Karl-Marx-Monument
Sign up free — See who's going and message them.
Is this your place? Get the badge for your websiteAbout
More photos 11
1 / 11
Why go
- A stylized bronze head of Karl Marx measuring 7.10 metres tall.
- The world’s second-largest portrait bust, after the Lenin head in Ulan-Ude.
- The wall behind the head carries “Workers of the world, unite!” in German, English, French and Russian.
About the work
- artist
- Lew Kerbel
- material
- Bronze
Interesting facts6
-
13 metres
The sculpture and base together stand over 13 metres tall and weigh about 40 tonnes.
Karl Marx Monument, Chemnitz - Wikipedia -
Locals call the monument “Nischel,” a Saxon word for a head or skull.
Karl Marx Monument, Chemnitz - Wikipedia -
Its two plinths are clad in Korninskij granite, which is actually gneiss.
Karl-Marx-Monument - Wikipedia -
174 Hydronalium
The façade lettering behind the monument consists of 174 Hydronalium alloy plates.
Karl-Marx-Monument - Wikipedia -
Heinz Schumann designed the façade lettering with sculptor Volker Beier.
Karl-Marx-Monument - Wikipedia -
2007
Until 2007, the city motto “Stadt mit Köpfchen” referred to the monument.
Monument à Karl Marx - Wikipedia
Shorts
History
Soviet sculptor Lew Kerbel proposed 17 designs. Only one showed Marx’s head on a plinth; the others depicted his full body. The bronze was cast at the Monument Skulptura foundry in Leningrad and divided into 95 pieces for transport. VEB Germania welded the pieces together in Karl-Marx-Stadt after Soviet technology proved unsuitable. During the German Democratic Republic, the monument served as a backdrop for holiday parades and mass events.
- 1953Chemnitz was renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt, inspiring plans for a monument to its new namesake. The East German government commissioned it during Karl Marx Year.
- 9 October 1971The monument was unveiled before about 250,000 people. Erich Honecker and Marx’s great-grandson Robert-Jean Longuet attended.
- After German reunificationProposals to demolish the monument sparked heated debate as the city resumed the name Chemnitz. It remained intact; cities around the world expressed interest in buying it, and a sale to Cologne was discussed.
- 2011–2012The plinth was repaired from late 2011 to 4 April 2012 after water entering the slab joints damaged its surface and concrete.
- 2013Seeed filmed the music video for “Deine Zeit” at the monument in March.
Show all
- 2018The site became a gathering point for political groups and a backdrop to demonstrations and clashes during the Chemnitz riots.
- 2020For the “Présent” city art exhibition, Olaf Nicolai filmed a close-up of the monument on 21 September at noon.
Best time to visit
- Open 24 hours every day, so visits are possible at any time.
Sources: Karl Marx Monument, Chemnitz - Wikipedia · Chemnitz - Wikivoyage (see) · Karl-Marx-Monument - Wikipedia · Monument à Karl Marx - Wikipedia · checked 13 Oct 2026
- Phone
- +49 371 690680
Questions and answers
When is the Karl-Marx-Monument open?
It is open 24 hours every day.
Can I view the Karl-Marx-Monument head at eye level?
A temporary enclosure allowed eye-level views during the Temporary Museum of Modern Marx project, which ran from 17 June to 31 August 2008.
Are there souvenirs of the Karl-Marx-Monument?
Souvenir versions of the head are made in marzipan and chocolate.
What other names has the Karl-Marx-Monument's street had?
Brückenstraße was formerly Karl-Marx-Allee and is popularly called “Nischelgasse.”
- See who's going — faces, not ticket counts.
- Write to someone who shares your interests — no swipes, no matches, no paywall.
- Pick the event or the place to meet at — and go together.