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centre. Besides the public library, a university faculty and a few shops, it also harbours the Neue Sächsische Galerie (New Saxon Gallery; 367 6680; adult & concession €2, under 14yr free; 10am-6pm Thu-Mon, 10am-8pm Tue), which presents postwar works by Saxon artists. Also here is the Museum für Naturkunde (Natural History Museum; 488 4551; adult/concession/family €4/2.50/8; 10am-8pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun, closed Wed), where the most interesting exhibit, the Versteinerter Wald (petrified forest), can be admired for free in the atrium; some of the stony trunks are 290 million years old.

MARKT

Parts of Chemnitz’s compact centre have been completely redeveloped since reunification, and have evolved into a modern, though somewhat soulless, commercial hub. Now historic buildings rub shoulders with newcomers such as the glass-and-steel Galeria Kaufhof department store (designed by Helmut Jahn), and the Galerie Roter Turm, a shopping mall sporting a sandstone facade.

Both form part of the ensemble encircling the lively Markt, which is dominated by the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), an imposing white 15th-century building with a Renaissance portal, and the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall), which looks older but only dates to 1911. Completing this impressive silhouette is the Hoher Turm (High Tower) behind the Altes Rathaus. The adjacent Jakobikirche is a Gothic church topped by a neat roof turret and flaunting a rare art-deco facade.

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A LOAD OF OLD JUNK

Possibly the world’s biggest junk shop, SBS Deko ( 8101 949; www.sbs-deko.de; Robert-Blum-Strasse 21) is a warehouse literally packed to the rafters with GDR debris. Mostly in the business of hiring to filmmakers and lending to museums, they also sell anything from original retro furniture to ’60s toys to a nostalgic public. So roll up for your very own piece of the GDR, an unusual souvenir idea indeed.

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SCHLOSS AREA

Across the river, the Schlossteich is a large park-ringed pond, with a music pavilion for summer concerts. Towering over it is the Schlosskirche ( 10am-5pm Tue-Sat, 2.30-5.30pm Sun Apr-Oct, 11am-4pm Tue-Sat Nov-Mar), a 12th-century Benedictine monastery later recast into a weighty Gothic hall church. Its treasures include Hans Witten’s intriguing sculpture Christ at the Column (1515). Just south of the church stands the reconstructed Schloss itself, which houses the Schlossbergmuseum ( 488 4501; Schlossberg 12; adult/concession €3/1.80; 11am-6pm Tue-Sun). The vaulted interior rather outshines the historical displays and paintings.

OTHER SIGHTS

Around 2.5km south of the centre the Henry van de Velde museum ( 488 4424; Parkstrasse 58; admission free; 10am-6pm Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun) occupies the 1903 Villa Esche, the Belgian artist’s first commission in Germany. The downstairs dining room and music salon have been restored as period rooms, while upstairs you’ll find a small collection of crafts and furniture. Take tram 4 to Haydnstrasse.

If you enjoy art-nouveau architecture, you might also find a stroll through the Kassberg neighbourhood rewarding; it’s about 1km west of the centre (bus 62 or 72 to Barbarossastrasse).

The Sächsische Eisenbahnmuseum (Saxony Railway Museum; 4932 765; www.sem.chemnitz.de; adult/child €5/2; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun) is a greasy, hands-off affair housed in two vast semicircular depots. Both contain gargantuan East German steam locos, many of which only clanked and hissed their last for the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the late 1980s. Take bus 21 from the Zentralhaltestelle to the ‘Sächsische Eisenbahnmuseum’ stop and follow the signs through the allotments.

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Sleeping

Pension Europark ( 5228 341; www.europark.de; Schulstrasse 38; s €15-17, d €30-44; ) No-frills nomads looking to get their 40 winks for under €40 should head for this unpretentious guesthouse 4km south of the centre, but close to the Altchemnitz Center tram stop (trams 6 and 522). More expensive rooms have private facilities and breakfast is €5 extra.

Hotel Sächsischer Hof ( 461 480; www.saechsischer-hof.de; Brühl 26;