Schillerplatz
Schillerplatz in the heart of Chemnitz invites you to linger and explore following its refurbishment in line with its listed status. It is not only the oldest park in Chemnitz, but with its neighbouring public buildings such as the opera house, technical university and university library, it is also one of the city's most iconic parks. Schillerplatz was completely renovated in time for the Capital of Culture year 2025. It now presents itself as a place to meet, socialise, experience and enjoy.
Ostmar Osten's artwork is part of the PURPLE PATH
On 30 November 2024, the artwork "Oben - Mit (or: A monument to the good spirits of my homeland)" by artist Osmar Osten was unveiled. The sculpture is the 23rd artwork on the PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail, which will connect the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 with 38 locations in the region, and the first artistic work with which Chemnitz is represented in the flagship project of the European Capital of Culture.
The artwork, which is more than 3 metres high, includes a group of figures representing nutcrackers, miners and angels from the Ore Mountains. The snowman already depicted in other works of art by Osmar Osten is also represented. The curator of the PURPLE PATH art project, Alexander Ochs, and co-author Ulrike Pennewitz say that the "good spirits of my homeland", as Osten has ambiguously expanded the title of the group of figures, are to be understood both as a loving homage to the Ore Mountains and as a distancing from the tourist and commercial appropriation of local identities.
PURPLE PATH
The PURPLE PATH connects the citizens of Chemnitz with each other and with those of 38 towns and municipalities in the region. Between Mittweida and Schwarzenberg, Glauchau and Seiffen, Freiberg and Schneeberg, a sustainably conceived and designed sculpture museum is being created in public spaces.
The PURPLE PATH becomes a storyteller: behind the backdrop of the installed artworks, an unknown history of the region is formulated, a narrative of mining and industry, exploitation and profit, marginalisation and solidarity, as well as a history of precarity and innovation that continues to this day. Works by more than 60 artists can be found on industrial wastelands, at railway stations, on riverbanks or in the still waters of a millrace. They correspond with farm and textile museums, connect with castles and old churches, their organs and their art. Sometimes they also take place in illustrious nooks and crannies of UNESCO-protected old towns, which become context providers and polyphonic narrators of the history mentioned. The colour purple is attributed with inspiration, creativity, magic and transformation.
The PURPLE PATH connects the citizens of Chemnitz with each other and with those of 38 towns and municipalities in the region. Between Mittweida and Schwarzenberg, Glauchau and Seiffen, Freiberg and Schneeberg, a sustainably conceived and designed sculpture museum is being created in public spaces.
The PURPLE PATH becomes a storyteller: behind the backdrop of the installed artworks, an unknown history of the region is formulated, a narrative of mining and industry, exploitation and profit, marginalisation and solidarity, as well as a history of precarity and innovation that continues to this day. Works by more than 60 artists can be found on industrial wastelands, at railway stations, on riverbanks or in the still waters of a millrace. They correspond with farm and textile museums, connect with castles and old churches, their organs and their art. Sometimes they also play in illustrious nooks and crannies of UNESCO-protected old towns, which become context providers and polyphonic narrators of the history mentioned.
Purple scouts travel along designated country roads or use a network of well-functioning buses and trains; they cycle through landscapes shaped by mining, often with wonderfully soft contours, or hike from artwork to artwork through dense forests along wildly flowing rivers.
The colour purple is associated with inspiration, creativity, magic and transformation.
Background
The largest public park when it opened around 1860
When it opened in the 1860s, Schillerplatz was the largest green square in Saxony. Only the centre section, today's Schillerplatz, remains. The southern part had to make way for St Peter's Church and the "Chemnitzer Hof" hotel, which was completed in 1930. The city's central bus station was built in the north in 1968.
Rhododendron plantings on Schillerplatz
Rhododendron plantings and numerous new trees
In spring 2024, 185 new rhododendrons were planted on Straße der Nationen and Georgstraße and 72 rhododendrons were replanted. Rhododendrons have proven to be easy-care ornamental shrubs in our climate and also provide food for bees. Further trees and shrubs will be planted in the autumn. Species-rich mixed plantings with a high proportion of native shrub species will be created parallel to Karl-Liebknecht-Straße and Richard-Tauber-Straße. This will also fulfil the demands of nature lovers. The central avenue will be completed with additional tree planting.
More green, less straightforward
The design highlight is the paved main axis, lined by a completed avenue of trees, which crosses the square for 120 metres.
For users in a hurry, 600 metres of comfortable paths have been created to cross the square, which also invite you to stroll and discover the new plants. The new network of paths away from the main axis was equipped with a water-bound surface layer.
Rattling fountain back to Schillerplatz
Rattling fountain returns to Schillerplatz
Following extensive restoration work, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze, Mayor of Construction Michael Stötzer and members of the Chemnitz state parliament symbolically handed over the fountain to the people of Chemnitz and put it into operation.
The Klapperbrunnen fountain last bubbled in 2018 and had to be taken out of service due to its dilapidated condition. In May 2019, the city council commissioned the city of Chemnitz to renovate it. During the planning phase, it became clear that the total costs could not be financed with municipal budget funds alone. On the initiative of the Chemnitz members of state parliament, 200,000 euros from the assets of the parties and mass organisations of the former GDR (PMO) were made available by the Free State of Saxony.
Construction began in March 2023 following the invitation to tender and the award of the contract in December 2022. The artistic components of the Klapperbrunnen had already been dismantled and stored in advance. The Klapperbrunnen fountain was once designed by sculptor Johann Belz (1925 to 1976) and erected in 1968 as part of the new bus station that was built at the time. The artist found the inspiration for this fountain in nature. He based the way it works on the behaviour of plant leaves when it rains: The individual elements of the fountain fold downwards when they are full. The fountain thus represents a highly abstracted plant.
The Chemnitz sculptor Erik Neukirchner, grandson of Johann Belz, has restored and repaired the artistic part of the Klapperbrunnen. The fountain basin and the fountain technology were adapted to the state of the art. The Klapperbrunnen now has its own water pipe - previously the fountain had to be regularly filled with a water truck.
The fountain and its surroundings are listed buildings, as the original substance of the basin and the paving of the paved areas have been largely preserved. The costs for the restoration of the Klapperbrunnen fountain totalled around 490,000 euros, 33,000 euros of which was for the restoration of the fountain artwork.
The Klapperbrunnen fountain was once designed by sculptor Johann Belz (1925 to 1976) and erected in 1968 as part of the new bus station that was built at the time. The artist found the inspiration for this fountain in nature. He based the way it works on the behaviour of plant leaves when it rains. The individual elements of the fountain fold downwards when they are full. The fountain depicts a highly abstracted plant.
After extensive restoration work, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze, Mayor of Construction Michael Stötzer and members of the Chemnitz state parliament symbolically handed over the fountain to the people of Chemnitz on 7 July 2023 and put it into operation.
The Klapperbrunnen fountain last bubbled in 2018 and had to be taken out of service due to its dilapidated condition. In May 2019, the city council commissioned the city of Chemnitz to renovate it. During the planning phase, it became clear that the total costs could not be financed with municipal budget funds alone. On the initiative of the Chemnitz members of state parliament, 200,000 euros from the assets of the parties and mass organisations of the former GDR (PMO) were made available by the Free State of Saxony.
Construction began in March 2023 following the invitation to tender and the award of the contract in December 2022. The artistic components of the Klapperbrunnen had already been dismantled and stored in advance. The Klapperbrunnen fountain was once designed by sculptor Johann Belz (1925 to 1976) and erected in 1968 as part of the new bus station that was built at the time. The artist found the inspiration for this fountain in nature. He based the way it works on the behaviour of plant leaves when it rains: The individual elements of the fountain fold downwards when they are full. The fountain thus represents a highly abstracted plant.
The Chemnitz sculptor Erik Neukirchner, grandson of Johann Belz, has restored and repaired the artistic part of the Klapperbrunnen. The fountain basin and the fountain technology were adapted to the state of the art. The Klapperbrunnen now has its own water pipe - previously the fountain had to be regularly filled with a water truck.
The fountain and its surroundings are listed buildings, as the original substance of the basin and the paving of the paved areas have been largely preserved. The costs for the restoration of the Klapperbrunnen fountain totalled around 490,000 euros, 33,000 euros of which was for the restoration of the fountain artwork.
The Klapperbrunnen fountain was once designed by sculptor Johann Belz (1925 to 1976) and erected in 1968 as part of the new bus station that was built at the time. The artist found the inspiration for this fountain in nature. He based the way it works on the behaviour of plant leaves when it rains. The individual elements of the fountain fold downwards when they are full. The fountain depicts a highly abstracted plant.
The redesign of Schillerplatz is being subsidised by the federal, state and municipal urban development funds.
