Schloßbergmuseum
23. Oct 2022 – 2. Jul 2023

Sound of the Big City

Sound of the Big City
Chemnitz in the Empire

2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the German Empire, which existed from 1871 to 1918 / 1919. It was during this period that the town of Chemnitz was transformed into a Saxon industrial metropolis, a development driven by an unimaginable momentum. With 100,000 inhabitants in 1883, the town formally crossed the threshold to become a city or »Großstadt«– by 1900 that number had increased in ten-year increments by another 100,000 people. Chemnitz had become a boomtown. A splendid city was born. The outlying areas were taken possession of both by densely populated workers’ quarters and by luxurious residential areas for the more privileged classes. Among other concerns, the economy, politics, administration, infrastructure and architecture had to keep pace with that industrial strong growth. The German Empire was thus one of the most formative periods in the history of the city of Chemnitz – in a positive sense, as regards the internal development of the city over several decades, and also in a negative sense, as every single household suffered the consequences of the privation caused by the First World War. The emperor’s abdication and the November Revolution in 1918 finally brought about the end of the monarchy and the move towards republican-democratic conditions of government.

A vast number of previously unpublished historical photographs, elaborately painted shooting targets, ladies’ formal gowns and colourful uniforms all bring the image of the people in the city streets to life, and to this day provide a vivid testimony to the civic discourse on progress at the time. The anniversary exhibition with its broad range of objects from the Schloßbergmuseum’s collection gives today’s visitors a chance to experience the way of life of those past decades.

The exhibition was created together with the Chemnitz Industrial Museum, the Municipal Archive, and Chemnitz University of Technology.

Gallery

Fotograf:in unbekannt, Chemnitz, Blick in die Königstraße, 1899, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Schloßbergmuseum
Fotograf:in unbekannt
Chemnitz, Blick in die Königstraße, 1899
Rudolf Pause, Einweihung der Denkmäler für Kaiser Wilhelm I., Otto von Bismarck und Wilhelm von Moltke auf dem Hauptmarkt, 1899, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Schloßbergmuseum
Rudolf Pause
Einweihung der Denkmäler für Kaiser Wilhelm I., Otto von Bismarck und Wilhelm von Moltke auf dem Hauptmarkt, 1899
Fotograf:in unbekannt, Mädchenabteilung eines Chemnitzer Turnvereins Chemnitz, um 1910, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Schloßbergmuseum
Fotograf:in unbekannt
Mädchenabteilung eines Chemnitzer Turnvereins Chemnitz, um 1910
Alfred Zapp, Fotoalben zu Ballonfahrten, um 1910, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Schloßbergmuseum
Alfred Zapp
Fotoalben zu Ballonfahrten, um 1910
Emil Mitzschrich, Das Neue Rathaus, Schützenscheibe anlässlich der Rathausweihe, 1911, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Schloßbergmuseum
Emil Mitzschrich
Das Neue Rathaus, Schützenscheibe anlässlich der Rathausweihe, 1911
Otto Pöhland, Symphonion, um 1990, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Schloßbergmuseum
Otto Pöhland
Symphonion, um 1990
David Vollgold, Ehrenkanne, 1874, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Schloßbergmuseum
David Vollgold
Ehrenkanne, 1874
Künstler:in unbekannt, Hofdegen des Chemnitzer Bürgermeisters Johannes Friedrich Müller (1812–1878), nach 1851, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Schloßbergmuseum
Künstler:in unbekannt
Hofdegen des Chemnitzer Bürgermeisters Johannes Friedrich Müller (1812–1878), nach 1851
Alfred Kunze, Am Königsplatz Auffahrt Carolastraße , 1909, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz – Schloßbergmuseum
Alfred Kunze
Am Königsplatz Auffahrt Carolastraße , 1909