Arriving here on a weekday night is like stepping back 50 years, to the days when it was still called Karl-Marx-Stadt. The wide streets are walled by looming brutalist blocks, and they seem practically devoid of life.  There’s a metaphorical chill in the air.

But it wasn’t always thus. This crucible of Germany’s industrial revolution kicked off in the 19^th century with textiles and then machine-making, and moved on to producing the likes of trains and cars, the bread and butter of modern Germany. But then came World War II, which destroyed 80 percent of a thriving industrial city.

Virtually the only showpiece of that most prosperous pre-war era which is still used for its original purpose is the magnificent Bauhaus-influenced public swimming pool, unchanged since the glory period of the 1930s. And then there’s Villa Esche, the art deco mansion of a stocking manufacturer from the beginning of the 20^th century.

After the War, the GDR did a hasty rebuild and tried to make Chemnitz a socialist showpiece and a powerhouse of mechanical engineering. They re-named it Karl-Marx-Stadt and installed the giant head of Marx himself on a wide boulevard intended for grand parades. The 40 tonne bust is still there, despite the fact that the man himself never set foot in the city. And when the Berlin Wall came down, three quarters of the population voted to go back to the original name, ‘Chemnitz’.

A lot of them also left at the first opportunity, largely because all that government-run industry was based on outdated technology, and accordingly went belly up as the Wall came down. At that point there was a mass exodus of 80,000 mostly well educated citizens, and the 260,000 who remained felt overlooked and unloved. Unsurprisingly, the right wing AfD Alternative for Germany is strong here.

Capital of Culture

In an attempt to bring the city in from the cold it was designated as one of two European Capitals of Culture in 2025. Special exhibitions, installations and events brought in a lot of interested visitors, and have restored some of the citizens’ self respect. The heart of downtown around the Old and New Town Halls embodies something of the pre-war era, albeit as a reconstruction, surrounded by a bit of a dogs dinner of modernist styles. But beyond that Chemnitz remains indisputably a physically unappealing place, thrown together in too much of a hurry after World War II by a regime that cared little for flair and individualism.

Today one thing that Chemnitz does have, in spades, is museums, converted from former industrial complexes. For example the Industrial Museum in a magnificently restored former foundry where it shows a copious cross-section of two centuries of manufacturing output.

There are galleries, too, particularly the Gunzenhauser, in a former bank, which is particularly good at researching and exhibiting artists from this part of Germany, and from other destinations in central and eastern Europe.

For someone interested in Germany in general, and in its recent history, Chemnitz is worth a visit.  It is certainly a journey of discovery. And a big blast from the past.

Everyone has heard of Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, the former crossing point between the American sector in the West and the Soviet sector in the East. But how did it get that name?

The answer lies 120 miles to the west, at the former border crossing between Helmstedt in former West Germany (FRG) and Marienborn in former East Germany (GDR), once known as Checkpoint Alpha.

To complete the lexicon of the day, in between the two was Checkpoint Bravo on the outskirts of the city where traffic that had passed through Alpha and East Germany entered West Berlin (which was surrounded at the time). So the naming was as simple as ABC.

The GDR government began erecting the fortifications at Checkpoint Alpha in the mid 1950s, several years before the Berlin Wall was built, to make crossing from East to West as difficult as possible.

Whilst the crossing was marked by a modest building on the Helmstedt (western) side of the border, the operation was of a much greater size in Marienborn over in the east. Over the years, particularly in the 1970s when much greater cross-border traffic was permitted, it evolved into a large complex that housed up to 1,000 guards, police, security officials and other personnel (including Stasi officers) until it was dismantled following reunification of the two countries in 1990. The entire site has been designated a monument of national heritage, and is now the largest existing memorial to the internal border.

A huge operation

Adding to the overall sense of intimidation, alongside the East German security apparatus the Soviet Red Army had a base in Marienborn, whose sole purpose was to accompany Allied (US, British or French) traffic passing through it en route to West Berlin. The process of crossing the border could take hours with cars often secretly XRayed or even taken apart during examination by extremely thorough and officious guards. It was never a pleasant experience.

Not all the original buildings remain but there are sufficient to get a feel for the size of the security operation. The installations on the western side have been demolished but on the eastern side the passport control point for cars, the checkpoint for lorries, the light masts (the whole site was illuminated in the dark), the administration offices, the watchtower and even the morgue are still there.

These have now been turned into a museum about the former border, entry to which is free.  Within the Passport control office there is a permanent exhibition charting in chronological order the development of the fortifications at the site and the story of the border in general. There are also a variety of other exhibitions detailing how the checkpoint worked and the methods taken by the GDR to prevent illicit border crossings. There is a display of artefacts from the time including the guns used by the guards.

The whole site can be walked freely (though the inside of some buildings are inaccessible) and gives an indication of the efforts the GDR went to in order to restrict the movements of its citizens. It is a perfect monument to that country’s attempts to control and intimidate its captive population. – Mark Arrol

Following the collapse of East Germany’s German Democratic Republic 30 years ago, a number of towns and cities emerged as hitherto undiscovered. Because of their eastern location they were largely undamaged by wartime bombing and their architectural splendour survived the worst of the GDR town planning.

Among such towns are Görlitz, profiled elsewhere on this site, and Schwerin, 20 miles south of Wismar and inland from the Baltic coast. Once the historic seat of the Dukes of Mecklenburg, the town, with a population just under 100,000, had always played second fiddle to its larger industrial neighbour Rostock, particularly during the days of the GDR. Rostock, as a state-supported shipbuilding city, was much more in keeping with the image the country wanted to present.

However once the reunification of Germany was completed and the Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was re-established, the decision was made to restore Schwerin to its rightful place as the state capital.

Neuschwanstein of the north

The jewel in the architecture of the city, Schwerin Castle henceforth became the seat of the parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In the 19^th century the building had been the ducal residence but in 1918, as the duchy ceased to exist, the castle had become the property of the state.

A castle has stood on the site of the current building since the latter years of the first millennium. The town was an important location in the medieval quest to extend eastwards along the Baltic coast. However as the frontiers of Prussia moved east, the requirements for the castle changed and it could become more of a showpiece.

Accordingly, when the current castle was built in the mid 19^th century by a group of architects including Gottfried Semper (who was responsible for building the Semper Oper in Dresden) they created one of the finest Renaissance buildings in northern Germany. It has been dubbed the Neuschwanstein of the north.

The castle can be visited daily all year round (closed Mondays) and guided tours are available. Alternatively you can take a tour of the castle gardens, one of the finest gardens to mix baroque with classical English design.

Undoubtedly the best way to appreciate views of the castle and the town is by boat, cruising on one of the many lakes surrounding the town, the largest of which (indeed one of the largest in Germany) is the Schweriner See. These trips run from March until October and can be caught from the pier by the castle. They offer great views of the Castle and the town beyond.

The town as a whole, despite its modest size, punches well above its weight and has well and truly shaken off its GDR past. It has undoubtedly become one of the liveliest and most vibrant towns in northern Germany. – Mark Arrol