Chemnitz, Germany best-kept secret destination ?

Chemnitz : when the unseen becomes visible

In 2020, Chemnitz together with 38 municipalities from Central Saxony, the Ore Mountains and the Zwickau region were designated European Capital of Culture 2025. It represents an opportunity to position the city and its surroundings as an alternative destination to tourism heavyweights such as Dresden and Leipzig.

Chemnitz recorded in 2024 over 245,000 arrivals generating 490,000 overnights. This to be compared with over 2,2 million arrivals and 4.6 million overnights for Dresden; while Leipzig recorded last year 2 million arrivals and 3.8 million overnights.

Chemnitz music festival in the shadow of the City conference hall and Karl Marx sculpture (Photo : Peter Rossner)

“C the Unseen” – the motto for Chemnitz 2025. The title is an invitation to all to come and discover the history of this eastern German area at the heart of Europe. The aim is to make the previously unseen and undiscovered visible to the global travel community. Entrepreneur mentality and the ability to constantly reinvent oneself are the town’s DNA. Social change represents a catalyst for
innovation.

The title “Europe Capital of Culture” shines a spotlight on people, places and activities that have not yet been the focus of tourist attention. Especially thanks to hundreds of events -large or small- fostering encounters. There are festivals, exhibitions, theater, performances, but also sports, culinary delights, workshops and tourist discoveries. Many local actors are involved, as well as renowned nationaland international artists. Chemnitz 2025 program still runs until the end of November.

One of Chemnitz highlights for first-time visitors is the discovery of its “socialist” grand style architecture in the city center. But also how its industrial legacy became new venues for tourism and arts towards the benefit of its local community.

An industrial past for tourists to discover

Chemnitz and its surrounding region have contributed significantly to Germany’s
industrial development, particularly in the textile, mechanical engineering, railroad and automotive industries. Mining in the Ore Mountains once made the region an economic stronghold. Its traditional arts and crafts are still very popular around the world these days. The Erzgebirge/Krušnohorí mining region is in fact a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019.

Industrialization brought wealth and prosperity as well as a heyday of art and culture. Top-class museums and avant-garde architecture bear witness to this in town. Examples of reconverted factories are the Chemnitz/Saxony Industrial Museum but also Chemnitz Youth Hostel “Eins” and the Schönherr Fabrik with its restaurants, cafes and art studios. Meanwhile, a world-class museum of modern art occupies a former Savings Bank from the 1920s.

The region shows also a high density of medieval, renaissance and baroque castles. While a pristine nature serves to a variety of hiking, cycling and water routes.

To discover what Chemnitz and its region offers to travelers, click here to download its tourist flyer.