Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, Germany, after

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), and lies in a string of cities sitting in the densely populated foreland of the Elster and

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

stretching from

Plauen Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest cit ...

in the southwest via Zwickau, Chemnitz and

Freiberg Freiberg () is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and ...

to Dresden in the northeast. Zwickau is the seat of the Zwickau District, the most densely populated district in the new states of Germany. Zwickau is the seat of the West Saxon University of Zwickau (German: ''Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau'') with campuses in Zwickau, Markneukirchen, Reichenbach im Vogtland and Schneeberg (Erzgebirge). The city is the birthplace of composer

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

. Zwickau has historically been one of the centres of the German automotive industry. It is the cradle of

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...

and its forerunner Horch. Horchwerke AG Zwickau was founded there in 1904 and was renamed to Audiwerke Zwickau AG in 1909. Zwickau was also the seat of VEB Sachsenring (now Sachsenring GmbH), which produced

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

's most popular car, the Trabant, in Zwickau. Since 1990, there is a large Volkswagen plant in Zwickau-Mosel. The -long Zwickau Mulde River, originating in Schöneck/Vogtl. in the Western Ore Mountains, traverses the city in a south to north direction. It enters Zwickau between Zwickau-Cainsdorf and Zwickau-Bockwa, and leaves at Zwickau-Schlunzig near the Volkswagen plant, and is spanned by 17 bridges within the city. The Silver Road, Saxony's longest tourist route, connects Dresden with Zwickau. Zwickau can be reached by car via the nearby ''

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

''s A4 and A72, the main railway station (

Zwickau Hauptbahnhof Zwickau Hauptbahnhof is the main railway station of Zwickau in the German state of Saxony. History On 18 September 1845 Zwickau was connected by a branch line to the Leipzig–Reichenbach railway line. This was followed on 11 May 1858 by th ...

), via a public airfield which takes light aircraft, and by bike along the Zwickau Mulde River on the so-called Mulderadweg.

History

The region around Zwickau was settled by

Sorbs Sorbs (; ; ; ; ; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Germany, states of Saxony and Brandenburg. Sorbs tradi ...

as early as the 7th century AD. The name Zwickau is probably a

Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, German people, people, and German culture, culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nati ...

of the Sorbian toponym ''Šwikawa'', which derives from Svarozič, the Slavic Sun and fire god. In the 10th century, German settlers began arriving and the native Slavs were Germanized. A trading place known as ''terretorio Zcwickaw'' (in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

) was mentioned in 1118. The settlement received a town charter in 1212, and hosted

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

and

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

during the 13th century. Zwickau was a free imperial city from 1290 to 1323, but was subsequently granted to the Margraviate of Meissen. Although regional mining began in 1316, extensive mining increased with the discovery of silver in the Schneeberg in 1470. Because of the silver ore deposits in the Erzgebirge, Zwickau developed in the 15th and 16th centuries and grew to be an important economic and cultural centre of Saxony. Its nine churches include the Gothic church of St. Mary (1451–1536), with a spire high and a bell weighing 51 tons. The church contains an altar with wood carvings, eight paintings by Michael Wohlgemuth and a pietà in carved and painted wood by Peter Breuer. Zwickau Katharinenkirche

The late Gothic church of St. Catharine has an altar piece ascribed to

Lucas Cranach the elder Lucas Cranach the Elder ( ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German ...

, and is remembered because Thomas Müntzer was once pastor there (1520–22). The city hall was begun in 1404 and rebuilt many times since. The municipal archives include documents dating back to the 13th century. Early printed books from the Middle Ages, historical documents, letters and books are kept in the City Archives (e.g. Meister Singer volumes by

Hans Sachs Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German ''Meistersinger'' ("mastersinger"), poetry, poet, playwright, and shoemaking, shoemaker. Biography Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg (). As a child he attended a singing school that w ...

(1494–1576)), and in the School Library founded by scholars and by the city clerk Stephan Roth during the Reformation. In 1520

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

dedicated his treatise "On the Freedom of the Christian Man" to his friend Hermann Muehlpfort, the Lord Mayor of Zwickau. The

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

movement of 1525 began at Zwickau under the inspiration of the " Zwickau prophets". After Wittenberg, it became the first city in Europe to join the Lutheran Reformation. The late Gothic Gewandhaus (cloth merchants' hall), was built in 1522–24 and is now converted into a theatre. The city was seriously damaged during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. The old city of Zwickau, perched on a hill, is surrounded by heights with extensive forests and a municipal park. Near the city are the Hartenstein area, for example, with Stein and Wolfsbrunn castles and the Prinzenhöhle cave, as well as the Auersberg peak (1019 meters) and the winter sports areas around Johanngeorgenstadt and the Vogtland. In the Old Town the Cathedral and the ''Gewandhaus'' (cloth merchants' hall) originate in the 16th century and when Schneeberg silver was traded. In the 19th century the city's economy was driven by industrial coal mining and later by automobile manufacturing. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in 1942, a Nazi

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

of the members of the Polish underground resistance organization from

Gostyń Gostyń (, 1941-45: ''Gostingen'') is a town in western Poland, seat of the Gostyń County and Gmina Gostyń in the Greater Poland Voivodeship (from 1975 to 1998 in Leszno Voivodship). According to 31 December 2023 data its population was 27,846 ...

was held in Zwickau, after which 12 members were executed in

, and several dozen were imprisoned in

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...

, where 37 of them died. In May 1942, five Polish students of the Salesian Oratory in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, known as the ' or five of the 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs of World War II, were imprisoned in Zwickau, before being executed in Dresden. A subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp was located in Zwickau, whose prisoners were mostly Poles and Russians, but also Italians, French, Hungarians, Jews, Czechs, Germans and others. On 17 April 1945, US troops entered the city. They withdrew on 30 June 1945 and handed Zwickau to the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. Between 1944 and 2003, the city had a population of over 100,000. A major employer is

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

which assembles its ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5 models, as well as Audi and Cupra EV's in the Zwickau-Mosel vehicle plant.

Economic history

Coal mining

Coal mining is mentioned as early as 1348. However, mining on an industrial scale first started in the early 19th century. The coal mines of Zwickau and the neighbouring Oelsnitz-Lugau coalfield contributed significantly to the industrialisation of the region and the city. In 1885 Carl Wolf invented an improved gas-detecting safety mining-lamp. He held the first world patent for it. Together with his business partner Friemann he founded the "Friemann & Wolf" factory. Coal mining ceased in 1978. About 230 million tonnes had been mined to a depth of over 1,000 metres. In 1992 Zwickau's last coke oven plant was closed. Many industrial branches developed in the city in the wake of the coal mining industry: mining equipment, iron and steel works, textile, machinery in addition to chemical, porcelain, paper, glass, dyestuffs, wire goods, tinware, stockings, and curtains. There were also steam saw-mills, diamond and glass polishing works, iron-foundries, and breweries.

Automotive industry

In 1904 the Horch

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

plant was founded, followed by the

factory in 1909. In 1932 both brands were incorporated into Auto Union but retained their independent trademarks. Auto Union racing cars, developed by Ferdinand Porsche and Robert Eberan von Eberhorst, driven by Bernd Rosemeyer, Hans Stuck, Tazio Nuvolari, Ernst von Delius, became well known nationally and internationally. During World War II, the Nazi government operated a satellite camp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp in Zwickau which was sited near the Horch Auto Union plant. The Nazi administration built a hard labour prison camp at Osterstein Castle. Both camps were liberated by the US Army in 1945. On 1 August 1945 military administration was handed over to the Soviet Army. The Auto Union factories of Horch and Audi were dismantled by the Soviets; Auto Union relocated to

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

, Bavaria, evolving into the present day Audi company. In 1948 all large companies were seized by the East German government. With the founding of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

in 1949 in East Germany, post-war reconstruction began. In 1958 the Horch and Audi factories were merged into the Sachsenring plant. At the Sachsenring automotive plant the compact '' Trabant'' cars were manufactured. These small cars had a two-cylinder, two-stroke engine. The car was the first vehicle in the world to be industrially manufactured with a plastic car body. The production of the Trabant was discontinued after German reunification, but

built a new factory in the nearby Mosel area to the north of the city and Sachsenring is now a supplier for the automobile industry. The former VEB Sachsenring manufacturing site was acquired by Volkswagen in 1990 and has since been redeveloped as an engine and transmission manufacturing facility. Nowadays the headquarters of Volkswagen-Saxony Ltd. (a VW subsidiary) is in the northern part of Zwickau. Audi together with the city of Zwickau operates the August Horch Museum in the former Audi works. In 2021, production of the Audi Q4 e-tron began at the Zwickau-Mosel plant, marking the return of the manufacture of Audi badged cars in Zwickau for the first time in over 80 years.

Uranium mining

Two major industrial facilities of the Soviet SDAG Wismut were situated in the city: the uranium mill in Zwickau-Crossen, producing uranium concentrate from ores mined in the Erzgebirge and Thuringia, and the machine building plant in Zwickau-Cainsdorf producing equipment for the uranium mines and mills of East Germany. Uranium milling ended in 1989, and after the unification the Wismut machine building plant was sold to a private investor.

Boundaries

Zwickau is bounded by Mülsen, Reinsdorf, Wilkau-Hasslau, Hirschfeld ( Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Kirchberg), Lichtentanne, Werdau, Neukirchen, Crimmitschau, Dennheritz ( Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Crimmitschau), and the city of Glauchau.

Incorporations

* 1895: Pölbitz * 1902: Marienthal * 1905: Eckersbach * 1922: Weissenborn * 1923: Schedewitz * 1939: Brand and Bockwa * 1944: Oberhohndorf and Planitz * 1953: Auerbach, Pöhlau, and Niederhohndorf * 1993: Hartmannsdorf * 1996: Rottmannsdorf * 1996: Crossen (with 4 municipalities on 1 January 1994, Schneppendorf) * 1999: Cainsdorf, Mosel, Oberrothenbach, and Schlunzig, along with Hüttelsgrün (Lichtentanne) and Freiheitssiedlung

Population

Education

Zwickau is home to the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau, with about 4,700 students and two

campuses A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

within the boundaries of Zwickau. Dr. Martin Luther School (German: ''Dr. Martin Luther Schule'') is a grade 1–4 school of the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Zwickau.

Politics

Mayor and city council

The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Rainer Eichhorn of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served from 1990 to 2001. The mayor was originally chosen by the city council, but since 1994 has been directly elected. Dietmar Vettermann, also of the CDU, served from 2001 until 2008. He was succeeded by Pia Findeiß of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who was in office until 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 20 September 2020, with a runoff held on 11 October, at which Constance Arndt (Bürger für Zwickau) was elected. ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Kathrin Köhler , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 9,453 , 31.5 , 7,549 , 28.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Constance Arndt , align=left, Citizens for Zwickau , 6,506 , 21.7 , 19,358 , 71.9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Andreas Gerold , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

, 5,109 , 17.0 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Michael Jakob , align=left, Independent , 4,797 , 16.0 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ute Manuela Brückner , align=left, The Left , 4,183 , 13.9 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 30,048 ! 99.3 ! 26,907 ! 99.1 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 204 ! 0.7 ! 246 ! 0.9 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 30,252 ! 100.0 ! 27,153 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 72,225 ! 41.9 ! 72,085 ! 37.7 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Zwickau
1st round
The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 38,740 , 32.3 , 10.4 , 16 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 24,937 , 20.8 , 1.2 , 10 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) , 15,593 , 13.0 , New , 6 , New , - , , align=left, Citizens for Zwickau (BfZ) , 14,970 , 12.5 , 1.8 , 6 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD) , 8,304 , 6.9 , 3.3 , 3 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 5,312 , 4.4 , 10.3 , 2 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 3,823 , 3.2 , 3.3 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 3,702 , 3.1 , 2.5 , 1 , 2 , - , bgcolor=169340, , align=left, Free Saxons (FS) , 2,823 , 2.4 , New , 1 , New , - , , align=left, Shaping Zwickau Together (2ZG) , 1,816 , 1.5 , New , 1 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 120,020 ! 100.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ballots ! 42,623 ! 100.0 ! ! 48 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 68,766 ! 62.0 ! 7.0 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Zwickau

Historical mayors

* 1501–1518: Erasmus Stella * 1518–1530: Hermann Mühlpfort * 1800, 1802, 1804, 1806, 1808, 1810, 1812, 1814: Carl Wilhelm Ferber * 1801, 1803, 1805, 1807, 1809, 1811, 1813, 1815, 1817, 1819: Tobias Hempel * 1816, 1818, 1820, 1822: Christian Gottlieb Haugk * 1821, 1823, 1825, 1826: Carl Heinrich Rappius * 1824: Christian Heinrich Pinther * 1827–1830: Christian Heinrich Mühlmann, Stadtvogt * 1830–1832: Franz Adolf Marbach * 1832–1860: Friedrich Wilhelm Meyer * 1860–1898: Lothar Streit, from 1874 ''Lord Mayor'' * 1898–1919: Karl Keil * 1919–1934: Richard Holz * 1934–1945: Ewald Dost * 1945: Fritz Weber (acting Lord Mayor) * 1945: Georg Ulrich Handke (1894–1962) (acting Lord Mayor) * 1945–1949: Paul Müller * 1949–1954: Otto Assmann (1901–1977) * 1954–1958: Otto Schneider * 1958–1969: Gustav Seifried * 1969–1973: Liesbeth Windisch * 1973–1977: Helmut Repmann * 1977–1990: Heiner Fischer (1936–2016) * 1990–2001: Rainer Eichhorn (born 1950) * 2001–2008: Dietmar Vettermann (born 1957) * 2008–2020: Pia Findeiss (born 1956) * 2020 until now: Constance Arndt (born 1977)

Sports

Transport

The city is close to the A4 (Dresden-Erfurt) and A72 (Hof-Chemnitz) ''

''s.

is on the Dresden–Werdau line, part of the

Saxon-Franconian trunk line Saxon-Franconian trunk line () is a modern term for a double-track railway route between the German cities of Dresden and Nuremberg. It is 390 kilometres long and currently electrified from Dresden to Hof, Bavaria, Hof. The concept of the Saxony, ...

, connecting

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

and Dresden. There are further railway connections to

as well as

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

and

Cheb Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. The core element of Zwickau's urban public transport system is the Zwickau tramway network; the system is also the prototype of the so-called Zwickau Model for such systems. The closest airport is Leipzig-Altenburg, which has no scheduled commercial flights. The nearest major airports are Leipzig/Halle Airport and Dresden Airport, both of which offer a large number of national and international flights.

Museums

In the city centre there are three museums: an art museum from the 19th century and the houses of priests from 13th century, both located next to St. Mary's church. Just around the corner there is the Robert-Schumann museum. The museums offer different collections dedicated to the history of the city, as well as art and a mineralogical, palaeontological and geological collection with many specimens from the city and the nearby

. Zwickau is the birthplace of the composer

. The house where he was born in 1810 still stands in the marketplace. This is now called Robert Schumann House and is a museum dedicated to him. The histories of the

and Horch

factories are presented at the '' August Horch Museum Zwickau''. The museum is an ''Anchor Point'' of the European Route of Industrial Heritage (EIRH).

Notable people

Born before 1900

* Nicholas Storch (before 1500 – after 1536), weaver and lay preacher (Zwickau Prophets) * Janus Cornarius (c. 1500–1558), philologist and physician * Gregor Haloander (1501–1531), jurist * David Köler (1532–1565), musician, organist, choirmaster and composer * Jacob Leupold (1674–1727), mechanic and instrument maker *

(1810–1856), composer of the Romantic era * Paul Emil Flechsig (1847–1929) neuroanatomist, psychiatrist and neuropathologist * Heinrich Schurtz (1863–1903), ethnologist and historian * August Horch (1868–1952), automotive engineer * Heinrich Waentig (1870–1943), economist and politician (SPD) * Hans Dominik (1872–1945), writer, journalist and engineer * Fritz Bleyl (1880–1966), Expressionist painter and architect * Max Pechstein (1881–1955), Expressionist painter * "Margaret Scott" (1888–1973), militant suffragette in London * Paul Langheinrich (1895–1979), genealogist

Born after 1900

* Gerhard Küntscher (1900–1972), orthopedic surgeon and inventor of the modern intramedullary nailing procedure to treat long bone fractures * Robert Eberan von Eberhorst (1902–1982), Austrian automotive engineer * Gershom Schocken (1912–1990), Israeli journalist and politician * Gert Fröbe (1913–1988), actor * Gerhard Schürer (1921–2010), politician (SED) * Erhard Weller (1926–1986), actor * Rolf Hädrich (1931–2000), film director and screenwriter * Dieter F. Uchtdorf (born 1940), Second Counselor in

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. He lived here following World War II. * Harald Fritzsch (1943–2022), theoretical physicist (quantum theory) * Volkmar Weiss (born 1944), geneticists, social historian and genealogist * Jürgen Croy (born 1946), footballer * Christoph Bergner (born 1948), politician (CDU), 1993–1994 Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt * Eckart Viehweg (1948–2010), mathematician * Hagen von Ortloff (born 1949), TV-journalist * Werner Schulz (1950–2022), politician ( Alliance 90/The Greens) * Frank Petzold (born 1951), composer and conductor * Christoph Daum (1953–2024), football player and coach * Lutz Dombrowski (born 1959), athlete and Olympic champion * Lars Riedel (born 1967), discus thrower * Sven Günther (born 1974), footballer * Cathleen Martini (born 1982), bobsledder, world champion * Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (born 1987), classical cellist * Danny Röhl (born 1989), football coach * Kristin Gierisch (born 1990), triple jumper

Twin towns – sister cities

Zwickau is twinned with: *

Jablonec nad Nisou Jablonec nad Nisou (; ) is a city in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It is the second-largest city in the region. It is a local centre for education, and is known for its glass and jewelry production, espe ...

, Czech Republic (1971) * Zaanstad, Netherlands (1987) *

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, Germany (1988) * Volodymyr, Ukraine (2014) * Yandu (Yancheng), China (2014)

References

External links

* Zwickau
''August-Horch Museum'' at Audi Works
{{Authority control Zwickau (district)