Chemnitz

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For other uses, see Chemnitz (disambiguation).

Chemnitz

From top: View over Chemnitz,

Red tower,
Old Town Hall, Modern city centre of Chemnitz
 Flag

Coat of arms

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Location of Chemnitz

Chemnitz

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Coordinates:  50°50′N 12°55′ECoordinates:  50°50′N 12°55′E

Country Germany
State Saxony
District Urban districts of Germany

Government
 • Mayor Barbara Ludwig (SPD)

Area
 • Total 220.85 km2 (85.27 sq mi)

Elevation 296 m (971 ft)

Population
 (2019-12-31)[1]
 • Total 246,334
  • Density 1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)

Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)

 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)

Postal codes 09001–09247

Dialling codes 0371

037200 (Wittgensdorf) 037209 (Einsiedel)

03722 (Röhrsdorf)

03726 (Euba)
Vehicle C
registration

Website www.chemnitz.de 

Chemnitz (German: [ˈkɛmnɪts] ( listen), from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt, pronounced [kaʁl

ˈmaʁksˌʃtat] ( listen)) is the third largest city in the German federal
state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of 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 is 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 in the Thuringian-Upper Saxon dialect area after Leipzig and Dresden.
The city's economy is based on the service sector and manufacturing
industry. Chemnitz University of Technology has around 10,000 students.
Chemnitz is going to be the European Capital of Culture in 2025.[2]

Contents

Etymology[edit]
Chemnitz is named after the river Chemnitz, a small tributary of the Zwickau Mulde. The
word "Chemnitz" is from the Sorbian language (Upper Sorbian: Kamjenica), and means
"stony [brook]". The word is composed of the Slavic word kamen meaning "stone" and
the feminine suffix -ica.
It is known in Czech as Saská Kamenice and in Polish as Kamienica Saska. There are
many other towns named Kamienica or Kamenice in areas with past or present Slavic
settlement.

History[edit]
See also: Timeline of Chemnitz
Chemnitz in 1850

An early Slavic tribe's settlement was located at Kamienica, and the first documented
use of the name Chemnitz was the 1143 site of a Benedictine monastery around which
a settlement grew. Circa 1170 Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor granted it the rights of
an Imperial city. In 1307, the town became subordinate to the Margraviate of Meissen,
the predecessor of the Saxon state. In medieval times, Chemnitz became a centre of
textile production and trade. More than one third of the population worked in textile
production.
By the early 19th century, Chemnitz had become an industrial centre (sometimes called
"the Saxon Manchester", German: Sächsisches Manchester, pronounced [ˈzɛksɪʃəs
ˈmɛnt͡ʃɛstɐ] ( listen)). In 1913, Chemnitz had a population of 320,000 and, like Leipzig
and Dresden, was larger at that time than today. After losing inhabitants due to the First
World War Chemnitz grew rapidly again and reached its all-time peak of 360,250
inhabitants in 1930. Thereafter, growth was stalled by the world economic crisis.
Weimar Republic[edit]
As a working-class industrial city, it was a powerful center of socialist political
organization after World War I. At the foundation of the German Communist Party the
local Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany voted by 1,000 votes to three to
break from the party and join the Communist Party behind their local leaders, Fritz
Heckert and Heinrich Brandler.[3] In March 1919 the German Communist Party had over
10,000 members in the city of Chemnitz. [4]
World War II[edit]
Allied bombing destroyed 41 per cent of the built-up area of Chemnitz during
the Second World War.[5] Chemnitz contained factories that produced military hardware
and a Flossenbürg forced labor subcamp (500 female inmates) for Astra-Werke AG.
[6]
 The oil refinery 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 bombers attacked the marshalling yards. [7]
 5 March: 760 RAF bombers attacked.
The headquarters of the auto manufacturer Auto Union were also based in Chemnitz
since 1932 and its buildings were also badly damaged. At the end of the war, the
company's executives fled and relocated the company in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, where it
evolved into Audi, now a brand within the Volkswagen group.
The World War II bombings left most of the city in ruins and post-war, the East German
reconstruction included large low rise (and later high-rise Plattenbau) housing. Some
tourist sites were reconstructed during the East German era and after German
reunification. The city was occupied by Soviet troops on 8 May 1945.