Record numbers of visitors, full museums and growing tourism from January to June
After half a year as European Capital of Culture, the City of Chemnitz, the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH and its many partners are extremely positive. Chemnitz 2025 is attracting the much hoped-for attention, not only from the people of Chemnitz themselves, but above all from visitors from the region, Germany, Europe and all over the world: visitor numbers have risen significantly, both in the city and the region as well as in the museums and cultural institutions. There has also been a noticeable increase in catering, conferences and congresses as well as in public transport. The entire Capital of Culture region is benefiting from increased interest, which is also reflected in the number of overnight stays. The Capital of Culture motto "C the Unseen" could not have been more apt. A city and a region have become visible and have been attracting cultural tourists for six months. Many are visiting Chemnitz and the region for the first time. The general tenor: they like being here.
Events with record attendance
Since the opening event on 18 January with around 80,000 guests, well over 1,000 events have already taken place in the Capital of Culture programme. Some formats reached a particularly large audience: KOSMOS Chemnitz, a festival for culture and democracy, took place over three days for the first time and ended on Sunday with a record attendance of 115,000. The Hat Festival in May attracted 105,000 visitors, twice as many as last year. The European Capital of Culture Marathon attracted over 8,000 runners to the starting line and thousands of visitors and fans to the route. At the opening of the PURPLE PATH art and sculpture trail in April, thousands of interested people travelled through the 38 partner municipalities of the Capital of Culture region. The installation "The Universe in a Pearl" by Rebecca Horn in the Hospital Church in Lößnitz alone has so far attracted 8,300 visitors and the "Entanglements" exhibition in the revitalised Kulturbahnhof in Flöha 10,000. At the #3000Garagen festival on Whitsun weekend, over 7,000 people celebrated on the lawn of a large Chemnitz garage, 6,000 tango fans danced at the Tango Festival and around 10,000 people have taken part in the hands-on activities in the region's maker hubs so far. The Hartmannfabrik - a renovated factory building and part of the 30 intervention areas of Chemnitz 2025 - is now home to the Capital of Culture's visitor and information centre, which is visited by up to 500 guests a day.
Involvement of people from Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture region
A special feature of Chemnitz 2025 is that the more than 200 projects in the programme are being implemented by around 900 stakeholders from Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture region as well as with European and international partners. In addition, 120 project ideas from individuals, associations and initiatives were approved under the "EUJA!" funding programme specially set up for the Capital of Culture year. The local commitment is also reflected in the enormous participation in the Chemnitz 2025 volunteer programme, for which over 1,000 volunteers have registered since the start in 2023 and who have completed around 6,000 assignments to date.
The goal formulated in the application to encourage as many people as possible to get involved is working. For example, 1600 amateur singers took part in a large musical at the Kulturkirche Chemnitz 2025. Around 2,500 people from Chemnitz actively participated in the realisation of the KOSMOS festival. Since May 2024, around 100 people over the age of 60 have been meeting weekly for dance workshops and a growing group of young people are constantly planning and realising their own projects with a large youth festival as the finale in October. 160 garage users have had their portraits taken by a photographer and the pictures can be seen in an exhibition. In April alone, around 600 people from Chemnitz planted around 400 apple trees in several community activities; the next planting festival will take place in autumn. Hundreds more are taking part in artistic projects with their stories, taking part in the countless hands-on events or realising their own micro-projects.
