Lord Mayor gives the starting signal for a year of anticipation

The Lord Mayor of Chemnitz, Sven Schulze, heralded the final 366 days until the opening of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 during his New Year's reception today.

Together with the Saxon State Minister for Culture and Tourism, Barbara Klepsch, the Managing Director of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH, Andrea Pier, the Commissioner of the Saxon State Government for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025, Sven Schulze started the event with a symbolic push of a button.State Government Commissioner for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025, Thomas Popp, as well as Kerstin Ritscher and Jan Holzapfel, volunteers in the European Capital of Culture team.

A display with a digital countdown will be installed on the façade of Chemnitz City Hall in the coming days. It will show the time remaining until the start of the European Capital of Culture 2025 year in Chemnitz. On 18 January 2025, the Capital of Culture year will be officially launched with the opening ceremony under the motto "C the Unseen".

In the presence of numerous guests from former, current and future European Capitals of Culture, Sven Schulze said: "The city will be transformed into a big stage as early as 2024. The Hat Festival, the Kosmos Festival and the highly acclaimed public art project Gegenwarten will attract thousands to the city centre. With these events, we will increase the anticipation for 2025. I anticipate an intensive year of work in 2024, during which the programme will be finalised and the Capital of Culture will become more visible. Let it be our common goal that this great project will make our city the best Chemnitz ever."

The Deputy Mayor of Wrocław, Jakub Mazur, (Wrocław was European Capital of Culture in 2016) encouraged Chemnitz in its preparations and emphasised the great opportunities and possibilities that the title will bring Chemnitz.

"Chemnitzer Ehrentaler" awarded for the first time

At the New Year's reception, the Lord Mayor honoured six Chemnitz residents for their voluntary work in the city. Three women and three men received the "Chemnitz Thaler of Honour", which was awarded for the first time:

• Claudia Großkopp is honoured for her work, particularly in the Straßenbahnfreunde e. V. association,
• Christian Kulik received the Chemnitz Thaler of Honour for his commitment to promoting young talent in sport and for his involvement in SSV Textima Chemnitz e. V,
• Wolfgang Möbius is honoured with the Chemnitz Honorary Thaler for his work at the "Sidmund Jähn" cosmonaut centre,
• Eckart Roßberg is honoured for his work on the district council and in the Sonnenberg History Working Group,
• Christine Esche is honoured with the Chemnitz Ehrentaler for her commitment to the Kultur- und Heimatverein Wittgensdorf e. V. (Wittgensdorf Cultural and Heritage Association),
• Katrin Stephan-Kunert is honoured for her work in the Gemeinsam für Glösa e. V. association in particular.

"The Chemnitz Ehrentaler is our award for special social commitment. The honourees accept their responsibility for the people of Chemnitz and for their city. They contribute to a lively community that characterises our urban society. My sincere thanks go to them," said Sven Schulze, honouring the award winners.

Challenge for 2024

At the start of the new year, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze also made a request to his guests and the people of Chemnitz. He called for strong social cohesion:
"Our democracy cannot be taken for granted, but is based on the commitment and participation of each individual. The cohesion of our society is the supporting pillar. We must strengthen it. We must ensure that tolerance, respect and solidarity do not degenerate into empty words, but are once again practised, even and especially when people have different opinions. In times of uncertainty and social upheaval, it is important to build bridges, to listen to each other, to be open to arguments and to be willing to compromise. However, a warning does not make a viable solution!"

Commemoration and looking back to 2023

In his speech, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze also paid tribute to Carl Hahn and Jutta Müller, with whom the city lost an honorary citizen last year. "Both were dedicated and passionate ambassadors for their home town throughout their lives, and we will miss them," said Sven Schulze. He also recalled the unexpected death of Egmont Elschner, the long-standing and multifaceted Chairman of the Cultural Advisory Board of the City of Chemnitz.

Looking back, the Lord Mayor recognised the many successes of the past year. These included the opening of two schools: the Oberschule Am Hartmannplatz and the Marianne-Brandt-Oberschule. After two and a half years of construction, the railway viaduct in Oberrabenstein once again offers pedestrians and cyclists an impressive view over Chemnitz.
The city of Chemnitz also inaugurated the new child and youth emergency service centres and the Marathon Tower, the new home of the Saxony Olympic Training Centre.

Something else has changed for the better in 2023: Since the end of last year, the city of Chemnitz has had more than a quarter of a million inhabitants again for the first time. As of December, 251,485 people were registered as having their main residence in Chemnitz.