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 The Zwickauer Mulde () is a river in Saxony, Germany. It is the left tributary of the Mulde and in length. The source of the river is in the Ore Mountains, near Schöneck, in the Vogtlandkreis. It runs northeast to Aue, then northwest to Z ...

(German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), and lies in a string of cities sitting in the densely populated foreland of the

Elster Elster may refer to: Places * Black Elster (''Schwarze Elster''), a river in Germany * White Elster (''Weiße Elster''), a river in Germany and the Czech Republic ** Elster Viaduct, a railway bridge over the White Elster ** Elster Viaduct (Pirk ...

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 Zwickau () is a district ('' Kreis'') in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. History The district was established by merging the former districts Zwickauer Land, Chemnitzer Land and the urban district Zwickau as part of the district reform of ...

, the most densely populated district in the

new states of Germany The new states of Germany () are the five re-established states of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) that unified with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with its 10 "old states" upon German reunification on 3 October 1990. Th ...

. Zwickau is the seat of the West Saxon University of Zwickau (German: ''Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau'') with campuses in Zwickau,

Markneukirchen Markneukirchen () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany, close to the Czech Republic, Czech border. It lies in the Elster Mountains (part of the Fichtel Mountains), southeast of Plauen, and northeast of Aš (Czech Republic) ...

Reichenbach im Vogtland Reichenbach im Vogtland is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony in eastern Germany. With a population of 20,108, it is the second-largest town in the Vogtlandkreis after Plauen. It is located close to the A72 between Plauen (at c. 18&n ...

and

Schneeberg (Erzgebirge) Schneeberg is a town in Saxony’s district of Erzgebirgskreis. It has roughly 16,400 inhabitants and belongs to the Town League of Silberberg (''Städtebund Silberberg''). It lies 4 km west of Aue, and southeast of Zwickau. Geography ...

. 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 Horch () was a German car manufacturer, which traced its roots to several companies founded in the late 19th and early 20th century by August Horch. It is one of the predecessors of the present day Audi company, which itself resulted from the ...

. 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 HQM Sachsenring GmbH is a Zwickau-based company that supplies chassis and body parts to the automotive industry. The company was named after the Sachsenring race track. Founded as VEB Sachsenring after the end of World War II, and operating out ...

(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 Trabant () is a series of B-segment, small cars produced from 1957 until 1991 by former East Germany, East German car manufacturer HQM Sachsenring GmbH, VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau. Four models were made: the Trabant P 50, Trabant 50 ...

, in Zwickau. Since 1990, there is a large Volkswagen plant in Zwickau-Mosel. The -long

River, originating in Schöneck/Vogtl. in the

Western Ore Mountains The Western Ore Mountains () is a natural region that forms the westernmost part of the Ore Mountains in the German state of Saxony. It is also part of the major landscape unit known as the Saxon Highlands and Uplands. It extends eastwards to inc ...

, 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 The 140-kilometre-long Silver Road (, ) is the first and longest holiday route in the German Free State of Saxony. Against the background of the importance of mining in the history of Saxony, the road links those sights and tourist attractions ...

, 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 The Margravate or Margraviate of Meissen () was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' ( Saxon Eastern March ...

. 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 Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

church of St. Mary (1451–1536), with a spire high and a bell weighing 51

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

s. The church contains an altar with wood carvings, eight paintings by Michael Wohlgemuth and a

pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

in carved and painted wood by

Peter Breuer Peter Christian Breuer (19 May 1856, Cologne – 1 May 1930, Berlin) was a German sculptor. He was a professor at the Prussian Academy of Arts (later, the Academy of Arts, Berlin) and was considered to be one of the pioneers of modern sculpture ...

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 Thomas Müntzer ( – 27 May 1525) was a German preacher and theologian of the early Reformation whose opposition to both Martin Luther and the Catholic Church led to his open defiance of late-feudal authority in central Germany. Müntzer was f ...

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 The Zwickau prophets (, ) were three men of the Radical Reformation from Zwickau in the Electorate of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire who were possibly involved in a disturbance in nearby Wittenberg and its evolving Reformation in early 1522. The ...

". After Wittenberg, it became the first city in Europe to join the

Lutheran Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. 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 Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flos ...

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

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 Auto Union AG was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm for ...

but retained their independent trademarks.

Auto Union racing cars The Auto Union Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix racing cars types A to D were developed and built by a specialist racing department of Auto Union's Horch works in Zwickau, Germany, between 1933 and 1939, after the company bought a design by Dr ...

, developed by

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...

and

Robert Eberan von Eberhorst Robert Eberan von Eberhorst (23 October 1902 – 14 March 1982), later known as Robert Eberan-Eberhorst, was a noted Austrian engineer, who designed the Auto Union Type D Grand Prix motor racing car. Early life Born into Austrian nobility, the ...

, driven by

Bernd Rosemeyer Bernd Rosemeyer (14 October 1909 – 28 January 1938) was a German racing driver and speed record holder. He is often considered one of the greatest racing drivers of his era. Career Rosemeyer's father owned an auto and motorcycle garage a ...

Hans Stuck Hans Erich Karl Josef Stuck (; sometimes called Hans Stuck von Villiez; 27 December 1900 – 9 February 1978) was a German motor racing driver. Both his son Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1951) and his grandsons Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck became ...

Tazio Nuvolari Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari (; 16 November 1892 – 11 August 1953) was an Italian racing driver. He first raced motorcycles and then concentrated on sports cars and Grand Prix racing. Originally of Mantua, he was nicknamed ("the Flying Mantuan") ...

Ernst von Delius Ernst Ludwig Ferdinand von Delius (29 March 1912 – 26 July 1937) was a German racing driver. von Delius died at the age of 25 years at the Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of N ...

, became well known nationally and internationally. During World War II, the Nazi government operated a satellite camp of the

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 The Sachsenring () is a motorsport race track, racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyc ...

plant. At the Sachsenring automotive plant the compact ''

'' 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 Mosel may mean the following: People and businesses * Mosel (surname), notable people with this surname * Mosel Vitelic Corporation, subsidiary of Mosel Vitelic Inc. focused on memory integrated circuits * Mosel Vitelic Inc., a semiconductor compa ...

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 The Audi Q4 e-tron is a battery electric compact luxury crossover SUV produced by Audi. It is based on Volkswagen Group's electric MEB platform and is the fourth fully-electric model in the Audi e-tron series after the Audi Q8 e-tron (forme ...

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 SAG/SDAG Wismut was a uranium mining company in East Germany during the time of the Cold War. It produced a total of 230,400 tonnes of uranium between 1947 and 1990 and made East Germany the fourth largest producer of uranium ore in the world a ...

were situated in the city: the uranium mill in Zwickau-Crossen, producing

uranium concentrate Triuranium octoxide (U3O8) is a compound of uranium. It is present as an olive green to black, odorless solid. It is one of the more popular forms of yellowcake and is shipped between mills and refineries in this form. U3O8 has potential long-term ...

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 Mülsen is a municipality in Germany, Landkreis Zwickau in Saxony. It is situated 6 km northeast of Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. ...

, Reinsdorf, Wilkau-Hasslau, Hirschfeld ( Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Kirchberg),

Lichtentanne Lichtentanne is a municipality in the district Zwickau, in Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to t ...

Werdau Werdau () is a town in Germany, part of the Landkreis Zwickau in Saxony. It is situated on the river Pleiße, 8 km from Zwickau. The town was mentioned as early as 1304, and in 1398 it was purchased by Frederick, then margrave of Meissen ...

, Neukirchen,

Crimmitschau Crimmitschau () is a town in the district of Zwickau (district), Zwickau in Saxony, Germany. Geography Crimmitschau lies on the river Pleiße in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains. Neighboring municipalities Adjacent communities includ ...

Dennheritz Dennheritz is a municipality in the district Zwickau, in Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the ...

( Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Crimmitschau), and the city of

Glauchau Glauchau (; , ) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the Zwickau dist ...

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,

, 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 The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(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 Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, 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 The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice ( , BSW) is a List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-le ...

(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,

(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 Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

(Grüne) , 3,823 , 3.2 , 3.3 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

(FDP) , 3,702 , 3.1 , 2.5 , 1 , 2 , - , bgcolor=169340, , align=left,

Free Saxons Freie Sachsen () is a far-right monarchist, autonomist, and secessionist movement within the German State of Saxony. It seeks to restore the former Kingdom of Saxony through an autonomist government or a "Saexit if Necessary". History Foundi ...

(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 Georg Ulrich Handke (born Hanau 22 April 1894: died Berlin 7 September 1962) was a German politician (Communist Party of Germany/Socialist Unity Party of Germany). In 1958 he became one of the 111 members of the Party Central Committee in the G ...

(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 The Zwickau model, or train-tram, is an inversion of the tram-train. Instead of tram vehicles running on railway tracks, the Zwickau model features main-line trains extended through city streets on tram tracks. The trains have only minor modificat ...

for such systems. The closest airport is Leipzig-Altenburg, which has no scheduled commercial flights. The nearest major airports are

Leipzig/Halle Airport Leipzig/Halle Airport is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany, and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. It is a state-owned enterprise and allows 24 hour take off and landing for cargo flights. In ...

and

Dresden Airport Dresden Airport is an international airport of Dresden, the state capital of Saxony, Germany. It is located in Klotzsche, a district of Dresden north of the city centre. It was formerly also known in German as ''Flughafen Dresden-Klotzsche''. D ...

, 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 Robert Schumann House is a museum in Zwickau in Germany. The composer Robert Schumann was born here in 1810; it now houses a large collection relating to the composer. Background Three years before the composer was born, Schumann's family move ...

and is a museum dedicated to him. The histories of the

and

factories are presented at the ''

August Horch Museum Zwickau The August Horch Museum Zwickau is an automobile museum in Zwickau, Saxony, Germany. Opened in 2004, it covers the history of automobile construction in Zwickau, the early history of Horch and Audi; their eventual incorporation into Auto Union ...

''. The museum is an ''Anchor Point'' of the

European Route of Industrial Heritage The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is a tourist route of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. This is a tourism industry information initiative to present a network of industrial heritage sites across Europe. The ...

(EIRH).

Notable people

Born before 1900

* Nicholas Storch (before 1500 – after 1536), weaver and lay preacher (Zwickau Prophets) *

Janus Cornarius Janus Cornarius (''ca.'' 1500 – 16 March 1558) was a Saxon humanist and friend of Erasmus. A gifted philologist, Cornarius specialized in editing and translating Greek and Latin medical writers with "prodigious industry,"P.S. Allen, ''Opus Epis ...

(c. 1500–1558), philologist and physician *

Gregor Haloander Gregor Haloander (born as Gregor Meltzer; 1501 – 7 September 1531) was a German legal scholar. He authored a recension of the '' Digest'' of Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spann ...

(1501–1531), jurist * David Köler (1532–1565), musician, organist, choirmaster and composer *

Jacob Leupold Jacob Leupold (22 July 1674 – 12 January 1727) was a German physicist, mathematician, instrument maker, mining commissioner and engineer. He wrote the seminal book ''Theatrum Machinarum Generale'' ("The General Theory of Machines"). Early l ...

(1674–1727), mechanic and instrument maker *

(1810–1856), composer of the Romantic era *

Paul Emil Flechsig Paul Emil Flechsig (29 June 1847, Zwickau, Kingdom of Saxony – 22 July 1929, Leipzig) was a German neuroanatomist, psychiatrist and neuropathologist. He is mainly remembered today for his research of myelinogenesis. Biography Born in Zwickau, ...

(1847–1929) neuroanatomist, psychiatrist and neuropathologist * Heinrich Schurtz (1863–1903), ethnologist and historian *

August Horch August Horch (12 October 1868 – 3 February 1951) was a German engineer and automobile pioneer, the founder of the manufacturing giant that eventually became Audi. Beginnings Horch was born in Winningen, Rhenish Prussia. His initial ...

(1868–1952), automotive engineer *

Heinrich Waentig Heinrich Eugen Waentig (21 March 1870 – 22 December 1943) was a German economist and politician. Waentig was born in Zwickau, Saxony. Between 1888 and 1893, he studied at several universities, including University of Munich, University of Berli ...

(1870–1943), economist and politician (SPD) * Hans Dominik (1872–1945), writer, journalist and engineer *

Fritz Bleyl Hilmar Friedrich Wilhelm Bleyl, known as Fritz Bleyl (8 October 1880 – 19 August 1966), was a German artist of the Expressionist school, and one of the four founders of artist group Die Brücke ("The Bridge"). He designed graphics fo ...

(1880–1966), Expressionist painter and architect *

Max Pechstein Hermann Max Pechstein (31 December 1881 – 29 June 1955) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and a member of the Die Brücke group. He fought on the Western Front during World War I and his art was classified as Degenerate A ...

(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 *

(1902–1982), Austrian automotive engineer *

Gershom Schocken Gershom Gustav Schocken (; born Gustav Schocken; 29 September 1912 – 20 December 1990) was an Israeli journalist and politician who was editor of ''Haaretz'' for more than 50 years and a member of the Knesset for the Progressive Party between ...

(1912–1990), Israeli journalist and politician *

Gert Fröbe Karl Gerhart "Gert" Fröbe (; 25 February 1913 – 5 September 1988) was a German actor. He was known in English-speaking countries for his work as the title character in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', as Peachum in ''The Threepenny Opera ...

(1913–1988), actor *

Gerhard Schürer Gerhard Schürer (14 April 1921 – 22 December 2010) was a leading politician in East Germany. Between 1963 and 1989 he was a member of the powerful Central Committee of the country's ruling SED (party). He also served, between 1965 and 198 ...

(1921–2010), politician (SED) *

Erhard Weller Erhard 'Big Bimbo' Weller (1926–1986) was a German actor known for his height of 7'9.75". Weller was born in Zwickau, Germany in 1926 as Paul Siegfried Erhard Weller and died in Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria ...

(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 Volkmar Weiss (born 23 May 1944 in Zwickau, Saxony) is a German researcher and writer, primarily interested in the field of IQ research.

(born 1946), footballer * Christoph Bergner (born 1948), politician (CDU), 1993–1994 Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt *

Eckart Viehweg Eckart Viehweg (born 30 December 1948 in Zwickau, died 29 January 2010) was a German mathematician. He was a professor of algebraic geometry Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics which uses abstract algebraic techniques, mainly fro ...

(1948–2010), mathematician *

Hagen von Ortloff Hagen von Ortloff (born May 1949, in Zwickau) is a German TV presenter. He is most famous for ''Eisenbahn-Romantik'', a television programme about rail travel and railway history (specifically steam locomotive, steam engines in Germany, Switzerlan ...

(born 1949), TV-journalist * Werner Schulz (1950–2022), politician (

) * Frank Petzold (born 1951), composer and conductor *

Christoph Daum Christoph Paul Daum (24 October 1953 – 24 August 2024) was a German professional Association football, football manager and player. As a manager, he won eight trophies with clubs from Germany, Turkey and Austria. In 1992, he won the Bundesliga ...

(1953–2024), football player and coach *

Lutz Dombrowski Lutz Dombrowski (born 25 June 1959) is a former German people, German track and field athlete and Olympic champion. Early life Dombrowski was born in 1959 in Zwickau. Wilhelm Pieck, who at the time of Dombrowski's birth was Leadership of ...

(born 1959), athlete and Olympic champion *

Lars Riedel Lars Peter Riedel (born 28 June 1967) a former German discus thrower. Riedel has the seventh longest discus throw of all-time with a personal best of 71.50 m. Biography Riedel began his discus career in the former East Germany, German Democrati ...

(born 1967), discus thrower *

Sven Günther Sven Günther (born 22 February 1974) is a German former football player. He spent three seasons in the Bundesliga with 1. FC Nürnberg and Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frank ...

(born 1974), footballer *

Cathleen Martini Cathleen Martini (born 27 May 1982) is a German bobsledder who has competed since 2000. She won four medals in the two-woman event at the FIBT World Championships with two silvers (2007, 2008) and two bronzes (2003, 2009). In the Bobsleigh Wor ...

(born 1982), bobsledder, world champion *

Marie-Elisabeth Hecker Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (born 5 March 1987 in Zwickau) is a German cellist. In 2005 she was one of the youngest participants to win First Prize (music diploma), first prize at the Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch, the most important cello co ...

(born 1987), classical cellist *

Danny Röhl Danny Röhl (born 28 April 1989) is a German football coach and former player who is manager of EFL Championship club Sheffield Wednesday. Playing career Born in Zwickau, Röhl played as a defender for clubs including FSV Zwickau, FC Sachsen ...

(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 Zaanstad () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, Dutch municipality in the province of North Holland, situated northwest of Amsterdam. Its main city is Zaandam. It is part of the conurbation and Amsterdam metropolitan area, metropolitan area of ...

, 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 Volodymyr (, ; ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ''Volodiměr'', which in other Slavic languages became Vladimi ...

, Ukraine (2014) * Yandu (Yancheng), China (2014)

References

External links

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