"Robert Schumann, cars and more" Zwickau by german_eagle

Zwickau Travel Guide: 74 reviews and 418 photos

Kornmarkt, "Schiffchen" house and tower of the Dom

Trabant in the August Horch Museum

Zwickau, pop. about 100 000, is a city located at the foot of the Erzgebirge mountains in the German state Saxony. It was founded in the early 12th century, became rich from trade and silver mines in the middle ages, then fell in some sort of slumber for a couple of centuries before coal mining, industrialization and automobile manufacturing brought another economic boom.

Nowadays Zwickau is known for being composer Robert Schumann's birthplace (museum) and car production - it started with Horch, then Audi, the infamous Trabant in the communist era and Volkswagen since the 1990s.

Zwickau is an important place for education and has several vocational schools and a university. Thus the nightlife and pub scene as well as the cultural life are surprisingly vibrant for a city of that size.

Schwanenteich lake and tower of Luther church

But there is more to see and do in Zwickau. Unfortunately not many medieval buildings are preserved - but some outstanding are, like the Dom, the Priesterhäuser and some other townhouses that go back to the Gothic era. However, Zwickau is heaven for lovers of 19th/early 20th century architecture. Especially the districts north and west of the immediate old town and toward the main railway station have a lot of Neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau townhouses and public/administration buildings. Not to miss are also the nice gardens/parks and the green surroundings.

Intro Written May 22, 2011
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Reviews (44)

College of Applied Sciences, main building - Zwickau

Higher Education - Schools and College Local Customs (5)

Zwickau has a long tradition of schools and higher eduction. A first Latin School is mentioned in 1290 in Zwickau. In... more travel advice

Christmas Market Local Customs (5)

The Christmas Market on Hauptmarkt square in Zwickau starts Friday before 1st Advent and ends 23 December. It is open to... more travel advice

Pilsener beer in the microbrewery - Zwickau

Beer Local Customs (5)

Every German city with some self respect has a tradition in beer brewing - Zwickau, too, since 1348. I came across two... more travel advice

Trabant monument (Georgenplatz) - Zwickau

Trabant and other car production Local Customs (5)

Zwickau looks back at more than 100 years of car production. 10th May 1904 August Horch founded his A. Horch & Cie. car... more travel advice

Sports & Outdoors (1)
Cycling
Transportation (3)
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Favorites (6)
See All Monuments in Zwickau
Off The Beaten Path (6)
See All Former hospital building (Krankenstift)

Restaurants (3)
See All Gasthof "Am Schloss Stein"
Things to Do (16)
See All Schloss Planitz with churches, park,...
Nightlife (3)
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Hotels (1)
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Travelogues (5)

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Comments (6)

Nemorino Jul 21, 2011 at 4:32 AM Report Abuse

Me again, coming back to look at the rest of your Zwickau tips. It's good that your hotel provided free bicycles so you could try out some of the cycling routes. Interesting new Local Customs tips on Robert Schumann and higher education!
bugulma Jun 10, 2011 at 3:02 AM Report Abuse

you're right, a lot of different architect styles are easy found in the town. very informative page. The city fountains are funny. and it is interesting to find out that Audi has its roots here
yumyum Jun 7, 2011 at 2:31 AM Report Abuse

Like the look of the Gewandhaus. Great page! And even a beer tip for Holger ;)
Kathrin_E Jun 6, 2011 at 1:39 PM Report Abuse

Great page!!! Seems I should revisit Zwickau in September to see some of the things we could not do the other day.
HORSCHECK Jun 6, 2011 at 10:20 AM Report Abuse

Ingo, it looks like you enjoyed quite a relaxing business trip to Zwickau. *winkygrin* Outstanding photos here. Free city bikes are always a good option to explore a town. Zwickau is definitely still on my must visit list.
Vienna0815 Jun 3, 2011 at 10:02 AM Report Abuse

Zwickau war mir bisher nur als Trabbi-produktion bekannt, es gibt aber doch viel zu sehen dort für Touristen !