World
War II had a disastrous effect on the old city of Chemnitz. 90% of the
buildings had been bombed to ruins. The town was rebuilt in the
Socialist-Realist Style
and even renamed to Karl-Marx-Stadt.
Only
some of the buildings escaped the destruction.
The
Schlosskirche
(Castle Church) still remains. It was the St Maria Church of the former
Benedictine Abbey. It is situated at the edge of a lake and was built in
the 15th and 16th century.
In the town centre some of the monuments were rebuilt : the
Altes Rathaus
(old town hall), the Roter Turm
(red tower) and some of the remains of the city's fortifications.
Also the Baroque Siegertsches
Haus was reconstructed
: it was built in 1737-1741 by the architect Johann Christoph Naumann.
Nowadays, the enormous Stadhalle
(city hall) dominates the reconstructed centre of Chemnitz. In front is
the Karl Marx monument, made in 1971 by Lew Kerbel.
The main museum is the
König-Albert-Museumbau.
It houses a natural history and fine arts collection. The
following museums prove the significance of Chemnitz as the city of
industry and technical innovations: the German Museum of Games, the
Saxon Museum of Industry, the Saxon Museum of Vehicles, the Saxon Museum
of Railway.
