Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [165]
Ever wondered why the Audi symbol is four interlinking rings? They stand for Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer, the four Saxon car makers who merged into a single company called Auto-Union during the Great Depression. After the war, Audi moved to Ingolstadt in Bavaria. As for Zwickau, it became the birthplace of the Trabant – the GDR’s answer to the Volkswagen Beetle. The name means ‘satellite’ in German, and was inspired by the launch of the world’s first satellite (the Soviet Sputnik) in 1957, a year before production started.
By the time it ceased in 1991, more than three million Trabis had rolled off the assembly lines here, most of them for export to other socialist countries – which is why regular GDR folks had to wait up to 13 years (!) to get one.
Because of the country’s chronic steel shortage, the Trabi’s body was made from reinforced plastic called Duroplast. Powered by a two-stroke engine similar to that of a large lawnmower, this rolling environmental disaster pumped out five times the amount of fumes as the average Western vehicle. Berlin residents still talk of waking up the day the Wall opened to see a vast queue of Trabants stretching down the road, with a dull brown cloud gathering overhead…
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ROBERT-SCHUMANN-HAUS
Behind Hauptmarkt is the Robert-Schumann-Haus ( 215 269; Hauptmarkt 5; adult/concession/family €4/2/9; 10am-5pm Tue-Fri, 1-5pm Sat & Sun), where this renowned composer of the Romantic Age was born and spent the first seven years of his life. Exhibits trace the various life stations of the man who sadly went seriously bipolar in his 30s, and died young in Bonn. A highlight is the piano once played by Schumann’s wife, Clara Wieck, herself a noted pianist. There’s a monument to the man in the northeast corner of the Hauptmarkt.
DOM ST MARIEN
West of the Schumann-Haus, Dom St Marien (Domhof; admission €1; 10am-6pm daily) is a late-Gothic hall church that will quicken the pulse of art fans. Foremost among its treasures is the 1479 altar painting by Michael Wohlgemuth (a teacher of Albrecht Dürer) plus an emotionally charged pietà (1502) by famous local sculptor Peter Breuer, and some ultra-rare Protestant confessionals. For details, ask to borrow the English pamphlet.
OTHER SIGHTS
A 10-minute walk north of the Altstadt, the spectacular Johannisbad ( 272 560; Johannisstrasse 16; adult/concession per hr €3/2.50, per 2hr €4.50/3.50; 10am-10pm Mon & Wed, 8am-10pm Tue & Thu, 10am-11pm Fri, 9am-10pm Sat & Sun) is a beautiful old art-nouveau swimming pool and sauna complex – worth a look even without taking a dip.
On Georgenplatz, 200m northwest of the Dr-Friedrichs-Ring, look out for the dinky Trabant Monument in the shape of a bronze family posing gleefully next to their stone Trabi.
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Sleeping
Zum Uhu ( 295 044; www.zum-uhu.de; Bahnhofstrasse 51; s/d/tr €33/62/75) The rooms at this little family-run inn are looking a bit tired, but it’s still the cheapest place to overnight. Book ahead during the week as it’s normally full. The traditionally-minded restaurant is as good as it ever was.
Brauereigasthof Zwickau ( 303 2032; www.brauhaus-zwickau.de; Peter-Breuer-Strasse 12-16; s/d €45/60; ) This is an excellent bargain base. It has five simple but cosy rooms, with ancient exposed beams, above a sprawling restaurant-pub that makes its own beer and schnapps and serves hearty meals in belt-loosening portions (€5 to €14).
Aparthotel 1A ( 275 750; www.1a-aparthotel.de; Robert-Müller-Strasse 1A; s/d €57/77; ) No prizes for originality or flair here, just clean, no-nonsense rooms in a fairly central location, popular with post-credit-crunch business travellers. Rates include breakfast buffet.
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Eating & Drinking
Zwickau’s almost-hip Kneipenstrasse (pub row), aka Peter-Breuer-Strasse, is good for arm wrestling a few jugs of ale or sipping a cocktail or five.