Chemnitz Announced as European Capital of Culture for 2025, Celebrating Cultural Revival

In 2025, Chemnitz will step into the spotlight as the European Capital of Culture, marking it the fourth German city to receive this honor, following the footsteps of West Berlin in 1988, Weimar in 1999, and the Ruhr metropolitan area in 2010. The industrial city of Saxony has teamed up with Chemnitzer Tourismus und Marketing GmbH (CTM) to initiate marketing strategies that highlight the city’s evolution from an industrial hub to a vibrant cultural region.

Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB, explains: “Of the 173 million outbound cultural trips made by Europeans in 2023, 18.7 million were to Germany. An impressive figure that once again underlines our position as the number one cultural travel and city break destination for Europeans. According to the latest research by IPK International, the number of city breaks in Germany taken by Europeans rose by a further 10 per cent in the first eight months of 2024. In this context, the naming of Chemnitz as the 2025 European Capital of Culture provides even more reasons to explore the arts scene and cultural landscape of this region of Germany.”

Andrea Pier, CEO of Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH: “Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture region offer a multilayered programme of more than 1,000 events under the banner ‘C the unseen’ that will put previously less well-known people, places and activities more firmly on the tourist map. It explores more than 800 years of mining, features established, internationally renowned cultural highlights such as theatres, museums and industrial heritage, and showcases projects created to mark the region’s year as the Capital of Culture. The residents of Chemnitz and the entire region are looking forward to welcoming visitors from Germany and abroad to the European Capital of Culture.”

The European Capital of Culture title extends beyond Chemnitz to include 38 towns and communities across Central Saxony, the Zwickauer Land district, and the Erzgebirge mountains. An expected two million international visitors will participate in a rich array of arts, exhibitions, and both grand and intimate festivals, starting from January 18, 2025.

To internationally promote the event, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) is collaborating with Kulturhauptstadt Europas Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH and other regional tourism entities to orchestrate a Welcome Tour. This tour will feature networking events aimed at tourism partners and media, scheduled for October 31, 2024, at Kraftwerk in Zurich, November 7 at Palais Niederösterreich in Vienna, and November 14 at Spoika in Prague.

This partnership between the GNTB and CTM includes extensive marketing across social media, newsletters, and a dedicated microsite that serves as a central hub for information. This site details itineraries and cultural events connecting Chemnitz with the surrounding 38 communities, providing a platform to experience the region’s cultural and traditional evolution.

The GNTB has also incorporated this theme into its global media strategies since early 2024, hosting the Germany Travel Mart in Chemnitz as a precursor to its special year. This event allowed 225 trade representatives and over 100 journalists to discover the diverse offerings of the region firsthand. An international press conference during this event highlighted the upcoming cultural programs, further supported by press highlight tours.

Moreover, the GNTB has outlined Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands, and Denmark as primary markets in its collaboration with CTM, with all foreign offices engaging in targeted marketing campaigns to spotlight Chemnitz’s cultural festivities for 2025.

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