Chemnitz Things to Do

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Not much is preserved of the Benedictine monastery that was founded by Emperor Lothar on that hill above the later town Chemnitz in 1136: The few buildings beside the church, like cloisters and refectory, were turned into a museum. The name "Schloss-" results from the use of the complex as ducal castle from 1546 on, after the monastery was closed during reformation.

The Schlosskirche is an outstanding example of the typical Gothic churches in Saxony. It was constructed 1484 - 1526 using some of the Romanesque structures of the previous church (one Romanesque apse is preserved e.g.) The beautiful vaulted ceilings remind in some ways of those in St. Annen in Annaberg-Buchholz, note the excellent paintings depicting the four Evangelists in the vaults in the choir.

Absolutely fascinating is the former northern portal (1525), a co-operation of Hans Witten and Franz Maidburg, both leading artisans of their time. The portal was transfered to the inside 1977-79 to protect it from pollution. The portal has four storeys, the figures depict Emperor Lothar and his wife, Benedict and Scholastika, Maria and both John Baptist and John Evangelist. The decoration is in the typical late Gothic stlye that modeled architecture after nature (trees).

Another gorgeous work of art is the flagellation column, also by Hans Witten (1515). It is a 3.60 m tall column, carved from oak wood with several full-bodied figures. The scene depicts Jesus tied by one hangman's assistant to a tree and flagellated by two others. At his feet another assistant who draws the crown of thorns. I have never before seen such an drastic and haunting depiction of that scene.

Several altars have paintings of Lucas Cranach, Hans von Cöln, the main altar was transfered from St. Katherine in Großenhain, which was torn down in 1869, and is a masterpiece by Pancratius Gruber (1499) with woodcarved and paintings.

The church is open Mon, Wed, Fri 10-12 h and Tue and Thu 14-16 h.

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This is Chemnitz's largest park in central location. It is situated between the old town and the castle hill (Schlossberg). The lake in the centre of the park was created for fish breeding in 1493.

In 1860 the city bought the lake and surrounding area, designed and constructed the park. In the 1930s the neighbouring Hartmann machine building plant was torn down and the park enlarged. On those grounds the sculptures of the "Four Daytimes" by Johannes Schilling, originally in Dresden, found their new home - very beautiful.

Other attractions are the rose garden with the sculpture "Aurora" by Richard Scheibe (1937), more sulptures and fountains, cafes, a boat rowing rental. The park offers nice views of the Schlosskirche up on the hill.

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This church is one of the remarkable structures forming the Theaterplatz ensemble (theatre, art museum and Günnewig hotel being the others). It was designed by architects from Leipzig and erected 1885-88 in Neo-Gothic style, obviously inspired by French cathedrals. The appearance is quite picturesque with brickstone walls and sandstone framed large windows. Sandstone was also used for decorations and to accentuate corners, gables etc.

Unfortunately the beautiful stained-glass windows were destroyed in WWII. The windows you see nowadays are works created after 1945 and in recent years - more modern style.

The interior is mostly originally preserved. Altar, pulpit, baptismal font as well as the sculptures depicting Luther and Melanchthon are made of of French limestone and green marble from the neighbouring region - beautiful, good quality. An impressive piece is also the organ by Ladegast, modified by Jehmlich in 1912/13, with small damages in 1945 and well restored.

The church is open Tue - Sat 10 am - 5 pm.

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An outstanding but little known sight of Chemnitz is the Petrified Forest. Pieces are on display in the building "DASTietz" which also hosts the Museum of Natural History. Some of the petrified woods are to see in the main hall - free, daily. For more details, smaller pieces and explanations visit the Museum of Natural History.

The first pieces of petrified wood were found in Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf in 1737. The words mean "wood turned into stone" which happens when the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (mostly a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. Thus you can still see the tree rings e.g.

Here in Chemnitz this happened 290 million years ago when a volcano erupted at the place where nowadays the Zeisig forest is located. The wood was covered by 80° - 100° C hot pyroclastic material and due to lack of oxygen were petrified instead of burned.

In 1953 Chemnitz was renamed "Karl-Marx-Stadt". It was a decision of the communist government in East Berlin, the local people in Chemnitz had no saying in this. They never got used to that name, so in 1990 when they were asked in a referendum the outcome was an overwhelming "YES" to renaming the city back to "Chemnitz" again.

The name of the city aside, the communists wanted a physical place to commemorate Karl Marx in the city. They picked one of the wide streets, Brückenstrasse, renamed it "Karl-Marx-Allee" and designed it as a modern street for parades and marches. A 7 m tall sculpture depicting the head of Karl Marx was created by Soviet artist Lew Kerbel and in 1971 put in front of the large block along the street which was headquarter of the communist party and administration in the District of Chemnitz. The block building in the back has an inscription (huge!) citing the the final sentence of the communist manifest by Karl Marx: "Working men of all countries, unite!" in several languages.

While the people of Chemnitz are certainly no fans of Karl Marx and the communist ideology they accept this monument as part of their history and voted for keeping it.

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The ev.-Lutheran Jakobi church is the main parish church of Chemnitz. It is usually open during the day, services at noon on workdays.

The nave is from the end of the 14th century, the choir even older about the middle of the 13th century, both in Gothic style. The western facade is a work of Schilling & Gräbner from Dresden (1911/12 in Art Nouveau style). As bell tower has always served the neighbouring "Hoher Turm", standing separately from the church, just like an Italian campanile.

The church was severely damaged by the bombing in 1945, thus much had to be reconstructed (vaulted ceilings e.g.) and the interior is mostly not original - many pieces have been transfered to this church from elsewhere.

The main altar is an excellent work by Peter Breuer (figures) and Hans Hesse (paintings) from about 1500, which was moved from Johannis church to Jakobi church after 1945. The baptismal font was also moved from the Johannis church.

The impressive Holy Sepulchre from 1480 is on display in the Schlossberg museum nowadays (see separate tip).

The pulpit is a work from a church in Dresden-Leuben and is remarkable because of the painting by ducal court painter Hans Göding in 1612, depicting the crucifixion.

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The New Town Hall was built 1907-11 according to plans of architect Richard Möbius, replacing the eastern wing of the Old Town Hall and old several townhouses. Contrary to the Old Town Hall it was not damaged in WWII at all, thus is preserved originally in all its Neo-Renaissance/Art Nouveau beauty.

The building is open during working hours and you're free to walk around on the ground floor and go upstairs to see the stunning lobby there but the most beautiful and interesting sights are only accessible on a guided tour - on Saturdays only - or (the assembly hall) when the city council is in session - usually on Wednesdays.

The ground floor lobby is a first highlight after entering the building: The ceiling two floors high, marble pillars, a fountain made of marble and serpentinit by sculptor Richard König, with bronze figures and a clock above. Very impressive also the main staircase leading up to the upstairs lobby with fresco and secco paintings depicting industry, trade, science and art, the lobby itself with paintings depicting all sorts of administration departments (e.g. finances, fire fighting, construction etc.)

Highlight of the New Town Hall is the assembly hall with the HUGE painting "Labor - Wealth - Beauty" by Max Klinger from 1918, one of his finest works.

Don't miss a quick look (or meal) in the restaurant Ratskeller downstairs. More Art Nouveau architecture and paintings/frescos, fountain and fireplace with majolica decoration.

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The present Old Town Hall goes back to the late Gothic building from 1496-98 which replaced an earlier timber-framed, smaller town hall. Inside it was reconstructed in Renaissance stlye in 1556/57. The two towers - Saiger (clock) tower at the front and the taller, so called "Hoher Turm" (High Tower) in the back are older than the Old Town hall, the latter dating from the 12th century and used as campanile of the neighbouring Jakobi church since the 14th century.

The Old Town Hall was severely damaged in WWII and was (beautifully) reconstructed in large parts - e.g. the halls upstairs, like Agricola hall or Ratsherrenstube, where you can have your wedding ceremony nowadays.

The lobby on the ground floor is originally preserved, don't miss the fountain created by Max Klinger and don't hesitate to walk around, even go upstairs, it's open during the day on workdays.

The main portal at the Markt square is a remarkable work, transfered from the townhouse Markt 15 to this place in 1910. It is called "Judith-Lucretia-Portal", created 1559 in early Italian Renaissance style.