Chemnitz is celebrating its farewell as European Capital of Culture 2025!

Chemnitz is celebrating its farewell as European Capital of Culture 2025!

The European Capital of Culture 2025, Chemnitz, says goodbye after more than 300 days full of art and encounters. The city has set an impressive tone this year with a sensational program. Over 2,000 events took place to make art and culture accessible to everyone. A total of 260 projects were realized - a considerable increase compared to the original 72 ideas that were submitted in the application book. “A complete success,” summed up program managing director Stefan Schmidtke.

The wide range of offerings ranged from exhibitions to dance and theater to festivals and concerts. Mayor Sven Schulze (SPD) called the year “full of experiences, emotions, encounters, ideas and pride”. The great interest in the events was reflected in the numbers: an estimated more than two million visitors came to the city to be carried away by the cultural diversity.

A great finale for an extraordinary time

The closing party in the Industrial Museum crowned the successes of the past few months, followed by a spectacular mountain parade in which over 1,000 people wearing traditional costumes took part. A special highlight was the evening event “Feierabend!” at the Karl Marx Monument, where DJs and raves created an exuberant atmosphere. Chemnitz shared the title of Capital of Culture with Nova Gorica in Slovenia and Gorizia in Italy, and in 2026 the baton will be passed on to Oulu in Finland and Trenčín in Slovakia.

The successful application and implementation of the Capital of Culture years aimed to put not only Chemnitz, but all of West Saxony, on the European map as a livable and productive region. The city has experienced many changes in recent years, and the title is also intended to serve as a sign that art and culture can initiate lasting changes in the world of life chemnitz2025.de.

The path to the cultural capital

The title of “European Capital of Culture” has been awarded by the EU since 1985. Chemnitz beat numerous competitors such as Dresden, Hanover and Nuremberg and was selected as the German participating city for 2025 on October 28, 2020, a process that began in 2016. This shows how important it is to plan long-term and prepare well to present the different facets of a city. In recent years, various cities such as Bad Ischl and the Salzkammergut have applied for corresponding titles, which underlines the cultural diversity and spirit in the region, as the overview shows wikipedia.org shows.

An exciting year is coming to an end, but Chemnitz remains highly popular as a cultural and adventure destination. The commitment of politics, culture and society has shown that you can reach many people with a good concept. And maybe we'll have more of it soon, because the city has already set the course for the future.