Zwickau, city in east central Germany, in the state of Saxony (Sachsen), on the Mulde River. The city is an industrial center located in a coal-mining region. Among the local manufactures are chemicals, electrical equipment, mining machinery, porcelain, and textiles. Places of interest include the 15th-century Church of Saint Mary, which ranks among the finest examples of German Gothic architecture, and the 16th-century town hall. The city is the birthplace of the German composer Robert Schumann.
Founded as a Slavic settlement in the 11th century, Zwickau began to flourish as a trading center in the 12th century, and in 1220 it was made a city. Zwickau was a free imperial city from 1290 to 1323, when it became subject to the principality of Meissen. In the early 1520s the city was one of the chief strongholds of the Anabaptists. Zwickau became an industrial city in the 19th century. Population (1997) 104,921.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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