In the volunteer editorial team, volunteers for Chemnitz 2025 publish reports on their experiences, assignments and adventures around the European Capital of Culture.
Heidi is 72 years old. She lived and worked in Chemnitz for many years. She is interested in art, culture, languages and music. This year, Heidi is working intensively on the topic of "C the unseen". She has been a volunteer for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz since April 2025.
Ever since we took part in bus trips along the Purple Path, the topic has stayed with me. Chemnitz and its region are together the European Capital of Culture 2025 and the purple ribbon connects everything. It is impossible to rate all the sculptures or discuss them here. These are personal impressions that moved me during my visit. I would like to talk about a selection of them.
In Chemnitz, there is the work "The good spirits of my homeland" by Otmar Osten in Schillerpark. The sculpture skilfully builds a bridge from Chemnitz to the surrounding area. The gleaming silvery figures enthroned on Saxon stone pillars give a nod to the Ore Mountains.
For me, the marvellous vases by Young Yee Lee in the chancel of the Jacobi Church also stand for the impressive commitment of the Kulturkirche Chemnitz on the Purple Path. In their imperfect beauty, they also reveal to the viewer their own cracks and the fractures of the Capital of Culture. Imperfect and in many ways unseen, that is our life.
The commitment of the parishes on the Purple Path is also evident in the Lößnitz Hospital Church in a special way. Volunteers from the town ensure that many visitors find an open church and can admire the wonderful mirror installation by Rebecca Horn. Terms such as "magical" and "inexplicable phenomenon" spring to mind. We had a lively discussion with members of the parish about this impressive work of art. We also talked about an opportunity for Lößnitz to become more attractive to tourists. The town has been experiencing the positive effects of the connection to the Purple Path in recent weeks.
We were able to experience an impressive event on the grounds of the Lauta/ Marienberg horse farm on 24 August. The artist Corina Gertz opened her exhibition "The Averted Portrait". Many celebrities from Chemnitz, Marienberg and further afield travelled to the event. Members of the Bergbrüderschaft Marienberg in their festive habits emphasised these beautiful views of a wide variety of people in traditional costumes, which can also be seen "outdoors" here. My favourite motif can be seen in the gallery above. It shows a mountain brother standing with dignity in front of his back portrait. This shows the strong connection to the mountain from which everything comes.
Finally, I would like to report on the sculpture "Twister Again" by Alice Aycock in the Seiffen Open-Air Museum. A twister like this is created during traditional tyre turning, where skilled craftsmen make toy animals out of wood. I became aware of this on 29 August.
On that day, I was working as a volunteer at the toy-making festival in Seiffen and I looked at these painted animal miniatures. They have a simple naturalness and will stimulate the imagination of the children who play with them. The twister on the Purple Path creates a connection to this.