Things have rather turned against the founder of Communism since this 7m-high bronze head (one that catches the German philosopher on a very bad hair day) was erected in 1971. Behind Marx there's a huge frieze exhorting ‘Workers of the world, unite!’ in several languages. Attempts to remove the monument after the end of Communism were resisted by locals, however, and Marx's head remains a symbol of the city.
Karl Marx Monument
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
19.14 MILES
Occupying a greater part of the 16th-century Freundenstein castle, this astounding collection of minerals makes human-made art seem insignificant compared…
0.15 MILES
Occupying a converted department store, this state-of-the-art museum is a brave attempt to celebrate all those crocks, bones and pieces of primitive…
0.61 MILES
A former 1930 bank building, built in austere New Objectivity style, is now a gallery of 20th-century art, most famous for its expressionist works by such…
20.59 MILES
Zwickau’s top attraction is this amazing car museum that will enlighten and entertain even non-petrolheads. Housed within the original early-20th-century…
21.02 MILES
The very name Colditz is enough to send goosebumps down many people's spines, and so it might come as a surprise that the famous WWII-era high security…
19.28 MILES
Packed with touchingly naive wooden and stone sculpture, Freiberg's outstanding Lutheran cathedral contains the first large organ built by the famous…
20.02 MILES
People have been digging into the ore-rich rocks near Freiberg for 800 years. The result is a network of mines, one of which – Reiche Zeche – can be…
0.36 MILES
Beautifully renovated, this former 1913 department store now houses the city library as well as the Neue Sächsische Galerie, which presents contemporary…
Nearby attractions
0.13 MILES
Flanking Chemnitz' most beautiful square, the historic Theaterplatz, this lovely art museum stages large-scale temporary exhibits, sometimes drawn from…
0.15 MILES
Occupying a converted department store, this state-of-the-art museum is a brave attempt to celebrate all those crocks, bones and pieces of primitive…
0.35 MILES
The renovated DAStietz building harbours the Neue Sächsische Galerie, which presents postwar works by Saxon artists.
0.35 MILES
Chemnitz Natural History Museum's most interesting exhibit, the Versteinerter Wald (petrified forest), can be admired for free in the atrium; some of the…
0.36 MILES
Beautifully renovated, this former 1913 department store now houses the city library as well as the Neue Sächsische Galerie, which presents contemporary…
0.61 MILES
A former 1930 bank building, built in austere New Objectivity style, is now a gallery of 20th-century art, most famous for its expressionist works by such…
0.72 MILES
This late-Gothic monastery houses the city history museum, whose vaulted interior is a rich backdrop for Saxon 15th- and 16th-century sculpture.
0.82 MILES
This 12th-century Benedictine monastery has been recast into a weighty Gothic hall church and houses Hans Witten’s intriguing sculpture Christ at the…