Zwickau - Economic History

Economic History

Hard-coal mining is mentioned as early as 1348. However, mining on an industrial scale first started in the early 19th century. The hard-coal mines of Zwickau, and the neighbouring Oelsnitz-Lugau coalfield contributed significantly to the industrialisation of the region and the town.

Many industrial branches developed in the town in the wake of the hard-coal mining industry: mining equipment, iron and steel works, textile, machinery in addition to chemical, porcelain, paper, glass, dyestuffs, wire goods, tinware, stockings, and curtains. There were also steam saw-mills, diamond and glass polishing works, iron-foundries, and breweries.

In 1904 the Horch automobile plant was founded, followed by Audi factory in 1909. In 1932 both brands were incorporated into the Auto Union but retained their independent trademarks. The racing cars of the Auto Union, developed by Ferdinand Porsche and Robert Eberan von Eberhorst, driven by Bernd Rosemeyer, Hans Stuck, Tazio Nuvolari, Ernst von Delius, became well known all over the world. During WWII, the Nazi government operated a satellite camp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp in Zwickau which was sited near the Horch Auto Union plant. The Nazi administration installed a hard labour punishment camp at the Osterstein Castle. Both camps were liberated by US Army in 1945. After WWII, from August 1, 1945, the military administration was taken over from the US by the Soviet Army. The Auto Union factories of Horch and Audi were disassembled by the Russians. In 1948 all large companies were expropriated by the East German administration.

With the founding of the German Democratic Republic in 1949 in East Germany, the difficult post-war reconstruction began. In 1958 the Horch and Audi factories were merged into the Sachsenring plant. At the Sachsenring automotive plant the compact Trabant cars were manufactured. These small cars had a two-cylinder, two-stroke engine. The car was the first vehicle in the world to be industrially manufactured with a plastic car body.

For a long period of its history, the Zwickau was the centre of hard-coal mining. In 1885 Carl Wolf invented an improved gas-detecting safety mining-lamp. He held the first world patent for it. Together with his business partner Friemann he founded the "Friemann & Wolf" factory. The plant was one of the first Germany global players in the 19th century. Coal mining was abandoned for economical reasons in 1978 after about 230 millions tonnes had been mined from the Carboniferous deposit to depths of over 1,000 metres. However, Zwickau remained a mining-related town until 1992 when the last coke oven plant operating in the town was closed. The closure of the plant marked the historical end of 700 years of hard-coal industry in Saxony.

Two major industrial facilities of the Soviet SDAG Wismut were situated in the city: the uranium mill in Zwickau-Crossen, producing uranium concentrate (so called "yellow cake") from ores of mines in the Erzgebirge and Thuringia, and the machine building plant in Zwickau-Cainsdorf producing various equipment for the uranium mines and mills of East Germany. Uranium milling ended in 1989, and after the reunification the Wismut machine building plant was sold to a private investor.