Chemnitz welcomes visitors to discover its secrets.

In 2025 Chemnitz will welcome visitors to discover the secrets of this city in Saxony. “C the Unseen” is the theme which links 200 projects and 1,000 events. The highpoints include a major exhibition of the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch who stayed in Chemnitz in 1905 and painted several works here. The paintings will be on display in the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, which has 65,000 works from the history of art on display in its various buildings. Visitors can follow the “Purple Path” around Chemnitz and the surrounding area to see works by artists from Germany and around the world, including Tony Cragg, Sean Scully and James Turrell. More than 30 museums in the region are presenting a random selection of their collections as a “Museumcircle” inspired by John Cage. 

Art, sport and democracy 

A marathon course will be transformed into the longest stage in the world featuring music from the classics to hip-hop and electro. Sporting culture will be further celebrated through a cross-border cycling tour to commemorate the Peace Race in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. Other plans include a voyage of dance discovery inspired by James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and a reboot of the “Kosmos” festival of democracy. The “Begehungen” Festival (“Inspection”) is transforming a former lignite mine into a gallery for contemporary art.  

Opening ceremony: 18 January 

Chemnitz’s year as European Capital of Culture begins on 18 January 2025 with a festival for 100,000 guests. The organisers expect 2 million visitors including many from outside Germany. But not everything will be swept away at the end of 2025. For example, the art works along the “Purple Path” will remain, as will the Ensemble Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. The ensemble of buildings comprises the house and mill which once belonged to Schmidt-Rottluff’s parents. A key figure in the expressionist movement, he was a co-founder of the famous “Bridge” group of artists.