Volunteers for Chemnitz 2025 publish reports on their experiences, assignments and adventures around the European Capital of Culture.
After leaving school, Cathleen left her home in Saxony for an apprenticeship in the beautiful Rhineland. After more than 20 years, during Corona, she returned to Chemnitz - where she had to arrive anew, but now feels very much at home here. She has been enthusiastically involved in the Capital of Culture since summer 2024.
What was a funny idea a few years ago and meant many months of work for the organising team finally came to fruition at the beginning of April: Chemnitz now has a Free Walking Tour - just like the megacities of Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Paris and Barcelona.
But let's start at the beginning: the first information event for those interested in the volunteer programme took place in December 2024. The organising team introduced themselves, as well as the idea of launching the "Free Walking Tour" project to mark the Capital of Culture year. The initiators had already been working on the topic for several months beforehand and had given some thought to its realisation. The spark of enthusiasm quickly spread from the core team to the audience. And there were questions upon questions: Will the tours also take place in the rain? Which languages would you like to offer? Is it really free of charge for the participants? At the end of the event, the list of interested parties quickly filled up with the most important information: Name, contact details, languages.
I was also enthusiastic about the idea right from the start and joined the social media team in January, because in these fast-moving times, the best way to spread news is via Instagram. But a website also had to be set up and filled with content.
In February, there were two training sessions for the future guides: first a theoretical part about the various stops on the tour, including important facts and background information about the city's history, before the walking route and stops were tested in individual teams for each stop. Some guides also led friends and family on a kind of "dress rehearsal" through the city centre.
On 5 April, the time had finally come: the start of the "Free Walking Tour" in Chemnitz! 10 a.m. Meeting point at the "Sleeping Horse" directly behind the Hartmannfabrik. Good weather and a good mood among the guides were guaranteed, but how many people would turn up? Because you can't sign up. The tours start every Saturday at a fixed time and always at the same location; so it's kind of our own "fate" that maybe only 5 guests come, 15 or 50. In the worst case, no one comes... But we are always on site, unless a severe weather situation does not allow us to (hail, heavy storms/storm) - in these cases, of course, safety comes first and we inform early on the homepage and social media.
Many flyers were distributed in the city, and the day before there was also a large article in the local press with the initiator of the idea. And indeed: the first guests arrived shortly after 10 a.m. and the number kept growing, much to our delight. We counted 68 participants. It was truly incredible and a tremendous response that we had never expected. Above all, there were many guests from abroad: from Leipzig, Berlin, Nuremberg, Lower Saxony and Düsseldorf! Our guides then led four groups on a 90-minute walk through the city centre, the guests were amazed at what they learned on the tour and gave positive feedback. A really nice feeling for a premiere.
We are very excited about what awaits us in the coming weeks and months and which guests from Germany and abroad we can welcome on our tours, because the Capital of Culture year is now really picking up speed with the many major weekly events and happenings.
