138 
CHEMNITZ. 
The “ Saxon Manchester ” and “ the most important industrial city in 
Germany ” are expressions frequently applied to Chemnitz. Opinion would 
probably be divided as to how far the latter is justified, but the former is 
generally accepted as appropriate, and still occurs in German and English 
gazetteers. Apart, however, from the difference in population of the two towns 
(Manchester having 544,000 and Chemnitz only 245,000 inhabitants), the 
appellation “ Saxon Manchester,” if it ever was, is now no longer applicable 
to Chemnitz, for Manchester is now primarily a trading centre with few 
factories, while Chemnitz is a factory town of the most pronounced type. 
Chemnitz has not kept its factories well on its outer borders, as is the case 
in many German towns, and it is only since a comparatively recent date that 
the municipality has decided that certain areas shall be kept free from such 
buildings. There are few parts of the town, therefore, which do not afford 
a view of one or more factory chimneys, while from any point outside the town 
they are to be seen in countless numbers. The atmosphere is, however, not 
smoke-laden, probably because there is little opportunity for smoke to settle 
over a town situated one thousand feet above the sea level, and exposed to 
strong winds. Most of the buildings of the town are somewhat sombre, owing 
to the brick being exposed, instead of being covered with the ornamental stucco 
work so common in other German towns. Generally speaking, the streets are 
wide, clean, and paved with granite setts, only a very few of the narrower streets 
in the very centre of the old town being asphalted. For public lighting 
purposes gas is still used, although the municipality owns a large electrical 
power generating and distributing station. The town is practically devoid of 
slums, and at the same time well provided with public parks and recreation 
grounds. Two of the best of these, the “ Schlossteich ” and the “ Kiichwald,” 
the former with an extensive lake, lie close to the chief north-western working- 
class suburb of Schlosschemnitz. Another, called the “ Zeisigwald,” is equally 
conveniently situated for the working-class district of Sonnenberg on the 
north-east. 
The growth of Chemnitz since 1871 has been rapid. The population at 
the date of the census and the intercensal increases have been as follows :— 
Year of Census. 
1871 
1875 
1880 
1885 
1890 
1895 
1900 
1905 
Population. 
68,229 
78,209 
95,135 
110,817 
138,954 
161,017 
206,913 
244,927 
Intercensal 
Increase. 
Intercensal Increase 
per cent. 
9,980 
16,926 
15,682 
28,137 
22,063 
45,896 
38,014 
14 6 
216 
16 5 
25 4 
15-9 
285 
18*4 
The following Table shows the mean annual birth-rates, death-rates and 
rates of infantile mortality during the period 1901-5 :— 
Year. 
Birth-rate per 1,000 
of Population. 
1901 
1902 
]903 
1904 
1905 
38-7 
36 8 
35 0 
35 7 
340 
Death-rate per 1,000 
of Population. 
24 2 
2T5 
212 
22 0 
202 
Infantile Mortality 
per 1,000 Births. 
344 
284 
291 
307 
286 
During the period both birth and death rates have declined considerably, 
the latter much more rapidly than the former. The fall in the death-rate is to a 
great extent to be attributed to the decline in the infant mortality rate. During 
1901-05 the annual number of infants dying before reaching one year of age for