In 2025, the Saxon industrial city of Chemnitz will be the European Capital of Culture (CoC), together with 38 municipalities from Central Saxony, the Ore Mountains and the Zwickau region. A rich shared cultural and industrial heritage connects Chemnitz and the surrounding region. The title is an invitation to a diverse journey of discovery to the east of Germany in the middle of Europe.
THIS is a Capital of Culture?
The Industrial Museum Chemnitz is an extensive collection from the Saxon industrial history in Chemnitz and is part of the Industrial Museum-Chemnitz association “Saxon Industrial Museum”. The exhibition is located in a former foundry hall of the former machine tool factory Hermann and Alfred Escher AG. (More on industrial history, examples))
The unseen becomes visible
“C the Unseen” – the motto for Chemnitz 2025 is a challenge and a program. The aim is to make the previously unseen and undiscovered visible. The title “European Capital of Culture” shines a spotlight on people, places and activities that have not yet been the focus of tourist attention. They want to show themselves and give their guests a warm welcome.
The Program
PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail
https://chemnitz2025.de/en/purple-path/
A year full of experiences and encounters
On January 18, 2025, a year begins with countless events and opportunities to participate. There are festivals, exhibitions, theater, performances, but also sports, culinary arts, workshops and events. Many local actors are involved, as well as renowned national and international artists. The program creates experiences and encounters. It conveys the history and present of the people who live here. New places are created, as well as opportunities to actively participate.
Places of making and change
Chemnitz is an Eastern European city in a Western European country. It is characterized by great tradition and many upheavals, most recently by the end of the GDR and the renaming of Karl-Marx-Stadt to Chemnitz. A pronounced doer mentality and the ability to constantly reinvent oneself are deeply rooted in this region. Social changes have always been a catalyst for innovation.
Industrial culture, then and now
Chemnitz, Zwickau and the surrounding region have made a significant contribution to Germany’s industrial development, particularly in the textile, mechanical engineering, railway and automotive industries. Mining in the Ore Mountains once made the region an economic stronghold and the traditional handicrafts are still known worldwide today. Since 2019, the Ore Mountains/Krušnohorí mining region has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Industrialization brought wealth and prosperity as well as a heyday of art and culture. Top-class museums and unique architecture bear witness to this. The region is characterized by a high density of castles from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque periods as well as theaters, music and art collections. There are also a wide variety of hiking, cycling and water routes.
Source: https://chemnitz2025.de/en/inform/chemnitz-2025/
PÖGE – the first electrical engineering company in Saxony
Quelle: Steffen Hamperl, DM6WAN, Chemnitz
Teil 1 – Founding of the Chemnitz Telegraph Construction Company as the first electrical engineering company in Saxony (PDF)
Teil 2 – Founding of the “Elektricitäts-Aktiengesellschaft formerly Hermann Pöge” (PDF)
Teil 3 – The end of the “Pöge Elektricitäts-Aktiengesellschaft” (PDF)