Closing balance sheet

Chemnitz 2025 presented around 2,000 events in 2025, twice as many as expected at the beginning of the year. This was based on the five programme areas with a total of 260 projects that were anchored in the Chemnitz 2025 programme. The main focus was on citizen participation and international cooperation. Civil society was able to actively participate in several open calls for proposals, resulting in 56 additional projects. A total of 731 partner organisations were involved in the programme. Of these, 233 were international partners from 40 countries, with whom 68 projects were jointly realised.

Some events were attended by a particularly large number of people:

• The opening ceremony of Chemnitz 2025 on 18 January 2025 attracted 80,000 guests.
• The Hat Festival had 105,000 visitors, twice as many as in 2024.
• The ibug art festival reported a record attendance of over 38,000 visitors, almost twice as many as expected.
• The Begehungen art festival also set a record with 56,000 visitors.
• The culture, music and democracy festival KOSMOS was celebrated by 115,000 people, another attendance record.
• Light Our Vision had 86,000 visitors.
• The Chemnitz Industrial Museum with its special exhibition "Tales of Transformation" already counted 100,000 visitors on 24 September 2025. By comparison, there were 62,000 visitors in 2024 as a whole.
• The exhibition "Eduard Munch. Angst" exhibition at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz attracted 84,000 visitors.
• Over 8,000 runners took part in the European Capital of Culture Marathon over various distances.

The largest sustainable project in the Capital of Culture region with its 38 partner municipalities is the PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail. With the works of over 60 renowned international, regional and local artists, a unique exhibition of contemporary art in public spaces has been created in the region, connecting Chemnitz and the region. The art and sculpture trail will become an important new tourist attraction in the future, and not just for art lovers.

Nine so-called maker hubs have been established in Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture Region as creative locations that invite people to work together and thus become a driving force for sustainable creative tourism in the region.

The Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 was significantly supported by the active participation of people in the city and region. Whether as volunteers, in artistic projects or in neighbourhood initiatives, the commitment of civil society shaped and enriched the programme.

• Volunteering: 1,300 volunteers contributed around 45,000 volunteer hours in 10,000 assignments and provided support as ambassadors and behind the scenes.
• #3000Garages: The main project showcased garages as creative spaces; 1,000 people participated in the formats and worked with 34 international artists.
• Apple Tree Initiatives: In collaborative actions, 1,450 apple trees were planted in public spaces over three years - the basis for new neighbourhoods in the Living Neighbourhood project.
• Microprojects: 248 microprojects were supported and implemented.
• CREATE.U: 81 young people developed their own projects for the Capital of Culture programme; the highlight was the Betonblühen festival in October 2025 with 5,500 visitors.
• Dancing Neighbours: Around 100 people aged 60 and over have taken part in the workshops every week since May 2024.
• Makers, Business & Arts / Maker Advent: The project connects creative makers with business, art and tourism. The Maker Advent was honoured with the German Tourism Award 2025; in 2025, 42 workshops and studios offered a total of 330 hands-on events.

The funding programme "EUJA! Initiative Projects for the Capital of Culture Year" funding programme made the creativity of Chemnitz's urban society visible in 2025. Around 120 projects were realised by citizens, associations and initiatives.

• EUJA! as a central project of civic initiative in the Capital of Culture year
• Total funding amount: 505,000 euros
• Organised and funded by: City of Chemnitz, Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH, Sparkasse Chemnitz and GGG - Grundstücks- und Gebäudewirtschafts-Gesellschaft m.b.H.
• Variety of projects: Music festivals, cultural events, youth participation, artistic workshops, new formats in intervention areas, events in public spaces

The intervention areas are among the most visible participatory projects of the Capital of Culture year. Their realisation would not have been possible without the active participation of the people of Chemnitz. In all neighbourhoods and localities, a joint decision was made as to which places should be redesigned.

• Through these projects, the Capital of Culture was brought directly into people's neighbourhoods and will remain present beyond the title year.
• In each of the eight areas of the citizens' platforms and in each of the eight incorporated localities, 325,000 euros were available for new public spaces.
• The citizens themselves chose which projects would be realised, from club rooms to hiking trails and parks to barrier-free access.
• Citizens had a say in the design of the neighbourhood park at Pleißenbach, and children in particular were actively involved in the new playground.

Economic commitment: The local and national economy actively supported Chemnitz 2025:

• A total of 50 sponsors and supporters from the business community.
• Most extensive commitment by:
  • Volkswagen Group (premium sponsor)
  • eins energie in sachsen GmbH & Co KG (main sponsor)
  • Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe (Official Partner)

The city's museums can look back on an exceptional Capital of Culture year. Almost all of the museums recorded significant increases in visitor numbers or experienced the most visited year in their history. Major special exhibitions such as "European Realities" and "Edvard Munch. Angst" attracted both national and international visitors. New venues such as the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Haus provided strong impetus.

Chemnitz Art Collections

• 229,869 visits to the Kunstsammlungen buildings by October (comparative period 2024: 60,460)
• 407 public tours and 968 special tours
• Significantly more international audience with guests e.g. from the Czech Republic, France and the USA, high proportion of online tickets for guests from outside Germany
• Exhibition highlights:
  • "European Realities" with almost 40,000 visits, the most successful exhibition at the Gunzenhauser Museum since it opened in 2007
  • "Edvard Munch. Angst" with 84,000 visits
• New artists' museum: the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff House, open since April, already has over 17,000 visitors
• Strong digital growth: Instagram community grew from 9,500 to over 15,500 followers

Chemnitz Industrial Museum

• 123,768 visits by mid-November (comparative period 2024: 61,879), best museum year in history
• Over 880 guided tours and 1,288 educational and mediation programmes
• Strong increase in interest from national and international guests
• More than 100 events and lettings
• Numerous major conferences, including the ERIH annual conference, the German Museums Association's evening reception, the Sports Ministers' Conference and the DGTB annual conference
• Seven special exhibitions throughout the year, including "Tales of Transformation"
• Festivals and events: EuroBean Chocolate Festival, Steampunk Festival, Industrial Museum Open Air
• European Creative Europe project "Metamorphosis of Workwear" successfully realised

smac - Chemnitz State Museum of Archaeology

• Around 90,000 visits by October (comparative period 2024: 70,683)
• Visitor record with Chemnitz 2025 exhibition "Silberglanz & Kumpeltod" (43,000 visitors)
• Strong increase in interest from national and international guests
• Significant expansion of educational programmes and guided tours

Museum for Saxon vehicles

• 21,729 visits by October (comparative period 2024: 10,952)
• Capital of Culture project: "Ersatzteillager" by Martin Maleschka, an installation with items on loan from Chemnitz garages in cooperation with the #3000Garagen project
• Special exhibition "What moved Europe - from bicycles to cars"

Museum of Natural History

• 17,987 visits by October (comparative period 2024: 16,965)
• Capital of Culture project: Fossil of the Year 2025 Fayolia sterzeliana - shark egg capsules from Chemnitz-Borna and Chemnitz-Glösa, an exhibition highlighting the geological uniqueness of Chemnitz

Chemnitz has established itself as an important location for national and international specialist events in the Capital of Culture year 2025. The C³ Chemnitz event centres recorded exceptional growth, both in terms of visitor numbers and the number of high-calibre conferences. The demand for rooms, guided tours and cultural supporting programmes was higher than ever before.

Tourism in Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture Region experienced a significant upturn in 2025. Demand for guided tours and travel offers reached new records, with twice as many city tours organised by September as in the entire previous year. Many international guests discovered Chemnitz for the first time through the Capital of Culture, stayed in the city for several days and have firm plans to return.

The analysis of the accommodation tax - the data for which is available earlier than the official statistics and which also takes into account smaller establishments with fewer than ten beds - clearly confirms this trend. From January to October 2025, the number of overnight stays was significantly higher than in the previous year. The summer was particularly strong: in August alone, the previous year's level was exceeded by more than 50 per cent. The continuous growth across almost all months shows that Chemnitz 2025 was perceived as a destination with nationwide and international appeal for the first time.

The economic effect is also measurable: a special analysis of the Mastercard data shows that Chemnitz has become considerably more attractive during the Capital of Culture year - both in terms of leisure tourism and the overall spending level of guests.

With the intervention areas, Chemnitz 2025 has realised an urban development project that has never existed on this scale before. Across the entire city, brownfield sites have been upgraded, neglected areas reactivated and long-held wishes in the city's neighbourhoods realised. The projects range from large-scale schemes such as the Hartmannfabrik, the Stadtwirtschaft, the Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Haus and the Garage Campus to smaller interventions in the city and neighbourhoods such as the Morgenleite park or the new "Lohse-Uhlig-Steig" hiking trail in Kleinolbersdorf-Altenhain. The "City by the River" sub-programme also brought the city's waterways back to life - for example through the new district park on the Pleißenbach, which will be further expanded and developed in the coming years as a lasting legacy of the Capital of Culture.

• 30 intervention areas in all city districts
• Total volume 57.8 million euros (as of 10 June 2025), financed from 10 million euros KHS budget, 26 million euros specialist funding programmes and 21.8 million euros municipal own funds
• Four "places of new beginnings" as central major projects: Hartmannfabrik, Stadtwirtschaft, Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff-Haus and Garage Campus
• Numerous smaller projects in the city and neighbourhoods, including Park Morgenleite, Lohse-Uhlig-Steig, newly created meeting places and play areas
• Intensive involvement of the urban community: associations, initiatives and local residents actively helped shape the planning and use of many areas
• Sustainable effect: the areas will continue to be used or expanded after 2025

The European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 achieved a high level of media visibility at home and abroad:

• 23,000 press mentions with an aggregated reach of around 36 billion
• Over 300 national and international journalists from 20 countries have visited Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture region since 2024
• Around 1,700 media articles across Germany and over 200 international articles
• 86 million views on the Chemnitz 2025 social media channels

The European Capital of Culture year has measurably changed Chemnitz: increasing visitor numbers, international attention and a new self-confidence characterise the outcome. The joint endeavours of the city society, cultural region and European partners have shown the potential that Chemnitz has.

The next phase now begins with the bridge year 2026 and the long-term legacy from 2027. In the course of 2026, the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH will be transformed into a company focussing on the legacy.

Chemnitz is focussing on keeping the European Capital of Culture feeling alive, consolidating successful formats and launching new initiatives. Projects such as Theatre of the World, the PURPLE PATH, the Open Calls and the planned UNSEEN Biennale form the foundation for the future. In this way, 2025 will gradually grow into a long-term cultural and development impulse for the city and region.

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Sven Schulze, Lord Mayor of the City of Chemnitz:

"What began as a vision has become a movement in 2025 that has permanently changed Chemnitz and our region. We only became Capital of Culture together: as an urban society, as a cultural region and as part of Europe. We hosted people from all over Europe and showed how open and creative Chemnitz is. A new sense of togetherness has emerged this year, as many Chemnitz residents have realised that their city is more than it is often given credit for - and this has changed their perspective. Many have got to know the real Chemnitz, a city that surprises and connects. The official end of the Capital of Culture year therefore marks the start of something new. We remain a city of culture, we remain part of the European community and we will take this energy with us into the future."

Minister of State for Culture and Media Wolfram Weimer:

"With an outstanding variety of projects, more than a thousand volunteers, among others, have made Chemnitz shine as European Capital of Culture 2025. This has resulted in a huge wealth of experience in the realisation of major cultural projects. At the end of this special title year, we are experiencing a creative spirit of optimism in Chemnitz that extends far beyond Saxony and Germany - and will continue to have an impact far beyond 2025. The federal government will remain a friend and supporter of this cultural city of light."

Andrea Pier Commercial Director of Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH:

"The Capital of Culture year sparked an enthusiasm that was infectious. It was a special moment for me when it finally started and I realised that something big was beginning. I didn't have this feeling alone, it could be felt throughout the city. All of this was made possible by the reliable support from the business community and many other areas of society, by partners who pulled together. Chemnitz 2025 has shown what you can achieve together when you join forces and how much culture unites."

Stefan Schmidtke, Programme Director of Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH:

"The people of Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture region have surpassed themselves this year. They have made Chemnitz 2025 their project and they have succeeded magnificently. The active participation of so many people has given rise to an enormous creative force, which has really impressed me. I am convinced that the people here will take this new self-image with them into the future and that the Capital of Culture effect is just beginning to unfold."

Barbara Klepsch, Saxon State Minister for Culture and Tourism:

"A unique year is coming to an end for Kulturland Sachsen, the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz and the 38 municipalities in the Capital of Culture region. Countless committed players have put together a unique programme that has attracted and surprised many visitors from Chemnitz itself, from the region, from Saxony and the whole of Germany as well as from Europe. The European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 has received the great attention we had hoped for, the number of visitors and overnight stays has increased significantly and the commitment of civil society to the Capital of Culture is reflected in the enormous participation in the volunteers programme. I would like to thank everyone who has put their heart and soul into everything we have been able to experience this year. Their commitment, creativity and enthusiasm make all these successes possible. Together, we are keeping the spirit of the Capital of Culture alive - open, creative, hospitable, innovative and full of encounters."

Alexander Troll, Mayor of the mining town of Lößnitz in the Ore Mountains:

"The Capital of Culture Year 2025 was a complete success for Lößnitz. The numerous, mostly positively surprised and enthusiastic visitors - guests, co-creators, journalists, artists, cultural workers - from all parts of Germany, Europe and distant countries of the world have also changed and sharpened our own view once again - for the value of the many things that have been created together over the past decades, but also for the great potential that our city, together with the region and Chemnitz, offers for the future. This potential lies above all in the people themselves, who, with a positive attitude and the desire to actively participate, have created many great events, encounters and experiences - on the basis of an idea of urban development that has been consistently implemented since the political turnaround and the structures built up within this framework."

Barbara Gessler, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Berlin

The motto of the European Capital of Culture "C the Unseen" could not have been more apt. Hundreds of thousands of visitors from the region, Germany, Europe and all over the world have discovered the unseen and unexpected in Chemnitz and the region this year. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the outstanding and varied programme and showed how much Europe there is in Chemnitz and the region. I would especially like to thank the many volunteers. The European Capitals of Culture are democracy in action. Chemnitz has shown what artistic and cultural freedom means for our democracies. I am delighted that the great European commitment will continue in Chemnitz in the coming year - with cultural events, but also with the opening of the EUROPE DIRECT Centre on 1 January 2026. Culture is the core of our European identity. It deserves our attention and our political commitment.