On Friday, 28 March at 2 pm, Mayor Michael Stötzer, together with the Chemnitz-Nord citizens' platform, will ceremonially hand over the new rest area with the Fischweg bridge not far from the Chemnitztal cycle path on Chemnitztalstraße near Heinersdorfer Straße to the people of Chemnitz.
Beforehand, from 1 p.m., interested parties are invited to take part in an approximately one-hour cycle tour. This starts at the Klapperbrunnen fountain at the bus station and leads via "Helgoland" to the new rest area. Together with Mayor Michael Stötzer and tour guide Ramona Wagner, participants will explore further intervention areas by bike along the route to Draisdorf. Participation is free of charge.
The open space was selected for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 as an intervention area for the Chemnitz-Nord citizens' platform to create a new rest area on the city's longest cycle path near the historic Fischwegbrücke bridge. The 130-year-old and now unused bridge structure was moved and incorporated into the design of the rest area as an impressive backdrop.
The search for a suitable location for the rest area and the former fishway bridge proved to be more difficult and protracted than expected, as environmental protection and nature conservation concerns had to be taken into account. The current location was finally found during a public dialogue and the elements that could be implemented were selected.
Construction began in June 2024. The implementation planning was presented to the Chemnitz-Nord citizens' platform and interested citizens at the beginning of July 2024. The fishway bridge, which had previously been stored on a neighbouring property, was then moved to its new location at the future rest area on the Chemnitz Valley cycle path using a crane. The project was completed in February 2025.
A public square with various seating elements, a pavilion, bicycle racks (five standardised and eight bicycle racks in the letters CHEMNITZ) and an orchard of 13 fruit trees (apple, cherry, pear and plum) has been created in the north of Chemnitz. The Fischwegbrücke bridge is once again accessible and can be used for small-scale art performances, for example.
325,000 euros from the Capital of Culture budget were available for the design of the public square. The relocation of the bridge and the landscaping work were realised by the company FUCHS Bau Ost GmbH Hainichen, the steel construction by Metallbau Pohlers GmbH & Co KG. The planning services were provided by ibb Ingenieurbüro Bauwesen GmbH. The relocation and refurbishment of the bridge was made possible by additional funding from the Free State of Saxony.
Keyword intervention areas:
The public squares are one of the 30 intervention areas of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025. They are the city of Chemnitz's urban development project for the Capital of Culture, which now involves an investment of over 60 million euros.
Further information:
- Contact tour guide Ramona Wagner: www.chemnitz-stadtfuehrer.de/veranstaltungen-2/event/christian-gottfried-becker-erster-chemn-grossindustrieller
- www.chemnitz.de/interventionsflaechen