European Capital of Culture 2025

C the Unseen - Let's go to Chemnitz!

Under the motto "C the Unseen", the city invites all the makers and shakers of Europe to discover the treasures, surprises and the previously undiscovered in Chemnitz and the region and to establish new networks through their common passions.


You can also get a foretaste of the four major thematic areas in the Capital of Culture year by visiting now. Here is some information and tips.

Makers

It is the makers who have always existed in Chemnitz and the region, who shape their surroundings and write history. Entrepreneurs such as the "Saxon locomotive king" Richard Hartmann or the stocking manufacturer dynasty Esche and companies such as Wanderer and Auto Union shaped the city into one of the richest communities in Germany within a good 100 years. Today Chemnitz is a leading research and development location. It is therefore not surprising that international artists and architects have been invited to design it since that time. Today, some of the old buildings are being put to new uses - factory halls are being turned into museums, open spaces into galleries and every year an industrial wasteland is transformed into a festival location as part of the Days of Industrial Culture.

Creativity and civic participation in the cityscape© Johannes Richter
Die Buntmacher*innen verschönern auf dem Weg zur Kulturhauptstadt Europas 2025 die Treppe am Technischen Rathaus.
„The Chemnitz Industrial Museum invites visitors to experience the past, present and future of Saxony's industrial history over a period of 220 years. ”

It’s Moving!

Movement is very important in Chemnitz. The people not only look back on an eventful history, they also like to move. It is not without reason that Chemnitz is also considered a sports city. And it doesn't just offer professionals enough potential to get moving. The "European Peace Ride" aims to establish a cross-border cycling race for everyone by 2025, following on from the legendary International Peace Ride. In September 2021, around 80 ambitious recreational cyclists set off on a route of over 413 kilometres and around 5500 metres of altitude difference from Chemnitz to Prague and back. In order to emphasise the cultural connection between art and sport, the route will also include towns and communities that are anchored in the "Purple Path" art project. The hiking trail will run through the entire region around Chemnitz and present art in public spaces.

 

„There will be another small peace ride as early as 2022, and a wide variety of cycling routes and guided tours invite visitors to explore the city and the surrounding area. ”

Eastern State of Mind

It measures 2.60 x 5 x 2.50 metres, is built in single or double rows and is more functional than beautiful: the typical garage. First and foremost, it should be a safe home for a car. But that is somehow yesterday's news. Today, people tinker, screw, collect things and sometimes barbecue in front of the garage. So it's a bit of Eastern European mentality in action. And that's what it's all about: the connections to Eastern Europe. Prefabricated buildings become secret stars at "Fritz51", classic cars experience a comeback at the "Eastern Wheels Rally" and modernism in all its forms is the focus here - whether in design, architecture or art.

 

Architecture of Eastern Modernism in the City of Chemnitz, Stadthalle© Ernesto Uhlmann
Blick auf die Chemnitzer Stadthalle mit angrenzendem Stadthallenpark
„A tour through the Heckert area. The Fritz Heckert residential area was one of the largest urban development projects of the GDR. Original preserved art on buildings, traditional garage yards but also restructuring and deconstruction can be discovered on a tour.”

Generous Neighbours

An apple tree as an ecological value - a "Parade of Apple Trees" as a political statement. With the planting of the first apple trees in November 2021, the Parade of Apple Trees will be implemented as one of the first projects from the Capital of Culture programme. By 2025, up to 4,000 trees of 2,000 different European species will be planted once across the city and across property boundaries, whose godmothers and godfathers will also host events such as an art trail or the Apple Blossom Festival and encourage people to make and share together.


KOSMOS EUROPE" will bring together politics and pop culture in the city centre, "Evolution Chemnitz" will examine the history of right-wing radicalism in Chemnitz and the "Stefan Heym Residency Programme" will offer international authors a stage.

„On 17 June 2022, Kosmos Chemnitz will once again make social discourse visible as a live event in the city. Readings, concerts, lectures, discussions and exhibitions invite you to well-known and unusual places in the city. Until then, the kosmos-chemnitz.de platform offers a digital mix of art, culture, music, politics and social issues. ”

Discover the European Capital of Culture 2025 already now

Experience events, meet makers - you can do all that on a trip to Chemnitz!

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