ケムニッツ

語源

ケムニッツというめずらしい言葉は、近くの都市ツヴィッカウを流れて最終的にはエルベ川へそそぐツヴィカウア・ムルデ川（Zwickauer Mulde）を原住民のソルブ語で「石が多い（小川）」を意味するカミェニカ（Kamjenika）と呼ぶことから来ており、スラブ語系では「Kamen」は「石」で、「-ika」は女性形接尾詞である。

地勢・産業

エルツ山地の山麓辺りに位置し、これを越えるとチェコ領に達する。近隣の都市としては、約70キロ北西にライプツィヒ、30キロ南西にツヴィッカウがある。昔はドイツの楽器産業の中心地の一つで、ケムニッツァ・コンサーティーナやバンドネオンの発明とも縁の深い都市である。

歴史

12世紀、神聖ローマ皇帝ロタール3世の時代に建てられた。17世紀の三十年戦争で壊滅的な打撃を受けるが、その後復興した。19世紀以降、ドイツで産業革命が進展する中、工業都市として発展した。
第二次世界大戦後、1953年に東ドイツ政府が街を「カール＝マルクス＝シュタット」と改称し（「カール・マルクス都市」の意。ただしマルクスとケムニッツは直接関係がない）、カール＝マルクス＝シュタット県の県都となった。
1991年のドイツ再統一後、再び街の名称はケムニッツに戻された。

Urban renewal

Heavy destruction in World War II as well as post-war demolition to erect a truly socialist city centre left the city with a vast open space around its town hall where once a vibrant city heart had been. Because of massive investment in out-of-town shopping right after reunification, it was not until 1999 that major building activity was started in the centre. Comparable to de:Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, a whole new quarter of the city was constructed in recent years. New buildings include the Kaufhof en:department store by de:Helmut Jahn, Galerie Roter Turm with a façade by de:Hans Kollhoff and Peek & Cloppenburg clothing store by Ingenhofen and Partner.

Economy

Chemnitz is the largest city of the Chemnitz-Zwickau urban area and is one of the most important economic areas of Germany's new federal states. Chemnitz had a GDP of about €6.3 billion in 2004. Since about 2000, the city's economy has recorded high annual GDP growth rates; Chemnitz is among the top ten German cities in terms of growth rate. The local and regional economic structure is characterized by medium-sized companies, with the heavy industrial sectors of mechanical engineering, metal processing, and vehicle manufacturing as the most significant industries.
About 100,000 people are employed, of whom about 46,000 commute from other municipalities. 16.3% of employees in Chemnitz have a university or college degree, twice the average rate in Germany.

Roads

Chemnitz is crossed by the two motorways (de:Autobahns) A4 de:Erfurt – en:Dresden and A72 Hof – en:Leipzig.  The motorway junction Kreuz Chemnitz is situated in the northwestern area of the city. The motorway A72 between Borna and en:Leipzig is still under construction. Within the administrative area of Chemnitz there are eight motorway exits (Ausfahrt).

Public transport

Public transport within Chemnitz is provided with tram and bus, as well as by the de:Karlsruhe model (Stadtbahn). Nowadays, the city and its surroundings are served by one Stadtbahn line, five lines of the Chemnitz tramway network, 27 city bus lines, as well as several regional bus lines. At night, the city is served by two bus lines, two tram lines, and the Stadtbahn line.
The length of the tram, Stadtbahn and bus networks is  28.73 km (17.85 mi), 16.3 km (10.13 mi) and 326.08 km (202.62 mi) respectively. In August 2012, electro-diesel trams were ordered from de:Vossloh, to support an expansion of the light rail network to 226 km (140 mi), with new routes serving de:Burgstädt, de:Mittweida and de:Hainichen, Saxony (Hainichen).

Airports

Near Chemnitz there are three airports, including the two en:international airports of Saxony in Dresden and Leipzig. Both en:Leipzig/Halle Airport and en:Dresden Airport are situated about 70 km (43 mi) from Chemnitz and offer numerous continental as well as intercontinental flights.
Chemnitz also has a small commercial airport (de about 13.5 km (8.4 mi) south of the city. When its current upgrade is completed it will have an asphalt runway 1,400 m (4,600 ft) long and 20 m (66 ft) wide.