Museum · City Center
Museum of Natural History in the DAStietz
The Museum of Natural History sits right downtown in the DAStietz cultural department store, a converted former store that today houses a library, an adult education center and a museum under one roof. Even in the light-filled inner courtyard, visitors are greeted by the building's impressive centerpiece, the Petrified Forest of Chemnitz. Here stand petrified tree trunks that count among the most important records of fossil plant life anywhere in the world.
These silicified woods formed around 291 million years ago, when a volcanic eruption buried an entire forest under ash and the tree trunks turned to stone over time. The collection, known as the Sterzeleanum, is named after the Chemnitz naturalist who once gathered these finds. Beyond the Petrified Forest, the museum is devoted to the local flora and fauna, entomology and earth history and offers numerous interactive stations that especially appeal to children.
Thanks to its central location on Moritzstraße, the Natural History Museum is within easy walking distance of the market square and the Red Tower and is perfect for a family outing. Free access to the inner courtyard with the petrified trunks makes it a popular destination even on a short visit. Regular excavations in the city area keep bringing new finds to light, so the collection continues to grow.
Official website →In the district
City Center
The heart of the city with the market square, the Red Tower, Theaterplatz and the Karl Marx Monument.
View district →More Museums in Chemnitz
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City Center
Karl Marx Monument (Nischel)
The 7.10-meter bronze head of Karl Marx on Brückenstraße is the city's unmistakable landmark, affectionately nicknamed the 'Nischel' by locals.
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City Center
Roter Turm (Red Tower)
The city's oldest surviving building stands in the middle of the modern downtown and, as the last remnant of the medieval fortifications, recalls the origins of Chemnitz.
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Old and New Town Hall on the Market Square
On the historic market square, the Gothic Old Town Hall with its Renaissance portal and the magnificent New Town Hall with its tower form the city's representative center.
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Theaterplatz
The city's most beautiful preserved square unites the magnificent opera house, the Neo-Gothic St. Petri Church and the King Albert Museum into a coherent turn-of-the-century cultural ensemble.
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