Welcome to Chemnitz!
Chemnitz is a city in southwestern Saxony, with around 250 000 inhabitants the third-largest city in the state, after Dresden and Leipzig. The settlement developed around a monastery and was granted city status in 1170. Due to its location at the foot of the Erzgebirge (literally ore mountains), in the 16th century, Chemnitz began to grow in size and importance as a place of trade, and later as the base of industrial production.
The increase in Saxon coal mining during the 18th century allowed Chemnitz to develop into one of the most important centers of the German machine and textile industries - factors that gave it the nickname of "little Manchester". Several large areas of the city were built during this period including Kaßberg and Sonnenberg. Due to the economic importance of Chemnitz, it was a prime target for the Allied air force during World War II. By 1945 the city had undergone near total destruction. Between 1953 and 1990 Chemnitz was renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt (even though Marx had never visited nor had anything to do with the city's contemporary history). A great deal of new building occurred during this period, much of which remains today. The large bronze head was presented to the town's people in 1971.
Chemnitz is the third largest city in the German federal state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city in Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, and Dresden. The city is part of the Central German Metropolitan Region and lies in the middle of a string of cities sitting in the densely populated northern foreland of the Elster and Ore Mountains, stretching from Plauen in the southwest via Zwickau, Chemnitz, and Freiberg to Dresden in the northeast.
Located in the Ore Mountain Basin, the city are surrounded by the Ore Mountains to the south and the Central Saxon Hill Country to the north. The city stands on the Chemnitz River (progression: Zwickauer Mulde→ Mulde→ Elbe→ North Sea), which is formed through the confluence of the rivers Zwönitz and Würschnitz in the borough of Altchemnitz.
The name of the city as well as the names of the rivers are of Slavic origin. Chemnitz is the third largest city in the Thuringian-Upper Saxon dialect area after Leipzig and Dresden. The city's economy is based on the service sector and manufacturing industry. The Chemnitz University of Technology has around 10,000 students.
Chemnitz will be the European Capital of Culture in 2025.