The Top Things to See and Do in Zwickau, Germany

The August Horch Museum is a must-visit for automobile enthusiasts. At this museum, visitors get to gape at 70 automobiles belonging to iconic brands like Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer, many of them vintage models. Alongside, you can learn about the life and career of the legendary August Horch, the founder of Audi and Horch.

Marienkirche, or the cathedral of St. Mary, is the most important monument in Zwickau and adds ample character to the city’s skyline. This magnificent Gothic architecture with an 88-meter tall Baroque spire preserves a number of treasures within its walls, including priceless Late Gothic and Renaissance paintings, a magnificent winged altarpiece, a jaw-dropping Pietà (Lamentation of Christ) and an ancient Holy Sepulchre.

This museum is dedicated to the work and life of gifted German composer and music critic Robert Schumann, a household name in the field of music of the Romantic age. Expect to see thousands of manuscripts by the composer and his wife, Clara, as well as a wide range of musical instruments of inestimable worth. At the end of the tour, you will also emerge wiser about the personal lives of the musician and his wife.

This century-old museum is a treasure-trove of artwork. The admirable collection in this museum spans several eras, including Late Gothic and Expressionists paintings by famous artists. As an added bonus, the museum also houses a section on minerals, which boasts almost 16,000 artifacts related to mineralogy.

Until the year 1900, this cylindrical brick structure was used to store gas, which was the original intention behind its construction. Later it also served as a storage house. Today, the gasometer stands as a relic of Zwickau’s industrial heritage and is also a center of performing arts, and hosts enjoyable events regularly through the year.

Priesterhäuser is a series of houses located adjacent to the cathedral. They are the oldest surviving residential structures in Saxony and among the most ancient in the entire country. Visitors are welcome to take a stroll through centuries of history at the impeccably preserved Priesterhäuser. A tour of this lovely place will help you understand the rich socio-economic past of Zwickau. You can even sample simple, traditional, medieval recipes here.

This stunning architecture was built in the first half of the 16th century as a guildhall for Zwickau’s textile manufacturers. Since the 19th century, this has been a popular theater owned and operated jointly by the cities of Plauen and Zwickau. A wide variety of events and performances, including music, dance, comedy, is hosted at the Gewandhaus. Even if you can’t catch a performance here, the building is a splendid sight in its own right.