Chemnitz, formerly Karl-Marx-Stadt, city in east central Germany, at the foot of the Erzgebirge Range, on the Chemnitz River. The city is located near Dresden, in Saxony (Sachsen). Chemnitz is located in a leading textile manufacturing region, and locomotives, textile and mining machinery, and chemicals have been produced here.
The city was founded in the 12th century, and during the 14th century it developed as a textile center. The trade industry of Chemnitz was almost completely ruined in the 17th century during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), but later, with the introduction of cotton manufacture, it began to recover. Industrial growth in the 19th century and early years of the 20th century was rapid. The city was known as Karl-Marx-Stadt from 1953 to 1990, when it was renamed Chemnitz. Population (1997) 274,201.
