About Us

Stadtwirtschaft is a historic industrial area that emerged with the development of Chemnitz’s Sonnenberg district in the late 19th century, on what was then the outskirts of the rapidly growing city of Chemnitz.

As an intervention site of Chemnitz 2025 European Capital of Culture and the National Urban Development Projects, a hub for production, creative work, and culture is taking shape at the foot of Sonnenberg.

Starting in 1891, the site was used for over 100 years by the city’s sanitation and waste management departments. In the mid-1990s, the sanitation department moved to a new location. A few years later, the first workshop and garage spaces in the former depot were leased to new tenants.

In 2018, as part of the “KRACH – Kreativraum Chemnitz” competition organized by the city, its economic development agency, and the Kreatives Chemnitz association, key players in the cultural and creative industries were specifically invited for the first time to set up operations in the former Stadtwirtschaft administrative building (Building D).

The competition's success led to the creation of a development plan for the entire site by the architectural firm KAPOK Berlin, which identified the site's potential for the cultural and creative industries as well as its role as a gathering place for residents of the neighboring districts.

When the Chemnitz City Council adopted the development scenario in 2021, the goal was to harness the potential of the Stadtwirtschaft area and develop it into a “Gateway to Sonnenberg.” The Stadtwirtschaft was included as one of the largest intervention sites in the Chemnitz 2025 European Capital of Culture program and was successfully incorporated into the “National Urban Development Projects” program.

A total of five buildings with a usable floor area of approximately 6,000 square meters underwent low-impact renovations from 2022 to 2025/26 in order to preserve the character of the site and create as many potential uses as possible. Starting in the summer of 2024, the first new tenants were able to move into their spaces in the redesigned Stadtwirtschaft. The site was officially opened to the public with the courtyard festival “Vom Wimmeln und Wuseln” in the summer of 2025.