Evaluation of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025

What did the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 bring to whom? Was it a success? What went well or not so well and did it bring about lasting change in the city and the Capital of Culture region?  

Such questions are rightly asked from all circles. In order to answer them, Chemnitz University of Technology is conducting the evaluation project for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025. The results will be processed by Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH, which will produce a comprehensive final report that will be sent to the European Commission and published in 2026.

As our partners, you have a central role in the entire Capital of Culture process and thus also in its evaluation: you put the objectives of Chemnitz 2025 into practice, are a direct link to the audience and have gained valuable insights that you will use to continue working on the future of Chemnitz and the region.

Your experience is therefore important for the evaluation. 

• Sharing data on your projects and findings (through evaluation team surveys)
• Collecting data and feedback from the audience
• Supporting the distribution of the visitor survey so that as many people as possible complete it

On this page you will find all the information you need. 

Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH analyses project-related data that has been generated in the course of project development and implementation. We therefore rely on you to provide us with the requested data reliably.

Your contribution: Once your project for the 2025 title year has been completed, all the data we have will be checked again and supplemented by you. To do this, please complete the project completion survey, which is available ↗here. 

Chemnitz University of Technology is investigating the extent to which the activities surrounding Chemnitz 2025 have fulfilled the objectives of the application to become European Capital of Culture and whether they are having the desired effect. The research design methods cover various groups of people, geographical areas and content in order to capture as many perspectives as possible. This includes a population survey, an access panel and web scraping, as well as a visitor survey and a survey of active participants.

Target group: Visitors to the events and cultural programmes of Chemnitz 2025

The visitor survey provides insights into the perception and experience of Chemnitz 2025 from the guests' perspective. It focuses on aspects such as satisfaction, expectations and the lasting impression left by the specific event and the Capital of Culture year. The feedback provides feedback on events and supports the further development of the cultural programme as well as the understanding of long-term effects on the audience.

 

Your contribution: Collect feedback on your event too

The visitor survey is our and your central tool for obtaining feedback on the Capital of Culture in general and on specific events. The questionnaire is available in German and English. 

The survey can be accessed via the website ↗ chemnitz2025.de/survey or   ↗ chemnitz2025.de/umfrage and will be advertised via Chemnitz 2025. A QR code with a link can already be found on many event flyers. The QR code can also be printed on your own material and is available for free use. A postcard for display and stickers are also available. They are available in the Hartmannfabrik. You will also find a poster that you can print out yourself on A4.

You can visibly display the notices wherever guests have to wait (e.g. toilets or at the entrance). Please also inform your guests verbally about the survey.

Printable versions of the survey are available for people who prefer to answer in analogue form.

↗ Instructions for handling the visitor survey

↷ QR Code and information graphics to download

↷ Poster for printing and hanging up

↷ Survey print version (GER)

↷ Survey print version (ENG)

Your contribution: Are there things you would like to ask that are not covered by the questionnaire?  

Chemnitz University of Technology offers the option of including project- or event-specific questions. It will analyse the answers afterwards and make the results available to you. You will find everything you need in the document below.  

↗ Form with instructions for creating project-specific questionnaires for the visitor survey 

 

If necessary, individual questions regarding the development of the questionnaire batteries can be asked during the next workshop discussion on 7 October 2025. To participate please register ↗here.

Target group: selected project partners, employees of the gGmbH and other cooperation partners

These methods focus on the in-depth knowledge and experience gained by groups of people directly involved in the implementation process of Chemnitz 2025. The aim here is to gather experiences and perspectives on topics such as the social sustainability of the project or audience development in connection with the Capital of Culture year.

An online survey enables anonymous and comprehensive participation for all those actively involved in the Capital of Culture. In addition, focus groups and guided interviews offer a limited number of people space for in-depth conversations, discussions and reflections.  

Your contribution: Your insight as a Capital of Culture expert is needed here! The online survey will start at the end of 2025.

Target group: Residents of the city of Chemnitz and the 38 partner municipalities, public online contributions and comments on the Capital of Culture

In the period from 2024-2026, three surveys of residents in Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture region will be conducted under the title ‘Living in Saxony’. The aim is to record the opinions, attitudes and experiences of the population in the direct sphere of influence of the Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 in the evaluation. A Saxony-wide access panel (pool of participants) is used to ask whether the effects found can be attributed to the Capital of Culture or not.

Public online discussions about Chemnitz 2025, such as social media posts and comments in online media, will be systematically recorded through web scraping. This will identify trends and sentiments about the Capital of Culture year and monitor digital perception in real time.  

All of these steps result in the final evaluation report. This will answer the questions of what the title of European Capital of Culture has done for Chemnitz and what Chemnitz has (sustainably) achieved with it. Thank you very much for your support! 

 

Chemnitz University of Technology, the contractual partner for the external evaluation, has published the anthology 'Kulturhauptstadt Chemnitz 2025. Sozialräumliche Erkundungen'. This also includes a chapter on the evaluation on pages 63 to 78. The full text can be downloaded free of charge in PDF format ↗here.

 

 

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at any time:

Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH: Anne Kurzweg, Evaluation Coordination  | evaluation(at)chemnitz2025.de  

TU Chemnitz: Emma Roßbach, research assistant at the Chair of Sociology with a focus on empirical methods | evaluationchemnitz2025(at)soziologie.tu-chemnitz.de 

The data collected by Chemnitz University of Technology is anonymised; the analysis results do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about specific individuals. Information on data protection in connection with the evaluation of the Capital of Culture programme can be found here.