General decree of the City of Chemnitz to maintain public safety

for 13 August 2025 to maintain public safety and order in connection with the Chemnitzer FC football match in the one stadium on Gellertstraße in Chemnitz

In accordance with Sections 1 (1) No. 3 and No. 4, 5 (1), 6 (1), 12 (1), 13 (1) of the Saxon Police Authorities Act in the version dated 11 May 2019 (SächsGVBl. pp. 358, 389), as amended by Article 2 of the Act of 22 July 2024 (SächsGVBl. p. 724) (hereinafter SächsPBG), the City of Chemnitz, as the local and district police authority, issues the following </p

<p class="text-center">General decree

for the protection of public safety in accordance with Section 12 (1) SächsPBG

1. The area of application of this general ruling is shown on the site plans attached as Annex 1 and Annex 2 (within the area outlined with a red line), which form part of this general ruling. The area includes in particular the so-called border forest of the Ebersdorf district, the ruined areas to the south of it outside recognisable paths and partly the Ebersdorf forest.
   
   In addition, the area of application is described as follows: The spatial area of application is bounded on the outside by an assumed line starting with the path from the level of the house property at Bertha-von-Suttner-Straße house number 48 (former barracks) approximately 480 metres in a northerly direction on a recognisable path to the intersection with other paths at the Ebersdorf forestry hut, where it turns west-south-west and continues to follow a recognisable path in a westerly direction for approximately 420 metres, crossing the Glösbach stream at the pond. At the end of the path described above, the line continues to follow a visible path to the south to the edge of the forest on the field for approximately 155 metres and runs directly along the forest-field boundary line for approximately 300 metres to the fence of the Adalbert-Stifter-Weg reception facility, from where it turns south-east in a straight line for approximately 200 metres between the buildings of the former barracks. From the resulting point, the imaginary line runs straight east-north-east for approximately 270 metres and ends on the path coming from Bertha-von-Suttner-Straße.
   
   This general ruling is valid until revoked.
   
    
2. It is prohibited to enter the area covered by this general ruling. Exceptions to this are roads and designated or marked paths within the area of application regulated in No. 1 of this general ruling. These may not be left.
   
    
3. The entry ban does not apply to employees of the security authorities, the police, the fire brigade, the rescue service and civil protection in the exercise of sovereign activity or in the fulfilment of their statutory duties as well as to owners of property in the area of application according to no.
   
    
4. The City of Chemnitz may allow exceptions in individual cases if there is no danger to life and health.
   
    
5. Within the scope of this general ruling in accordance with no. 1 and No. 2, dogs must be kept on a lead.
   
    
6. Immediate enforcement of Nos. 1 to 5 is ordered. 
   
    
7. In the event of non-compliance with the entry ban ordered in Nos. 1 and 2 in conjunction with No. 6, enforcement is threatened with direct coercion.
   
    
8. This general order shall be deemed to have been announced on the day following its customary publication. 
   
    
9. The general order and its justification can be inspected at the town hall Markt 1 during the applicable opening hours.

Reasoning

I. 

Circumstances

On the evening of 4 May 2026, a person found small glass containers of unknown contents at the western edge of the Ebersdorfer Wald forest in fields above the Adalbert-Stifter-Weg reception facility.

According to on-site investigations, the containers consisted of around 200 different types of jars and ampoules with a capacity of up to around 100 millilitres. In the course of the investigation and investigation, employees of the Chemnitz city fire brigade detected some chemicals that are either toxic, carcinogenic, corrosive or explosive.

The origin of the vessels has not yet been traced or assigned. It has also not been possible to clarify how the finds were brought to the site, i.e. whether they had already been stored there for a long time or were brought directly to the site by third parties.
Because some of the inscriptions are in Cyrillic, it is possible that the site was once used by Soviet army forces, particularly the area to the south, until around 1993.

The immediate site and a defined radius were searched intensively and extensively, but unsuccessfully, by specialists, including the State Office of Criminal Investigation, for further objects.

The items described were thermally destroyed on site on the evening of 7 May 2026. Reference is made to the publicly accessible police report from the Chemnitz police department dated 7 May 2026 in the Ebersdorf district under the heading "Hazardous substance use in urban forest area" (see https://
medienservice.sachsen.de/medien/news/1096922).

On 15 May 2026, a person again found partially broken open containers similar to the first discovery near the first location, again on an unused, unmaintained path in the area. These ampoules were again found to contain environmentally harmful and life-threatening chemicals.

Based on the previous thorough investigation of the first find, it must be assumed that the new finds were subsequently excavated or deposited by animals or humans. These finds were also disposed of correctly.

On 19 May 2026, two more glass containers containing chemicals that are both harmful to the environment and life-threatening were found in the wider wooded area surrounding the initial find and subsequently rendered harmless.

According to press reports from Tag24 and Freie Presse on 11 May 2026, various people, including children and young people as well as explorers, are repeatedly on the move in this area, actively searching for usable remains or finds.

In the overall view of the events described, it can therefore be assumed that further contaminated material or small containers filled with harmful chemicals are stored near the surface in the entire forest area or that non-surface objects could also be dug up by wild animals or people playing or searching in the immediate temporal context.

This is to be prevented by issuing a general order, in particular to avoid damage to the health of both involved and uninvolved persons through direct contact with hazardous substances from such finds.

II. 

Reasoning

The City of Chemnitz, as the local and district police authority, is responsible for issuing this general order in accordance with Sections 1 (1) No. 3 and No. 4, 5 (1), 6 (1), 12 (1) of the Saxon Police Authorities Act in the version dated 11 May 2019 (SächsGVBl. p. 358, 389), as amended by Article 2 of the Act of 22 July 2024 (SächsGG). July 2024 (SächsGVBl. p. 724) (hereinafter Sächs-PBG). 

The above-mentioned orders could be issued as a general ruling in accordance with Section 35 sentence 2 of the Administrative Procedure Act in the version published on 23 January 2003 (BGBl. I p. 102), which was last amended by Article 2 of the Act of 15 July 2024 (Federal Law Gazette 2024 I No. 236) (VwVfG) in conjunction with Section 1 of the Act on the Regulation of Administrative Procedure and Administrative Service Law for the Free State of Saxony of 19 May 2010 (SächsGVBl. p. 142), which was last amended by Article 8 of the Act of 31 January 2024 (Sächs-GVBl. p. 142). January 2024 (Sächs-GVBl. p. 83) (SächsVwVfZG). 

The choice of a general ruling instead of an order is justified by the fact that the City of Chemnitz does not currently know how many people will be affected by the general ruling. In the present case, it is therefore also not possible to make an individual announcement to the persons affected by the order in question (see Section 41 (3) sentence 2 VwVfG in conjunction with Section 1 SächsVwVfZG).

A hearing was not held before the general ruling was issued (Section 28 (2) no. 4 of the Administrative Procedure Act). An oral hearing of the parties involved is not possible, as it is currently not known which persons will be affected by the general ruling.

The legal basis for issuing No. 1 to No. 5 of this general ruling is Section 12 (1) SächsPBG. According to this, the police authorities can take the necessary measures to avert a threat to public safety or order, insofar as the powers are not specifically regulated. This does not concern the defence of typical forest concerns or forest hazards, nor does nature conservation law, the Federal Soil Protection Act or the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act come into consideration, as other purposes exist there.

The issuing of this general order serves to avert a danger to public safety.

Public safety, according to the legal definition in § 4 no. 1 of the Saxon Police Enforcement Service Act of 11 May 2019 (SächsGVBl. p. 358), which was amended by the Act of 5 July 2024 (SächsGVBl. p. 595) (hereinafter SächsPVDG) in conjunction with Section 3 SächsPBG, public security includes the inviolability of the legal order, the subjective rights and legal interests of individual persons as well as the existence, facilities and events of the state or other holders of sovereign authority. The protection of the subjective rights and legal interests of individuals includes, in particular, life and health. 
A danger within the meaning of Section 12(1) SächsPBG is defined in accordance with Section 4(3)(a) SächsPVDG as a situation in which there is sufficient probability in an individual case that damage to public safety or order will occur in the foreseeable future.

Taking into account the facts on which this general ruling is currently based, in particular due to similar cases of the discovery of potentially dangerous objects or their contents within the scope of this general ruling that have occurred within a few days. It can therefore be assumed that unhindered free access to the (entire) area of application of this general order would pose a risk to human life and/or health. 

The order is also proportionate within the meaning of § 13 SächsPBG. From the City of Chemnitz's point of view, issuing the entry ban in the area covered by the general order is necessary, as this is the only way to effectively counter the existing dangers. In addition, the ban on entering does not apply to the entire area covered by the general ruling. Access to roads and designated or labelled paths remains permitted. In addition, access is also permitted for the persons or groups of persons named in No. 3. Exceptions may also be authorised in individual cases.
 

III.

Order of immediate execution

The order for immediate execution is in the special public interest (Section 80 (2) sentence 1 no. 4 and (3) of the Administrative Court Code in the version published on 19 March 1991 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 686), which was last amended by Article 12a of the Act of 23 April 2026 (Federal Law Gazette 2026 I no. 111)), because this is the only way to ensure that the legal interests of life and limb of persons involved and uninvolved are adequately protected. In this respect, explicit reference is made to the reasons that led to the issuing of this order in order to justify the special interest in immediate enforcement. The main purpose of the orders issued here in accordance with No. 1 to No. 5 is to avert dangers to the legal interests of life and health of humans and animals posed by potentially dangerous objects lying around and/or (found) and/or their potentially dangerous contents/substances. The suspensive effect of an objection or a lawsuit would blatantly contradict this purpose and cannot be accepted.

 

IV.

The legal basis for the threat of direct coercion is §§ 2 No. 2, 20 Para. 1 to 3, 25 Administrative Enforcement Act for the Free State of Saxony in the version published on 11 April 2024 (SächsGVBl. S. 396) - SächsVwVG. 
 

V. 

Instruction on legal remedies

An appeal may be lodged against this decision within one month of its notification. The objection must be lodged in writing, in electronic form in accordance with Section 3a (2) of the Administrative Procedure Act, in written form in accordance with Section 3a (3) of the Administrative Procedure Act and Section 9a (5) of the Online Access Act or for the record at the City of Chemnitz, Markt 1, 09111 Chemnitz or at any other office or citizen service centre of the City of Chemnitz.

If the objection is lodged in written form in accordance with Section 3a (3) of the Administrative Procedure Act, the following options are available:
 

1. Use of the online application "Submit objection" provided on the website of Office 24 (www.amt24.sachsen.de) and identification via eID
    
2. in the case of legal representation by submitting via the special public authority mailbox (beBPo) "City of Chemnitz".

Chemnitz, 22 May 2026

Knut Kunze
Mayor