Woensdag 24 september 2025 viel de jurybeslissing voor het aanduiden van de Belgische kandidaat voor Europese Culturele Hoofdstad in 2030. Molenbeek, Namen en Leuven waren tot in de laatste ronde geraakt. Het Leuvense project LOV2030 kon de jury blijkbaar overtuigen om de Vlaams-Brabantse hoofdstad de prestigieuze titel toe te kennen.

Maar nog tot het einde van dit jaar is de Duitse industriestad Chemnitz Europese Culturele Hoofdstad. Meer dan de moeite waard om eens een reisje naar onze oosterburen te overwegen. Chemnitz is immers geen ‘gewone’ stad. In de DDR-tijd (1949-1990), toen de stad Karl-Marx-Stadt heette, moest de stad een model worden van ‘socialistische vooruitgang’ en stadsontwikkeling. De sporen daarvan zijn nog alomtegenwoordig.

Chemnitz 2025

In 2025, the Saxon industrial city of Chemnitz is the European Capital of Culture. The 38 partner municipalities from Central Saxony, the Ore Mountains and the Zwickau region form the Capital of Culture region.

A rich shared cultural and industrial heritage links Chemnitz and the surrounding region. The title is an invitation to embark on a multifaceted journey of discovery to the east of Germany in the centre of Europe.

The unseen becomes visible

C the Unseen – the motto for Chemnitz 2025 is both an invitation 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 warmly welcome their guests.

A year full of experiences and encounters

January 2025 marks the start of a year with countless events and opportunities to get involved. There will be festivals, exhibitions, theater, performances, but also sports, culinary delights, 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 past and present of the people who live here. New places are created as well as opportunities for active participation.

Places of making and change

Chemnitz locates itself as an Eastern European city in a West German state. It is characterized by great tradition and many upheavals, most recently the end of the GDR and the renaming of Karl-Marx-Stadt back to Chemnitz.

A pronounced doer: in mentality and the ability to constantly reinvent oneself are deeply rooted in this region. Social change has always been a catalyst for innovation.

Industrial culture, then and now

Chemnitz, Zwickau and the 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 and the traditional arts and crafts are still known worldwide today. The Erzgebirge/Krušnohorí mining region has been 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 unique architecture bear witness to this. The region is characterized by a high density of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque castles as well as theater, music and art collections. There are also a variety of hiking, cycling and water routes.

Sonnensucher! Eine Ausstellung zu Kunst und Bergbau der Wismut in Zwickau

Sun Seekers! An exhibition on art and mining at Wismut

During the Cold War, SDAG Wismut mined weapons-grade uranium for the Soviet Union in western Saxony and eastern Thuringia. It was also a notorious ‘state within a state’, collecting fine art on a grand scale.

For the first time in Zwickau, at an authentic Wismut site, the exhibition provides an overview of the most extensive art collection ever owned by an East German company, displaying more than 4,000 works by 450 artists.

A pictorial expedition into the recent past that also examines the themes of transformation after German reunification.

The exhibition “Sonnensucher!”offers a comprehensive insight into the most important art collection of a GDR company and combines art with historical, political and social contexts – in particular the changes following German reunification.

Wismut built up an impressive art collection – with over 4,000 works by around 450 artists, which is now being shown in Zwickau for the first time. The works focus on working people in the GDR. At the same time, the consequences of Wismut mining for people, society and the environment, which can still be felt today, are shown, providing the opportunity to convey a holistic picture.

For the first time in Zwickau, at an authentic site of Wismut’s history, around 80 paintings and 150 graphic works, supplemented by photographs, films and historical documents, will be on display. Other items on loan also focus on mining in the region and in the GDR as a whole.

The design of the exhibition combines classic exhibit presentation with audiovisual media to give visitors access not only to the art, but also to the historical and social context.

The result is an overall picture that shows the importance of Wismut both as an industrial company and as a cultural player in the GDR – and at the same time incorporates developments after 1990.

The venue is the former cotton mill in Zwickau – a renovated industrial monument with an extraordinary architectural history. After the opening on 9 April 2025, the exhibition will be open to all interested parties until 26 October 2025.

From the beginning of May 2025, an extensive supporting programme is planned with film screenings, readings and lectures, as well as discussions with contemporary witnesses.

Due to the great interest, the exhibition will be extended until 26 October 2025 (originally until 10 August).

When? Extended to 26 October 2025, Wednesday – Friday 10:00  – 17:00, Saturday – Sunday 10:00 – 18:00

Where? Former Cotton Spinning Mill, metaWERK GmbH, Pölbitzer Strasse 9, 08058 Zwickau, Saxony, Germany

Meer info: https://chemnitz2025.de/sonnensucher/

Bezoekerscentrum van Chemnitz 2025  – Europese Culturele Hoofdstad:

In de Hartmannfabrik, het bezoekerscentrum van Chemnitz 2025, vindt u actuele informatie over de Europese culturele hoofdstad en het zeer uitgebreide programma. Het compleet gerenoveerde historische industriële gebouw ligt direct aan de rivier de Chemnitz, niet ver van de Schlossteich.

Fabrikstrasse 11, 09111 Chemnitz, Saksen, Duitsland

Open van maandag tot zaterdag van 10 tot 18 uur / zondag van 10 tot 15 uur.

Chemnitz verder ontdekken?

De toeristeninformatiedienst (Markt 1, Chemnitz), bevindt zich in het historische stadhuis van Chemnitz en biedt informatie over het toeristische aanbod van de stad en de ruime omgeving.

https://chemnitz2025.de/en/inform/chemnitz-2025

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Lees verder (inhoud september 2025)

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