A cultural guide to Chemnitz, Germany
Chemnitz isn’t an easy pick for a European Capital of Culture, but this former East German industrial hub is keen to build on its new fame – and that’s the point, writes James March
It feels like European Capitals of Culture are getting more and more left-field each year. In the 1980s and ’90s, this title was taken by the likes of Paris, Madrid and Amsterdam; in 2025, the German city of Chemnitz, a former industrial hub in Saxony, shares it with two towns straddling the border of Slovenia and Italy. And I couldn’t be happier. Europe’s overtouristed big cities don’t need the spotlight, so why not shine it on those places with a story to tell and fewer people to hear it?
Chemnitz certainly fits that mould, although it was anything but obscure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Back then, this was Germany’s wealthiest town, thanks to the coal pulled out of the Ore Mountains and the city’s rapid industrialisation, which saw factories and cotton mills mushroom across the area.
Everything changed, however, during the Second World War. Allied bombs bludgeoned Chemnitz in 1944, destroying 80% of the city centre. After the war, it became part of socialist East Germany (GDR), which briefly changed the city’s name to Karl-Marx-Stadt (Karl Marx City), despite Marx having never set foot here. Today, its mix of Art Nouveau, Modernist and Brutalist styles make Chemnitz a thrilling canvas for this year’s Capital of Culture celebrations.
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The ‘Lulatsch’ power plant chimney is even more dazzling when its rings are lit up at night (Alamy) -
This 40-tonne bust of Karl Marx was created as part of East Germany’s rebranding of Chemnitz as a model socialist city (Alamy) -
Chemnitz’s striking City Hall is topped by a honeycomb-like structure of moulded stone (Alamy)
Art is at the forefront of 2025’s events. The Kunstsammlungen am Theaterplatz’s Edvard Munch. Angst exhibition is showcasing work by Munch and other artists on the subject of fear (10 Aug– 2 Nov). As summer draws to a close, take advantage of the darker evenings at the Light Our Vision light festival (24–27 Sep), in which international artists will illuminate the city’s buildings and public spaces with spectacular projections.
Amid the festivities, don’t forget to explore the city itself. Cold War curiosities such as the gigantic 40-tonne bust of Karl Marx’s head are genuinely striking, and the 300m-high power plant chimney, known locally as the Lulatsch (Beanpole), became one of the world’s tallest works of art after the French artist Daniel Buren painted colourful rings onto it. If you want to see how Chemnitz looked before its destruction in 1944, the 12th-century Red Tower (Roter Turm) is the city’s oldest building and one of few surviving pre-20th-century landmarks.
Looking to the future, Chemnitz 2025’s lasting legacy will surely be the Purple Path, an art and sculpture trail that links all 38 municipalities in the region. Featuring work by the likes of Tony Cragg and Sean Scully, it’s a good excuse to get out and explore an underrated corner of Germany.
More information: chemnitz.travel
Read next: Exploring Italy’s Gorizia and Slovenia’s Nova Gorica, the first cross-border Capitals of Culture
