Chemnitz

**Chemnitz** is a city in Germany. It is in the state of Saxony. In 2006, about 245,000 people lived there.

During the partition of Germany Chemnitz was in East Germany. From 1953 to 1990 Chemnitz was called **Karl-Marx-Stadt**. The name was in reference to the social reformer Karl Marx. Now the city has its old name. This name is from the river that flows through it.

The first mention of the city was in 1143. The city had an important role in the Industrial Revolution. In about 1883, the city population passed 100.000 inhabitants.

## Geography

Chemnitz is north of the Ore Mountains in the western part of the Bundesland Saxony. It is the 3rd biggest city in Saxony with about 245.000 inhabitants. The area is about 220 km<sup>2</sup>. There is a river that is also called Chemnitz.
The average temperature is 8 °C and the amount of rain and snow every year (annual precipitation) is 700 mm.

## Sights

The _Karl-Marx-Monument_ has been an attraction of the city since 1971. The 7,10 meter high statue was created by the Russian artist Lev Kerbel. The inhabitants of Chemnitz call it "Nischel", which means _head_ in the dialect of the area.

The _Roter Turm_ (the _red tower_)is one of Chemnitz's oldest sites; it was built in the 12th or 13th century and was once part of the city wall.

The town hall of Chemnitz consists of two buildings. The old town hall was built in the 15th century. The new townhall, on the other hand, was built at the beginning of the 20th century and was designed by Richard Möbius. The new town hall was erected next to the old one.

One of the new attractions of the city is _das Tietz_. The former department store was constructed in 1912/1913. Today the Museum for Natural History, the public library, an adult education centre, a gallery and the _Petrified Forest_ are here.

## Railway

Chemnitz had an ICE connection for a short time, until 2006. Chemnitz is part of the railway line Dresden - Chemnitz - Hof - Nuremberg which is called 'Franken - Sachsen - Magistrale'. Today an InterRegioExpress services Dresden, Nuremberg and Leipzig. There are regional train (RegionalBahn) connections to the Ore Mountains and to Elsterwerda.

## Main roads

Here are listed on the most important roads of the metropolitan:
- A 4 : Highway, Frankfurt - Giessen - Erfurt - **Chemnitz** - Dresden - Görlitz - Wroclaw - Kraków
- A 72: Highway, Hof - Zwickau - **Chemnitz** - Geithain ( - Leipzig)

- B 95: federal highway, Annaberg-Buchholz - **Chemnitz** - Borna - Leipzig
- B 107: federal highway, Pritzwalk - Dessau - Grimma - **Chemnitz**

- B 169: federal highway, Neuensalz - **Chemnitz** - Riesa - Elsterwerda - Cottbus
- B 173: federal highway, Bad Staffelstein - Hof - **Chemnitz** - Dresden
- B 174: federal highway, Marienberg (Ore mountains) - **Chemnitz**

## Public transport

Chemnitz has got a big tram and a big bus network. There are 6 tram lines and 25 (+1 at fair days) bus lines. These networks belong to CVAG, the transport companies of Chemnitz.

## Infobox (german location)

- **name**: Chemnitz
- **image flag**: Flag of Chemnitz.svg
- **image coa**: Coat of arms of Chemnitz.svg
- **state**: Saxony
- **district**: Urban districts of Germany
- **type**: city
- **gemeindeschlüssel**: 14511000
- **population**: 243521
- **population as of**: 2014-12-31
- **pop ref**: [http://www.statistik.sachsen.de/ source]
- **area**: 220.85
- **elevation**: 296
- **postal code**: 09001–09247
- **area code**: 0371
037200 (Wittgensdorf)
037209 (Einsiedel)
03722 (Röhrsdorf)
03726 (Euba)
- **licence**: C
- **mayor**: Barbara Ludwig
- **party**: SPD