Discover History

Rosenhof is a street which owes its name to the some 4000 roses that were planted here in 1965. The roses came from the twin cities of Karl-Marx-Stadt, including Tampere, Volgograd and Mulhouse, and were intended to commemorate the suffering and horrors of the Second World War.

The former inner-city residential area including Holzmarkt and Roßmarkt was completely destroyed during the Second World War.

According to the Markbuch (land register) of 1770, it was once one of the wealthiest residential districts in Chemnitz.

The Roßmarkt was defined by the magnificent buildings of important tradesmen and the Hotel de Saxe, and also by Chemnitz’s first theatre, which opened its doors in 1806.

Roßmarkt was the site of the first Catholic parish and church from 1828.

With the city’s industrial development, the two markets lost their original function as places where horses and wood were traded, simply becoming pretty squares.

From 1893, Roßmarkt was home to the Saxoniabrunnen fountain.

Surrounded by a basin, the bronze figure of Saxonia – guardian of industry and trade – stood proudly on a plinth made up of several parts.

In 1943, it and the smaller figures of a spinner and a blacksmith were melted down to contribute to the war effort.

A smaller reconstruction consisting of a base and recast figures has stood on Johannisplatz since 2013.

Horses were once traded on the Roßmarkt, and from 1893 the imposing Saxoniabrunnen fountain stood there.

The Holzmarkt with tramway around 1910

During the reconstruction of the city centre, the historical layout was discarded and in 1962 the decision was taken to build a modern, functional boulevard on this site.

This radical redevelopment saw the historical structures completely built over.

The prefabricated multi-storey residential development on both sides of the courtyard and the residential blocks along the Straße der Nationen are the earliest examples of industrial housing in Karl-Marx-Stadt.

The area was renamed Rosenhof in 1965.

The residential area was designed to be a social centre between the market and what was formerly Fritz-Heckert-Platz.

Its purpose was both to address the housing problem and to be beautiful: green spaces and playgrounds were created between the buildings, and the boulevard was designed to be an inviting place to relax in.

The Wind Rose, created by Gerhard Klampäckel out of terrazzo mosaic tiles, was situated at the centre of the boulevard at that time. Today it is positioned at the entrance to Rosenhof from the market. The residential area was popular for its retail, services and restaurants, including children’s department store Pionier, the household bazaar, the Bilderkabinett gallery, shops such as Modestrumpf, Antiquariat and Klarinette, and the Zum Güldenen Bock restaurant.

Rosenhof was modernised at the start of the new millennium.

Since 2002, the Türmer office building at the top of the Rosenhof has marked the transition in the urban landscape, from the market to the Rosenhof boulevard, from the past to the present.

Between the Wind Rose at the entrance to Rosenhof and the large fountain at the end, there are shops, arcades and bistros alongside rose beds, seating areas and fountains.

Taking into account the area it covers and the number of shops it includes, Rosenhof is the third largest retail site in Chemnitz city centre.

Rosenhof’s numerous rose bushes, planted in the late 1960s, mean it has been living up to its name ever since.

Rosenhof was one of the first industrial housing projects in what was then Karl-Marx-Stadt, which was launched in 1962 with the aim of rebuilding the city centre.