Chemnitz << KEHM nihts >> (pop. 240,253) is a commercial and cultural center in the eastern German state of Saxony. The city sits on the Chemnitz River and borders scenic hill country to the south. The Royal Mercantile College was founded in Chemnitz in 1836. It became the Chemnitz University of Technology in 1986. A variety of machinery products are manufactured in Chemnitz.
Allied warplanes destroyed much of the city during World War II (1939-1945). After the war, Chemnitz was rebuilt while part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The city was renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1953. The name returned to Chemnitz after the reunification of Germany in 1990.
See also Germany (East Germany); Saxony; World War II (The air war).
