Do you need a travel guide for zwickau? I say yes! Why? Therefore! This summer a road trip through poland was on the agenda. But before we went over to the neighboring country, we made a stop in zwickau to just have a look at the city.
A trip to zwickau – is there anything to discover??
When we told our friends and acquaintances about our summer itinerary, they looked at us in disbelief here and there.
"What are you doing in poland", we heard more than once and when we told them that we would stop in zwickau on our way to poland, we got some questionable and even pitying looks.
But our family, neighbors, friends and acquaintances are now well aware that we sometimes have rather unusual itineraries and travel ideas that many people somehow do not share.
All the more curious we are quizzed about new discoveries after the trip.
Whether zwickau is also such a discovery?
7 interesting facts about zwickau
Anyway, we were looking forward to our little stopover in zwickau in saxony. The city made us curious because…
- Zwickau was first mentioned in 1188.
- A questionable reputation precedes zwickau, as a city and destination – which we definitely want to get to the bottom of.
- Zwickau is considered the birthplace of the automotive industry in the GDR.
- Composer robert schumann was born in zwickau, germany.
- Zwickau is a european city of reformation.
- In the past, the city was known for silver and hard coal mining.
- Actor gert frobe (I know him from childhood "it happened in broad daylight") also saw the light of day in zwickau.
Zwickau destination exploration
So we made our way to zwickau. We had a whole 48 hours for our stopover in the saxon city – with about 90.000 inhabitants – planned.
Zwickau meant it well with us and welcomed us with sunshine. Our accommodation / hotel in zwickau was located a bit outside the city – in a castle hotel – and so we first started by exploring the surroundings of zwickau a bit more closely…
GDR-like with the trabi on a journey through time
…And how do you explore the surrounding area and zwickau sights best in the cradle of the GDR automobile industry??
Right, with a GDR car.
The ride with a trabi is really a special experience, has something of a ride in the "wild mouse on the fairground". Our speedometer showed a speed of 80 km/h, but it felt like 120 km/h and sounded like 250 km/h. 😉
Due to the great weather, we rolled down the windows in the trabi and enjoyed the smell of cornfields and gasoline… 😉 we made friends with the revolver gear shift after a while and also quickly realized that we had to step the brake felt on the road to stop the trabant. The operation of the steering wheel had something of fitness training and we fell, despite slow speed felt in a speed rush. Nevertheless our trabi trip felt more like slowtraveling… At least like a little time travel.
Hiking trails, villages and fragrant fields
Our trip led us through small, tidy villages around zwickau such as crimmitschau, langenbernsdorf or werdau.
Passing cornfields, meadows and forests, the koberbach dam and with stops at hiking trails and routes like z.B. The luther trail or also the hirschfeld circular hiking trail. If you like to travel in the nature, you will find what you are looking for around zwickau.
Even a part of the way of st. James leads through the region in and around zwickau. The saxon way of st. James and the way of st. James vogtland.
Zwickau sights & city exploration: schumann city, reformation city and 900 years of history
The next day, zwickau's city exploration was on the agenda, namely the full program, past all zwickau attractions.
We drove by car into the city and parked it in a parking garage at the edge of the small city center. From there, we started our exploration tour – passing many sights. Because a real city exploration can only be experienced on foot.
If you would like to wander through zwickau on your own, we recommend various themed tours so that you don't miss any of the zwickau sights: schumann rundweg (on the trail of robert schumann) and lutherweg (in martin luther's footsteps through zwickau)
Our way began at the main market with old houses, town hall and the lowenapotheke (lion pharmacy). At the town hall, for example, the special coat of arms of the city of zwickau stands out – with the swans. Immediately I think of the connection to my adopted city hamburg, because the swans play a big role here, too.
From the main market we move over to the zwickauer mulde, past gewandhaus and the inn "zum goldenen anker" – until we reach the paradise bridge. The paradiesbrucke with zwickauer mulde and also with the prefabricated buildings in the background is a really interesting photo motive. As unattractive as prefabricated buildings always seem, it's a great place to live in zwickau (without question) – because downtown zwickau is just a few steps away.
The path continues along the river, to the left of us appears the powder tower and a remnant of the city wall. We visit the church of st. Catherine and look from there diagonally across to the castle osterstein. Slowly we are drawn back to the city center – past the robert schumann house, the priests' houses, the cathedral of st. Peter and the cathedral of st. Peter. St. Mary's, robert schumann monument and across the corn market.
Zwickau tips: eating ice cream, fountains and the oldest library in saxony
After our tour it is time for a little refreshment. We return to the town hall – opposite is the ice cream cafe dolce & freddo. Due to the fantastic summer weather we decide to skip lunch and treat ourselves to an ice cream instead. We sit comfortably in the sun on the main market and enjoy our ice cream.
Afterwards we continue our tour through zwickau. Our next destination is the oldest public library in saxony. But we do not stray purposefully towards it, but let us drift a little bit.
We admire the different fountains along the way (schwanenbrunnen tuchmacher-brunnen, brauer-brunnen, hauptmarkt-brunnen etc).), pass the kornhaus, the zwickau johannisbad and the august horch museum, until we stand in front of the library with archive.
I can only warmly recommend the city archive to you. A very great place with a very special atmosphere. Here you can find books that are several hundred years old. We had the great luck and were allowed to take a look into some of the old works.
More zwickau sights & discoveries
In zwickau, however, there are a few more great places and museums – how about, for example..
- …With a visit to the max pechstein museum?
- …Or a picnic in the swan pond park?
- …With a public guided tour on saturday at 10:30 a.M. Starting at the tourist information?
- …Shoot a selfie at the trabant monument?
- …With a streetcar ride through zwickau?
- …Or a bicycle tour along the zwickauer mulde river?
- …A jump into the cold water of the lido on a warm summer day?
- …Or a visit to the christmas market (should be worthwhile) in december?
Wellness in zwickau
…Or with a round of wellness in zwickau? For this experience you should visit the historical zwickau johannisbad. The johannisbad is a cultural monument and above all it is a real place of well-being.
Zwickau johannisbad
The bath dates from the period of historicism and art nouveau. The design for the johannisbad was made by the architect gotthilf ludwig mockel.
This beautiful building was opened in 1869. For this reason alone you should take a look at the johannisbad. Around the turn of the century (1904), the swimming hall was added – according to a plan by the city's building officer kretzschmer.
Even then, the citizens were offered a therapeutic portfolio: massages, mud baths, therapeutic gymnastics. Even if it wasn't called wellness back then, it was of course. Because exactly for this purpose – for wellness & health – it was built by dr. Schlobig opened.
At the place of the today's johannisbad stood in former times probably the johanniskirche – so the name of the bath was probably derived from it. By the way, a part of the movie "a cure for wellness" (don't be misled by the title – it's actually a horror movie) was also filmed in the beautiful johannisbad in zwickau.
No one is surprised that the johannisbad in zwickau was very popular with the citizens and was very popular. Today the bath is again a real magnet. Even if it had come into the years and therefore had to be closed, the reorganization and renovation (for about 8 million euros) is very successful. Euro) was quite successful.
An interesting structural effect in the zwickau johannisbad is z.B. Also the lifting floor in the pool, which provides for different water depths.
The entrance fee for the bath starts at 3,50 euro; for the sauna it starts at 2,50 euro additionally. The bath is open daily until 22 o'clock – in the morning it opens differently – between 7 o'clock and 10 o'clock.
Conclusion: our trip to zwickau
We really enjoyed our visit to zwickau. The city certainly has a lot more to offer than one might think at first glance. Of course, in my 48 hours in the region, there are many things I haven't managed to do yet. So don't be afraid of zwickau – 48 hours in the city are full of experiences and discoveries – PROMISED!
Staying in zwickau
If I was able to whet your appetite for a trip to zwickau, the only thing missing is a tip for your overnight stay in the fourth largest city in saxony. Depending on your taste and preference, this time I have two really interesting tips for you:
ACHAT hotel zwickau
The ACHAT hotel in zwickau is within walking distance of the old town and the historic johannisbad. Cozy rooms, central location, great restaurant and free parking make for an ideal combination for a city trip or even as a stopover on a road trip.
ACHAT hotel zwickau: leipziger strabe 180, 08058 zwickau – tel. +49 (0) 375 872 0 – more information HERE.
Castle hotel near zwickau
If you prefer to stay outside the city, you should take a look at schweinsburg castle. This hotel is also very popular as a location for weddings.
Schweinsburg castle: hauptstrabe 147-149, 08459 neukirchen/pleibe (near zwickau) – tel. +49 (0) 37 62 – 94 80 – 0
A big thank you goes to mathias merz from the city administration and head of the cultural office dr. Michael loffler, for the guided tour through the city and the many interesting information about zwickau. Very interesting was also the guided tour through the johannisbad with christoph kraus and not to forget – our visit to the ratsschulbibliothek with dr. Lutz mahnke, the head of the council school library.