The large district town of Hainichen, which today has a population of around 8,400, is located in the valley of the small Striegis river at the foot of the Ore Mountains in the district of Central Saxony. Founded as a village of forest hooves in the 12th century and first mentioned in documents in the late 13th century, the town can look back on a centuries-old tradition of weaving and clothmaking: the clothmakers' guild was founded in 1481 and the guild house from 1784 is now owned by the town. A tornado in 1800 and a major town fire in 1832 destroyed numerous historic buildings, which is why the market square today is characterised by the heists - raised walkways leading to the front doors - built during the reconstruction. The automotive industry also left its mark on the town for decades from 1933, when the production of the Framo small truck was relocated from neighbouring Frankenberg to Hainichen.
The tourist attractions of Hainichen can be explored on the "Discovery Trail". The town's green lung is the ten-hectare town park in the style of an English landscape garden. A floral clock, animal enclosures, culinary delights and the Gellert Museum can be found on the site. The latter is dedicated to the life and work of the poet and university professor Christian Fürchtegott Gellert. Another special gem is the "Camera Obscura" on the Rahmenberg. It was inaugurated in 1883 and is one of the few such rarities in Germany. The area around Hainichen, with the surrounding Striegistal valley, is ideal for extensive hiking and cycling, and you can also discover charming Hainichen districts such as Falkenau, Ottendorf, Crumbach and Cunnersdorf.
Stijn Ank: Endless Column
Art and sculpture trail PURPLE PATH
The work Endless Column by Belgian sculptor Stijn Ank rises into the sky like a column. The white-patinated bronze sculpture is reminiscent of a stack of sheets of paper. Friedrich Gottlob Keller not only invented groundwood pulp paper, but also used it to print the first newspaper - a milestone in the history of newspaper production. Stijn Ank was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1977. He now lives and works in places such as Brussels, Rome and Berlin.
