The market square (Hauptmarkt) of Zwickau, Saxony’s 4th largest city, in a view of its south side. Including the Gewandhaus and the Town Hall (Rathaus) we see two of the historically most important buildings in the city. Zwickau played a major role in the region since the 13th century, first as a free imperial city, then as an economic centre of Kursachsen (the Electorate of Saxony), but also as a centre of the Lutheran Reformation. This panorama also illustrates the lighting atmosphere of christmas in saxony with many typical Schwibbögen visible inside the windows.
On the southern side of the Zwickau market square we see not only the Gewandhaus (left), the Town Hall (middle) and a number of patrician buildings, but also the birthplace (and now museum) of the famous composer Robert Schuhmann on the far right and hidden by christmas stalls. The narrow green building right of the Town Hall is called the Stefan-Roth-House, referring to a close confidant of Martin Luther.
The Zwickauer Gewandhaus (cloth merchants‘ hall) was built 1522-25 in late gothic style. In 1823 it became the theatre of the city, today housing the “Theater Plauen-Zwickau”. The Town Hall (german: Rathaus) was built in 1404, after the predecessor burnt down during the big city fire in 1403. Above its main portal an elaborate version of the city emblem can be seen. Since the early 2000s the town hall building includes a café and a shopping area.
This cityscape panorama of the saxon city Zwickau was presented in week 15 of our 101 weeks 101 cities of europe project.
