...

quarter Kaßberg File:Blick zur Galerie Roter Turm und zum Hotel Mercure in Chemnitz 2015.jpg, View over the city halls and the inner city File:Chemnitz-Kulturhaus.jpg, File:Wasserschloss-Klaffenbach2.jpg, Watercastle File:Chemnitz Stadtbad1.JPG, File:Chemnitz-AmSchloss.jpg, Guest houses at Castle park File:Der Versteinerte Wald von Chemnitz im Lichthof des Kulturkaufhaus DAStietz, 2015.jpg,

Chemnitz petrified forest The Chemnitz petrified forest is a petrified forest in Chemnitz, Germany, that is part of the Early Permian Leukersdorf Formation. Most of the trunks are exhibited in the Museum of Natural History in Chemnitz inside of Kulturkaufhaus Tietz, ...

inside the File:Chemnitz-Gunzenhauser-night.jpg,

Gunzenhauser Museum The Gunzenhauser Museum () is a museum and art gallery located in Chemnitz, the third largest city of Saxony, Germany. It contains 2,459 works by 270 modern artists of the 20th century that have been collected by the art dealer Dr. Alfred Gunz ...

File:Kaufhaus Schocken in Chemnitz 2014.jpg, State Museum of Archaeology Chemnitz

Climate

Chemnitz has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb''; Trewartha: ''Dobk''). The annual precipitation is , and the precipitation in summer is about twice that in winter. The Chemnitz weather station has recorded the following extreme values: * Its highest temperature was on 20 August 2012. * Its lowest temperature was on 11 February 1956. * Its greatest annual precipitation was in 1941. * Its least annual precipitation was in 1943. * The longest annual sunshine was 2,119 hours in 2011. * The shortest annual sunshine was 1,077.7 hours in 1977.

Administrative divisions

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. (PDF; 75 KB) 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. Image:Chemnitz stadtteilnummern.svg, left, 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 Joachim was, according to Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary (mother of Jesus), and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of the New Testament apoc ...

(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 The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(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. The most recent mayoral election was held on 20 September 2020, with a runoff held on 11 October, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Sven Schulze , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

, 22,241 , 23.1 , 31,749 , 34.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Almut Patt , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 20,630 , 21.4 , 20,047 , 22.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Susanne Schaper , align=left, The Left , 14,584 , 15.1 , 14,668 , 16.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ulrich Oehme , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

, 11,731 , 12.2 , 12,034 , 13.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Lars Faßmann , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, 11,470 , 11.9 , 12,515 , 13.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Volkmar Zschocke , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

, 6,811 , 7.1 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Matthias Eberlein , align=left,

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

, 3,394 , 3.5 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Paul Vogel , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazine ...

, 1,527 , 1.6 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 96,428 ! 99.5 ! 91,017 ! 99.7 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 489 ! 0.5 ! 285 ! 0.3 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 96,917 ! 100.0 ! 91,302 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 194,952 ! 49.7 ! 194,850 ! 46.9 , - , colspan=7, Source
Wahlen in Sachsen

City council

The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) , 86,198 , 24.3 , 6.4 , 15 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 75,727 , 21.3 , 1.3 , 13 , 0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice ( , BSW) is a List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-le ...

(BSW) , 53,441 , 15.0 , New , 8 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD) , 43,922 , 12.4 , 0.8 , 7 , 0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 26,984 , 7.6 , 9.1 , 5 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

(Grüne) , 25,833 , 7.3 , 4.2 , 4 , 3 , - , bgcolor=009332, , align=left, Pro Chemnitz/ Free Saxons (Pro C/FS) , 17,557 , 4.9 , 2.8 , 3 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 12,759 , 3.6 , 3.8 , 2 , 2 , - , , align=left, Citizen Alliance Solidarity (BBS) , 2,656 , 0.7 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 121,838 ! 98.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 1,804 ! 1.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 123,642 ! 100.0 ! ! 59 ! 1 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 189,189 ! 65.4 ! 4.1 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
Wahlen in Sachsen

Urban renewal

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 In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

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 in Berlin, a whole new quarter of the city was constructed in recent years. New buildings include the

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

by , with a façade by and Peek & Cloppenburg clothing store by and Partner.

Economy

Chemnitz is the largest city of the 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. Since about 2000, the city's economy has recorded high annual

GDP growth Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

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. 16.3% of employees in Chemnitz have a university or

college degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to a student upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions often offer degrees at various levels, usually divided into und ...

, twice the average rate in Germany.

Image gallery

File:VW factory Mosel-Zwickau (aka).jpg, is the largest employer in the Agglomeration. File:Büro- und Wohnhaus der Deutschen Bundesbank - Filiale Chemnitz, Zschopauer Straße, 2015.jpg, File:Anbau Dämmerung.jpg, The is the largest hospital in the former East German states and the second biggest employer in Chemnitz. File:Kaufhaus Peek&Cloppenburg, Chemnitz, Neumarkt, 2015.jpg, Chemnitz is a shopping destination. Photo shows the Peek & Cloppenburg store in the city centre. File:View from Klínovec northwards.JPG, Chemnitz is the centerpiece of tourism in the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

.

Demographics

Chemnitz has a population of 246,000 people and is the 3rd largest city in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. 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 East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

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 East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

,

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. After the

German Reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

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 Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

groups where many foreigners experience racism and moved away from Chemnitz. The city had a fertility rate of 1.64 in 2015. Foreign population in Chemnitz by nationality as of 31 December 2022: A large contributor to the city's foreign population is

Chemnitz University of Technology Chemnitz University of Technology () is a public university in Chemnitz, Germany. With around 8,300 students, it is the third largest university in Saxony. It was founded in 1836 as ''Königliche Gewerbschule'' (Royal Mercantile College) and ...

. 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.

Languages

*

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

*

Chemnitz dialect The Chemnitz dialect is a distinct German dialect of the city of Chemnitz and an urban variety of Vorerzgebirgisch, a variant of Upper Saxon German. Phonology Consonants * are bilabial, whereas are labiodental. * are dental . ** is alv ...

, which is a variety of

Upper Saxon German Upper Saxon (, , ) is an East Central German dialect spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it is mostly extinct and a new r ...

Transport

Roads

Chemnitz is linked to two motorways (s), A4 and A72 . The motorway junction is situated in the northwestern area of the city. The motorway A72 between and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

is still under construction. Within the administrative area of Chemnitz there are eight motorway exits (). The A4 motorway is part of the

European route E40 European route E40 is the longest European route, more than long, connecting Calais in France via Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with Ridder in Kazakhstan near the border with ...

, one of the longest European E roads, connecting Chemnitz with the

Asian Highway The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

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 . Nowadays, the city and its surroundings are served by one 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 line.

Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station in Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Station building The station has a combination of terminating and through platforms. Platform tracks 5 to 9 terminate and tracks 1 to 4 and 10 to 14 continue t ...

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, and bus networks is , and respectively. In August 2012, electro-diesel trams were ordered from , to support an expansion of the light rail network to , with new routes serving , and .

Airports

Three airports are near Chemnitz, including the two

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

s of Saxony in Dresden and Leipzig. Both

Leipzig/Halle Airport Leipzig/Halle Airport is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany, and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. It is a state-owned enterprise and allows 24 hour take off and landing for cargo flights. In ...

and

Dresden Airport Dresden Airport is an international airport of Dresden, the state capital of Saxony, Germany. It is located in Klotzsche, a district of Dresden north of the city centre. It was formerly also known in German as ''Flughafen Dresden-Klotzsche''. D ...

are about from Chemnitz and offer numerous continental as well as intercontinental flights. Chemnitz also has a small commercial airport ( about south of the city. When its current upgrade is completed it will have an asphalt runway long and wide. File:Hauptbahnhof Chemnitz und Bahnhofsvorplatz 2015.jpg, , the main train station of Chemnitz File:Zentralhaltestelle Chemnitz, Innenstadt, 2015.jpg, Tram stop at the main tram and bus station at night File:Trams at Chemnitz Hauptbahnhof - geo.hlipp.de - 5066.jpg, A tram in Chemnitz File:Aerial image of the Chemnitz-Jahnsdorf airfield.jpg, The small commercial airport Flugplatz Chemnitz-Jahnsdorf

Sports

* (basketball, men) * (

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

) *

Chemnitzer PSV Chemnitzer Polizeisportverein e.V. (commonly known as Chemnitzer PSV, or CPSV for short) is a German sports club in Chemnitz, Germany. Founded in 1920 as PSV Chemnitz, the club sees itself as their legal successor. With almost 2,000 members, CP ...

(football, handball, volleyball) * Chemcats Chemnitz (basketball, women) *

VfB Fortuna Chemnitz VfB Fortuna Chemnitz is a German association football club from Chemnitz, Saxony. The club was formed in 2005 out of the fusion of ''VfB Chemnitz'' and ''SV Fortuna Furth Glösa''. __TOC__ History The older of these two sides is ''VfB'' which ...

(football) * (swimming) * (swimming) * (swimming, gymnastics, volleyball, skittles) * (

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

,

skater hockey Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using wheeled skates. It can be played with traditional roller skates (quad skates) or with inline skates and use either a ball or puck. Combined, roller hockey is played in nearly 60 co ...

) * (tennis) * Floor Fighters Chemnitz (

floorball Floorball (also known by other names) is a sport played with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. It is played indoors with sticks and a hollow plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three periods. The sport of bandy also playe ...

) * (

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

) * (

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

,

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

,

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

) * Chemnitz Crusaders (

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

) * Tower Rugby Chemnitz (

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

) * (

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

) * (

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

)

Notable people

*

Paul Oswald Ahnert Paul Oswald Ahnert (22 November 1897 – 27 February 1989) was a German astronomer. He first became famous in Germany for publishing the ''"Kalender für Sternfreunde"'' from 1948 until 1988, an annual calendar of astronomical events. The minor ...

(1897–1989), astronomer *

Brigitte Ahrens Brigitte Ahrens (born 13 September 1945 in Chemnitz, Germany) is a German schlager-singer, who was well known in East Germany. Biography Ahrens sang in the choir of the ''Klub der Jungen Talente'' in Karl-Marx-Stadt between 1961 and 1964. In 1 ...

(born 1945), pop singer * Olaf Altmann (born 1960), scenic designer * Mark Arndt (born 1941), Russian Orthodox Archbishop *

Michael Ballack Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He won the German Footballer of ...

(born 1976), German footballer, former captain of

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

and Germany * Veronika Bellmann (born 1960), politician *

Fritz Bennewitz Fritz Bennewitz (20 January 1926 – 13 September 1995) was a German theatre director. Life Bennewitz was born in Chemnitz. His father was a train driver: his mother worked as a seamstress. Between 1950 and 1953 he was a student of German st ...

(1926–1995), theater director * Gerd Böckmann (born 1944), television actor and director *

Werner Bräunig Werner Bräunig (May 12, 1934 – August 14, 1976) was a German author. He is best known for his posthumously published novel ''Rummelplatz'' (German for ''"Fairground"''). The novel was to be part of a Communist Party campaign to establish a ne ...

(1934–1976), writer *

Marianne Brandt Marianne Brandt (1 October 1893 – 18 June 1983) was a German painter, sculptor, photographer, metalsmith, and designer who studied at the Bauhaus art school in Weimar and later became head of the Bauhaus ''Metall-Werkstatt'' (Metal Workshop ...

(1893–1983), artist, designer *

Valery Bykovsky Valery Fyodorovich Bykovsky (; 2 August 1934 – 27 March 2019) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on three space flights: Vostok 5, Soyuz 22, and Soyuz 31. He was also backup for Vostok 3 and Soyuz 37. Early life and career Born in Pavlovs ...

(1934–2019), Soviet

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

*

C418 Daniel Rosenfeld (born 9 May 1989), known professionally as C418 (pronounced "see four eighteen"), is a German musician, composer and producer. Known for his minimalistic ambient work, he rose to fame as the original composer and sound designe ...

(real name Daniel Rosenfeld, born 1989), music producer and sound engineer for ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

'' and ''

Wanderstop ''Wanderstop'' is a 2025 cozy game developed by Ivy Road and published by Annapurna Interactive. Written and directed by Davey Wreden, composed by C418, and edited by Karla Zimonja, it follows a former warrior named Alta, whose painful losses i ...

'' * Hans Carl von Carlowitz (1645–1714), forest scientist *

Max Eckert-Greifendorff Max Eckert (after 1934, Max Eckert-Greifendorff: 10 April 1868 in Chemnitz, Kingdom of Saxony – 26 December 1938, in Aachen) was a German geographer. Biography He received his education in Löbau and Berlin, and taught for some time at Löbau a ...

(1868–1938), cartographer and professor *

Gerson Goldhaber Gerson Goldhaber (February 20, 1924 – July 19, 2010) was a German-born American particle physicist and astrophysicist. He was one of the discoverers of the J/ψ meson, which is the bound state of a charm quark and a charm anti-quark. Together ...

(1924–2010), American nuclear and astrophysicist *

Friedrich Goldmann Friedrich Goldmann (27 April 1941 – 24 July 2009) was a German composer and conductor. Life Born on 27 April 1941 in Siegmar-Schönau (today a part of Chemnitz), Goldmann's music education began in 1951 when he joined the Dresdner Kreuzchor. ...

(1941–2009), composer and conductor *

Carl Hahn Carl Horst Hahn (1 July 1926 – 14 January 2023) was a German businessman and head of the Volkswagen Group from 1982 to 1993. He served as the chairman of the board of management of the parent company, Volkswagen AG (formerly Volkswagenwerk A ...

(1926–2023), businessman, head of the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxon ...

*

Johannes Hähle Johannes Hähle (15 February 1906 – 10 June 1944) was a German military photographer who served in the Wehrmacht Propaganda Troops during World War II. Life Hähle made a training as merchant and photographer. In 1932 he joined the Nazi ...

(1906–1944), military photographer *

Peter Härtling Peter Härtling (; 13 November 1933 – 10 July 2017) was a German writer, poet, publisher and journalist. He received the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his major contribution to German literature. Biography Härtling was ...

(1933-2017), writer *

Richard Hartmann Richard Hartmann (8 November 1809 – 16 December 1878) was a German engineering manufacturer. Life Hartmann was born on 8 November 1809 in Barr, Bas-Rhin, the son of a tawer (''Weissgerber'', a Tanner (occupation), tanner of white leather) ...

(1809–1878), important entrepreneur ("Saxon locomotive king") * Frank Heinrich (born 1964), politician, member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

* Stephan Hermlin (1915–1997), writer *

Stefan Heym Helmut Flieg (10 April 1913 – 16 December 2001) was a German writer, known by his pseudonym Stefan Heym (). He lived in the United States and trained at Camp Ritchie in 1943, making him one of the Ritchie Boys of World War II. In 1952, he r ...

(1913–2001), writer and member of the Bundestag of the PDS *

Christian Gottlob Heyne Christian Gottlob Heyne (; 25 September 1729 – 14 July 1812) was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library. He was a member of the Göttingen school of history. ...

(1729–1812), classical scholar and archaeologist *

Sigmund Jähn Sigmund Werner Paul Jähn (; 13 February 1937 – 21 September 2019) was a German Aircraft pilot, pilot, cosmonaut, and ''Generalmajor#Generalmajor in East Germany, Generalmajor'' (equivalent to a Brigadier General in Western armies) in the Nat ...

(1937–2019), first German

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

(

Interkosmos Interkosmos () was a Soviet space program, designed to help the Soviet Union's allies with Human spaceflight, crewed and Uncrewed spacecraft, uncrewed space missions. The program was formed in April 1967 in Moscow. All members of the program fr ...

flight of August 26, 1978) *

John Kluge John Werner Kluge (; September 21, 1914September 7, 2010) was a German-American entrepreneur who became a television industry mogul in the United States. At one time he was the richest person in the U.S. Early life and education Kluge was b ...

(1921–2010), German-American billionaire and media mogul * Eva Kunz (1947–2023), politician *

Helga Lindner Helga Lindner (later Härtel; 5 May 1951 – 3 November 2021) was a German swimmer. Born in Chemnitz, East Germany, she competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics. In 1968 she won a silver medal in the women's 200 m butter ...

(born 1951), swimmer;

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

silver medalist *

Max Littmann Max Littmann (3 January 1862 - 20 September 1931) was a German architect. Education Littmann was educated in the Chemnitz University of Technology and the Dresden University of Technology. In 1885, he moved to Munich where he met Friedrich ...

(1862–1931), architect *

Anja Mittag Anja Mittag (; born 16 May 1985) is a German football coach and a former player who played as a striker. Mittag is currently a assistant coach for RB Leipzig. In July 2020, Mittag announced that she would end her playing career after the wome ...

(born 1985),

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, World Champion 2007 * Frederick and William , founders of the Diamant bicycle brand *

Carsten Nicolai Carsten Nicolai (born 18 September 1965 in Karl-Marx-Stadt, now Chemnitz) is a German artist, musician and label owner. As a musician he is known under the pseudonym Alva Noto. Life and career Carsten Nicolai was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Ch ...

(born 1965), contemporary artist *

Frei Otto Frei Paul Otto (; 31 May 1925 – 9 March 2015) was a German architect and structural engineer noted for his use of lightweight structures, in particular tensile and membrane structures, including the roof of the Olympic Stadium in Munich for t ...

(1925–2015), architect, architectural theorist and professor of architecture, builder of the Munich Olympic Park *

Sylke Otto Sylke Otto (born 7 July 1969) is a German former luger who competed from 1991 to 2007. She was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she won the gold medal in the women's singles even ...

(born 1969),

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

* Siegfried Rapp (1917–1977), one-armed German pianist * Frederick Emil Resche (1866–1946), U.S. Army brigadier general *

Frank Rost Frank Rost (born 30 June 1973) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He comes from a sporting family background; his father Peter won a gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in handball, and his mother Christina ...

(born 1973), retired

football goalkeeper The goalkeeper (sometimes written as goal-keeper, abbreviated as GK, keeper, keeps, or goalie) is a position in association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport. The goalkeeper's main role is to stop the opposing team from ...

* Bruno Salzer (1859–1919), one of Chemnitz's leading entrepreneurs *

Aliona Savchenko Aljona Savchenko (, ''Olena Valentynivna Savchenko''; German Romanization: ''Aljona Sawtschenko'', sometimes ''Aliona Savchenko''; born 19 January 1984) is a retired Ukrainian-born German pair skater. One of the most decorated pair skaters, she ...

, ice figure skater *

Helmut Schelsky Helmut Schelsky (14 October 1912 – 24 February 1984) was a German sociologist, the most influential in post-World War II Germany, well into the 1970s. Biography Schelsky was born in Chemnitz, Saxony. He turned to social philosophy and ev ...

(1912–1984), sociologist and university lecturer *

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (Karl Schmidt until 1905; 1 December 1884 – 10 August 1976) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker; he was one of the four founders of the artist group Die Brücke. Life and work Schmidt-Rottluff was born in R ...

(1884–1976), painter and graphic artist of expressionism *

Maria Schüppel Maria Schüppel (28 May 1923 – 27 June 2011) was a German composer, educator, pianist and pioneering music therapist who composed works for lyre and voice, and experimented with electronic music. Schüppel was born in Chemnitz. After her fath ...

(1923–2011), composer and pioneering music therapist *

Christina Schultheiß Christina Schultheiß (27 June 1918 – 26 March 2016) was a German civil engineer, best known for her involvement in the Protestant church. She was president of the Thuringia, Thuringian state synod from 1978 to 1990, a member of the synods of t ...

(1918–2016), civil engineer, best known for her involvement in the Protestant church in East Germany. *

Matthias Schweighöfer Matthias Schweighöfer (; born 11 March 1981) is a German actor and filmmaker known for his work in several German and American film productions. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Franz Herber in the 2008 film ''Valkyrie''. In 2021, Sch ...

(born 1981), actor and film director *

Jörg Schüttauf Jörg Schüttauf (born 26 December 1961) is a German actor. He studied at the Theaterhochschule Leipzig. Since 2002 he has starred in the Hessischer Rundfunk version of the popular television crime series '' Tatort''. Filmography Film * 1985: ' ...

(born 1961), actor *

Nadja Stefanoff Nadja Stefanoff (born 22 July 1976) is a German operatic soprano based at the Staatstheater Mainz. She began her career as a mezzo-soprano. She has performed leading roles there and as a guest at major opera houses in Europe, such as Marta in Wei ...

(born 1983),

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

*

Matthias Steiner Matthias Steiner (; born 25 August 1982) is a retired Austrian-German weightlifter, and Olympic gold medalist. As a native Austrian, he competed for Austria internationally from 1998 to 2005, in European Championships, World Championships, and ...

(born 1982), German-Austrian

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

,

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

gold medalist 2008 *

Ingo Steuer Ingo Steuer (born 1 November 1966) is a German pair skater and skating coach. With Mandy Wötzel, he is the 1998 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1997 World champion, the 1995 European champion, and a four-time German national champion. As a c ...

(born 1966), figure skater *

Robin Szolkowy Robin Szolkowy (born 14 July 1979) is a retired German pair skater. With partner Aliona Savchenko, he is the 2010 and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, a five-time World champion (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014), a four-time European champion (20 ...

, ice figure skater *

Hans-Günther Thalheim Hans-Günther Thalheim (5 May 1924 – 3 December 2018) was a German professor of German language and linguistics and of Literary sciences. He was also a writer and literary editor. Life Thalheim was born in Chemnitz, in the southern part of ...

(1924–2018), Germanist and linguist *

Johannes Thümmler Johannes Hermann Thümmler, also Hans Thümmler, (born 23 August 1906 in Chemnitz; died 28 April 2002 in Eriskirch) was a German Obersturmbannführer and Senior Government, Head of the Gestapo Chemnitz and Katowice, as well as leader of commando ...

(1906-2002),

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party ( NSDAP) which was used by the SA (''Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ' was juni ...

* (born 1998) actress * Siegfried Vogel (born 1937), operatic bass * Kurt Wagner (1904–1989), German general *

Katarina Witt Katarina Witt (, ; born 3 December 1965) is a German former figure skater. A two-time Olympic champion, Witt is regarded as one of the greatest ladies' singles figure skaters of all time. Her Laureus profile states that "she is remembered mos ...

(born 1965), figure skater * Mandy Wötzel (born 1973), figure skater *

Klaus Wunderlich Klaus Wunderlich (18 June 1931 – 28 October 1997) was a famous German easy listening organist. Biography Wunderlich was born in Chemnitz. He played the Hammond organ model C3 then mid 60s changed to model Hammond H100. Wunderlich also tried ...

(1931–1997),

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Chemnitz is twinned with: *

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, Finland (1961) *

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, Slovenia (1966) *

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...

, Mali (1968) *

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction. ...

, Czech Republic (1970) *

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland (1972) *

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

, France (1981) *

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, UK (1983) *

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

, Russia (1988) *

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany (1988) *

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

, United States (1997) *

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

, China (1999) *

Kiryat Bialik Kiryat Bialik (, also Qiryat Bialik) is a city in the Haifa District in Israel. The city was established on July 18, 1934, during the Fifth Aliyah. It is one of the five Krayot suburbs to the north of Haifa. In it had a population of . The city ...

, Israel (2022) Former twin cities: *

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

, France (1967 to 2021)

References

Bibliography

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Cities in Saxony Oil campaign of World War II Urban districts of Saxony