Chemnitz in air traffic - between expectation and reality
Lecture in the city archive
After the summer break, the next event in the series "The City Archive presents" will take place on Wednesday, 16 September at 6 pm in the Chemnitz City Archive building, Aue 16. The topic is "Chemnitz in aviation - between expectation and reality". The speaker will be the renowned aviation historian and author Karl-Dieter Seifert from Chemnitz.
The history of air traffic in Chemnitz began in the early 1920s and ended almost six decades later. The city's scenic surroundings repeatedly proved to be a major obstacle to the construction of a large airfield. As one of Germany's largest industrial cities, Chemnitz had an urgent need for a connection to the international air network, whether for passenger, postal or freight traffic.
The construction of the airport with its "Flughof" in Stollberger Straße, which still exists today, was a bold move by the city. Numerous routes touched Chemnitz or departed from here. Lufthansa and Bayerische Verkehrsflug operated them. However, technical progress in aircraft construction meant that the use of fast-flying aeroplanes demanded airports with an expansion that Chemnitz could not offer.
The resumption of air traffic by Deutsche Lufthansa was also ill-fated for this reason. Economic air traffic was not possible with the small AN-2. Air traffic had to be cancelled again.
The city, and above all the business community, fought against this in vain. It was therefore never possible to turn expectations into reality.
Admission is free.