Chemnitz | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 50°50′N 12°55′E / 50.833°N 12.917°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Saxony |
District | Urban district |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–27) | Sven Schulze[1] (SPD) |
Area | |
• Total | 220.85 km2 (85.27 sq mi) |
Elevation | 296 m (971 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 248,563 |
• Density | 1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 09001–09247 |
Dialling codes | 0371
037200 (Wittgensdorf) 037209 (Einsiedel) 03722 (Röhrsdorf) 03726 (Euba) |
Vehicle registration | C |
Website | www |
Chemnitz (German: [ˈkɛmnɪts] ; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt [kaʁlˈmaʁksˌʃtat] (lit. 'Karl Marx City'); Upper Sorbian: Kamjenica; Czech: Saská Kamenice; Polish: Kamienica Saska) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, and Dresden.
The city lies in the middle of a string of cities sitting in the densely populated northern foreland of the Elster and Ore Mountains, stretching from Plauen in the southwest via Zwickau, Chemnitz and Freiberg to Dresden in the northeast, and is part of the Central German Metropolitan Region. Located in the Ore Mountain Basin, the city is surrounded by the Ore Mountains to the south and the Central Saxon Hill Country to the north. The city stands on the Chemnitz River, which is formed through the confluence of the rivers Zwönitz and Würschnitz in the borough of Altchemnitz.
The name of the city as well as the names of the rivers are of Slavic origin. Chemnitz is the third-largest city in the Thuringian-Upper Saxon dialect area after Leipzig and Dresden. The city's economy is based on the service sector and manufacturing industry. Chemnitz University of Technology has around 10,000 students.
Chemnitz was the richest city in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, is known for its many industrial age buildings and monuments,[3] and will be the European Capital of Culture of 2025.[4]