To mark today’s World Twin Cities Day (2025), we are taking a look at the special relationship between Saxony and the Czech Republic – or more precisely: at selected pairs of cities that are twinned across the state border. The long shared border between Saxony and Bohemia has led to numerous historical and cultural connections, many of which still exist today as official town twinning partnerships.
Our cover picture shows a side-by-side view of Augustusplatz in Leipzig and Namesti Svobodi (Freedom Square) in Brno.
This contribution was originally planned as part of our joint project with the city of Zwickau as part of Chemnitz 2025 – European Capital of Culture. Unfortunately, the project could not be funded as planned. Nevertheless, we do not want to lose sight of the topic. In the course of 2025, we hope to be able to present further Saxon-Czech city partnerships – in a dialogue of cityscapes and architectural character.
We will start with two panorama pairs: Leipzig – Brno and Schneeberg – Jáchymov (St. Joachimsthal).
Brünn (Brno) – Minoritska | Leipzig – Petersstraße
Leipzig – Brno
The cities of Leipzig (Lipsko) and Brno (Brno) are united not only by their role as important cultural and commercial centres, but also by their largely preserved city centres, which are impressively visible in our panoramas. Magnificent Wilhelminian-style buildings, Art Nouveau façades and public squares with a historical aura characterise both city centres – and show how similar Central European architectural traditions were in the 19th and early 20th centuries, regardless of national borders. The town twinning has existed since 1973 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023.
Schneeberg – St. Joachimsthal
The second pair of towns takes us to the Ore Mountains and connects two former mining towns of great historical importance: Schneeberg on the Saxon side and Jáchymov (german St. Joachimsthal) on the Bohemian side. After a devastating town fire in 1719, the centre of Schneeberg was rebuilt in Baroque style – the uniform design of this period still gives the town its characteristic appearance today.
Schneeberg – Fürstenplatz | St. Joachimsthal / Jachymov – Namesti Republiky
St. Joachimsthal (Jáchymov), on the other hand, can look back on a heyday in the 16th century. The silver mining industry there made the town rich and brought forth numerous Renaissance buildings that still characterise the image of the old town today. At this time, St. Joachimsthal was briefly the second largest town in Bohemia. Baroque elements were added in the 17th and 18th centuries. The town also became world-famous through the minting of the ‘Joachimstaler’, or ‘Taler’ for short – a term that later became the american Dollar.
Our view of the namesti Republiky with the magnificent three-part town hall comes fresh from our picture atelier and is still unfinished – but already impressively shows the cityscape effect of the building. Originally the house of Hieronymus Schlick in the 16th century, the town hall was extended several times over the centuries and was given its present form in 1901/02 in the style of late historicism with Art Nouveau elements.
In the coming months (and years), we would like to develop this project further and also portray other city pairs that have not yet been in the spotlight. These include, among others:
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Zwickau/Bautzen – Jablonec nad Nisou
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Chemnitz – Ústí nad Labem
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Zittau – Liberec
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Aue – Kadaň
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Meißen – Litoměřice
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Annaberg-Buchholz – Chomutov
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Dresden – Ostrava
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Plauen – Aš
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Zschopau – Louny
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Klingenthal – Kraslice
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Pirna – Děčín
