Zwickau

Zwickau
Be that as it may - you will be in for many a pleasant surprise in Zwickau. The City always pays to go on a discovery tour to the home of 103 000 inhabitants. Zwickau is the Free State of Saxonys fourth-largest city. Surpassed in size only by Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz, Zxixkau is situated on the river Mulde.

The region is internationally known as the birthplace of the composer Robert Schumann and the artist of the Brucke movement Max Pechstein. Economically, the area of Chemnitz-Zwickau is among the most important growth regions in Saxony.

Slavs settled the region around Zwickau as early as the 7th century. In the 10th century, German settlers began arriving and the settlement received a town charter in 1212. The regions played host to Franciscans and Cistercians during the 13th century. Zwickau was a free imperial city from 1290-1323.

The regional extensive mining increased with the discovery of silver in the Schneeberg in 1470.During the Second World War, the government operated a Nazi concentration camp in Zwickau. The town was liberated by the Allies in 1945, hence placing under Soviet control.

From 1949-1990 Zwickau belonged to East Germany and carried on considerable commerce in grain, linen, and coal. It was also a center for the manufacture of Trabant automobiles. Other manufactures include spinning and weaving, machinery, chemicals, porcelain, paper, glass, dyestuffs, wire goods, tinware, stockings, and curtains. In addition to these, steam saw-mills, diamond and glass polishing works, iron-foundries, and breweries are also manufactured.

When youre touring City, it is recommended to pay a visit to the August Horch Museum. You will not only see a collection of motor vehicles of the makes Horch, Audi, DKW and Wanderer from the period of promoterism, but also a great number of Trabant models and its production facilities. The 2002 saw extensive reconstruction in the Horch Museum which was refashioned according to a design that came off as winner of an international architectural competition.

Visitors to Zwickau are fascinated with the regions highly preserved historic buildings from six centuries. You may be revealed precious witnesses of past centuries at every turn while touring historic old town.

Thus, a stroll through Zwicka becomes a discovery tour of different architectural styles. Awe-inspiring multi-faceted Art Nouveau residential buildings with their contemporary interior furnishings make the city a marvelous spectacle.

Among the nine churches, the fine Gothic church of St Mary, with a spire 285 ft. high and a bell weighing 51 tons, is remarkable and must see highlight. The church contains an altar with wood-carving and eight pictures by Michael Wohlgemuth. It has a remarkable piet? in carved and painted wood.

The late Gothic church of St. Catharine Kathrinenkirche is memorable for the pastorate of Thomas Muntzer. Of the secular buildings, the most notable are the town-hall of 1581, with the municipal archives.

In addition to the remarkable Churches, the old Priests Houses in their late medieval style are yet another example of the treasures among Saxonys cultural monuments. These houses are among the oldest residential buildings in eastern Germany.

The reconstructed birthplace of Robert Schumann is not only a venue for cultural events, but also an internationally acknowledged research centre. Visit a museum dedicated to the memory of Robert Schumann.

Also located in Zwickau is Saxonys first public library called Ratsschulbibliothek. It is well-known around the globe for keeping a valuable stock of books, incunabula, prints and scripts. Another gem is the Concert Hall and Ball House Neue Welt, boasting Saxonys largest Art Nouveau terrace hall.

No less impressive is the Johannisbad bath, a touch of oriental bathing and sauna culture combined with stylistic elements of Art Nouveau and the neo-Gothic period. Also worth mentioning here are the RegioSprinter train, which entered Zwickau centre on a track with three rails.