The city of Chemnitz
Entrepreneurial spirit in the “city of the modern age”

The dust of the industrial age has long been swept away. Every year, culture-lovers can take their pick from some 1,000 varied events in Chemnitz, from opera, the philharmonic orchestra, ballet, theatre and puppet shows to film and music festivals, some even held in industrial wastelands. Chemnitz is currently running a confident campaign to be European Capital of Culture 2025 – with good prospects.

The countryside is never far away in Chemnitz, either, such as the Zeisigwald, Küchwald or the spacious city park. And culture can be found there, too – for example at the “Fuego a la isla” festival or the relaxing green surroundings of the Küchwald open-air theatre.

As it grows colder outdoors in the autumn, Chemnitz’s culture enthusiasts move into the city’s derelict buildings. Every year, the “Begehungen” festival occupies a derelict part of the city, opening it up to the public – sometimes even with step-free access. In September, the RAW industrial heritage festival offers merrymakers the chance to let their hair down at parties and the Science Slam.

What is it like to learn and work in Chemnitz?

Most companies which have settled in Chemnitz are small and medium-sized enterprises; 98 per cent have fewer than 50 employees. The few companies with more than 250 employees include well-known brands such as VW, the traditional Union Werkzeugmaschinen and Hörmann Rawema. Continental and IBM also have branches in Chemnitz, and even international companies such as Niles Simmons from the US and Anchor Lamina from Canada can be found here.

It is the small success stories which are typical of Chemnitz, however: since 1995, more than 7,000 new companies have been established in and around the city. Chemnitz is a city of start-ups; its university is regularly named the "best start-up university” in Saxony. A number of companies working together here on automated driving form Germany's most important cluster in the sector.

Close cooperation with industry, with roughly 50 research and development centres and the University of Technology (TU Chemnitz), regularly generates innovations, mainly in the field of microsystem technology. More than a dozen start-ups from TU Chemnitz and the two Fraunhofer Institutes have already settled at the Smart Systems Campus, where everything is within easy reach and they enjoy the support of renowned international companies.