Welcome to Johanngeorgenstadt

The city of the candle arch

Johanngeorgenstadt 2054

Dear citizens of Johanngeorgenstadt,

In May 2024, the City Council adopted the new “Integrated Urban Development Concept” (INSEK) for Johanngeorgenstadt. It is now available for download on our website for all interested residents.
This concept is the result of intensive efforts, numerous discussions, and above all, dedicated collaboration between the city administration, city council members, local businesses, social institutions, and you—the residents who are the heart and soul of our city. We would like to thank all those who contributed their time, expertise, and passion to the INSEK process. The collaboration with our dedicated residents, local businesses, experts from various fields, and our city administration has helped us develop a concept built on diverse perspectives and ideas.

From the Integrated Urban Development

Concept to Municipal Land-Use PlanningThis urban development concept is merely an initial—albeit important—foundation for future decisions on how we will address the diverse challenges facing Johanngeorgenstadt.
The process leading to the urban development concept cannot and should not end with the city council’s resolution. Rather, the informal planning of the urban development concept must be continued as a guiding framework for the municipality and given a binding character through municipal land-use planning. The city council laid the groundwork for this with its resolution to adopt a land-use plan on December 14, 2023. Municipal land-use
planning is one of the mandatory self-governing tasks of a municipality. The formal planning of municipal land-use plans is structured in two stages: the preparatory land-use plan, which is binding on the authorities, and the development plans, which are binding on everyone.

The land-use plan (FNP) serves as a preparatory, overarching plan that outlines the intended use of the entire municipal area.

Why is a land use plan so important?

The land use plan is the most important planning tool used at the municipal level in Germany. It serves as the basis for the spatial planning of a city or municipality and specifies how the land within the respective area is to be used.

A land use plan offers numerous advantages for urban development. It creates transparency and planning certainty for investors, facilitates approval procedures for builders and coordination among the various stakeholders in urban development, and ensures the long-term and sustainable development of the city. Furthermore, a land use plan can help prevent urban conflicts in advance and enables the implementation of an effective urban development policy that meets the needs of the population.

How can I, as a citizen, participate in the creation of the land use plan?For most residents, the creation

of a land use plan typically remains very abstract and inaccessible. Formal participation in land use planning is also usually insufficient, as only a few stakeholders possess the necessary expertise and can actively engage in the processes. We want to change that!

With our “Johanngeorgenstadt2054” project, we aim to open up the upcoming planning process and give as many residents and stakeholders in Johanngeorgenstadt as possible the opportunity to participate. At our kickoff event on October 4, 2024, we provided information about the upcoming planning process and its content together with our project partners and planners. In the coming weeks and months, we intend to develop ideas for the future of the city through a series of informative and creative dialogue events—together with the residents. With the help of the expertise of our project partners—the Technical University of Dresden, the Chemnitz Office for Urban Development, and the “fuhr & rausch” team—we aim to incorporate your ideas into the land-use planning process.

We hope that many of you will take the opportunity to actively participate in shaping the future of our town. Let us work together to turn your ideas and wishes for the development of Johanngeorgenstadt into reality.

Your mayor

André Oswald

  • Visions of the future for Johanngeorgenstadt: TU Dresden students present innovative concepts

    Dresden, February 6, 2025 – As part of the project “Johanngeorgenstadt 54 – Shaping Our Own Future,” students from TU Dresden hosted a presentation of their work on Thursday. The event offered fascinating insights into creative urban planning and innovative concepts for the future of our city.

    Amazed guests and an impressive 3D
    modelAmong the guests were representatives from Johanngeorgenstadt: Mayor André Oswald, Head of the Municipal Administration Jana Busch, Michelle Hof, Managing Director of SEJ-Johanngeorgenstadt, as well as Norbert Nitschke, Managing Director of Wohnbau Johanngeorgenstadt GmbH, and Thomas Naumann, Managing Partner of Büros für Städtebau GmbH Chemnitz. Also present were Dr. Vock Alexander and Mr. Heiko Vogt from the Saxon State Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development.

    A highlight of the presentation was the life-size 3D model of Johanngeorgenstadt designed by the students. This model clearly illustrated the locations of the 14 projects developed. The ideas ranged from sustainable infrastructure measures and innovative plans for repurposing vacant buildings to cultural and social projects.

    Creative Project Presentations and Professional Exchange
    :     Prof. Melanie Humann from the Institute for Urban and Regional Planning at TU Dresden introduced the overall project and provided an overview of the three future scenarios developed, within which the students’ individual projects are situated. The students then presented their projects, which were evaluated by representatives of the department. The guests in attendance were also actively involved: Mayor André Oswald and Thomas Naumann shared their assessments, drawing on their local experiences and expertise.

    Looking to the Future: Public Participation Event in MayThe
     presentation vividly demonstrated how creatively and forward-thinking the students at TU Dresden approach urban development. Their ideas could provide impetus for the positive development of Johanngeorgenstadt.

    In this context, it is important to note that preparations are currently underway for the public participation event scheduled for May 17, 2025, at the “Franz-Mehring” sports facility. There, interested citizens will be able to learn about the current status of the project and actively participate through a simulation exercise. An invitation with detailed information about the event will be published in the official gazette in due course.

    The “Johanngeorgenstadt 54 – A Self-Determined Path to the Future” project remains an exciting endeavor that demonstrates how interdisciplinary collaboration between academia, city government, and citizens can set the course for an innovative and sustainable future.

  • "Thinking ahead together" - Johanngeorgenstadt confidently shapes the future

    View of the participants at the "Thinking ahead together" event
    Daniela Schleich

    On May 17, 2025, another event was held as part of the “Johanngeorgenstadt 54:
    A Self-Determined Future” project. Many residents accepted the invitation to come together and discuss ideas for the development of their town. The high turnout underscored the great interest in actively shaping the future.

    Visit by the Minister-PresidentA
    highlight at the start of the event was the visit by Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer, who opened the event together with Mayor André Oswald. Afterward, he spoke with Mayor André Oswald on the sidelines of the event about the city’s future prospects. The discussion focused on topics such as the strained financial situation of local governments as well as development prospects for Johanngeorgenstadt.

    Student Projects and Citizen Participation
    : One component of the event was the presentation of visionary future projects for Johanngeorgenstadt, developed by students from TU Dresden. The diverse projects and visions are on display until further notice at the former Kaufring location on Ladenstraße. In conjunction
    with this, the brochure “Glück auf Zukunft” is available at City Hall and other public locations. It presents all the projects in detail and includes a questionnaire that allows interested residents of Johanngeorgenstadt to contribute further ideas to the overall project “Johanngeorgenstadt 54: Self-Determined into the Future.”

    Simulation Exercise: Results to
    FollowWith strong participation from those in attendance, a simulation exercise—a central element of the event and part of an innovative citizen participation process—was conducted. Using artistic methods, the exercise aims to initiate change, spark dialogue among citizens, gather feedback, and encourage the transformation of concepts into concrete implementations. The evaluation of the insights gained is currently underway at “artistik toolkit” Fuhr and Rausch in Dresden, who also developed the simulation game. The results will be published in the Stadtblatt and on the Munipolis portal once the analysis is complete.

    The simulation game was played in groups, with each group representing a citizens' council. Equipped with limited resources, the participants had to decide on proposed projects in a fictitious community that would improve quality of life, economic strength and environmental sustainability.

    However, it quickly became apparent that not all projects had the hoped-for positive effects in the various areas or in terms of public perception. The game was made particularly tricky by the fact that some highly popular projects became extremely cost-intensive in the long term and were therefore not feasible in the long term. Conversely, there were surprisingly inexpensive projects that generated extraordinarily high added value.

    The aim was to lead the fictitious community into an economically stable and liveable future - a challenge that was actually successfully mastered by several groups.

    A strong signal

    The event showed that Johanngeorgenstadt is not just thinking about its future - the town is actively tackling it. The insights gained from the project "Johanngeorgenstadt 54 self-determined into the future" serve as a concrete basis for future decisions, investments and developments in Johanngeorgenstadt. They point to what the future could look like in order to find ways to implement it together, step by step. After all, it is about the future quality of life and prospects for our town - and not least about freeing Johanngeorgenstadt from prevailing constraints and making it more self-determined and capable of taking action.

    Thanks to the commitment of citizens, science and politics, the town can tackle the challenges ahead with determination in order to lead Johanngeorgenstadt into a future worth living.

    For more information and to obtain the brochure, please visit City Hall or go online to https://johanngeorgenstadt.munipolis.de/p/jgs54


  • Three projects as favorites for Johanngeorgenstadt's future - evaluation of the simulation game

    On May 17, 2025, a citizen participation event with an innovative simulation game took place in Johanngeorgenstadt (a detailed report was published in the official gazette on June 11, 2025). In this game, around 100 citizens were able to discuss 14 future project ideas at several tables, evaluate them, award fictitious budget points and "implement" projects in a simulated city council round. The evaluation of these simulation game results now available clearly shows which ideas the participants consider to be particularly promising for Johanngeorgenstadt's future. Three projects in particular scored best in almost all categories and are therefore regarded as the citizens' favorites. In the following, we present these three top ideas, explain their strengths and why citizens consider them to be particularly promising for the future.

    1. “Boundlessly Interconnected” Project: This initiative aims to bring Johanngeorgenstadt closer together as a city that transcends borders. Our town lies right on the Czech border—so why stop at the border when we can achieve more together? That’s exactly what many participants apparently thought: “Johanngeorgenstadt lies in two countries at the same time... but on a human level, they are already closely intertwined,” as the project description aptly puts it. The proposal is to transform today’s unremarkable border area into a vibrant meeting place. This concept is intended to promote cross-border cooperation between German and Czech neighbors. In the simulation exercise, “grenzenlos verwoben” received the most “investment” budget points of all projects and was selected most frequently by the groups for implementation. It also scored excellently in the expert project evaluation. Citizens thus see great potential here for international networking, new spaces for interaction, and shared amenities—a win for quality of life and cross-border cooperation.
    2. “Sommerfrische” Project: The name “Sommerfrische” evokes nostalgic images of cool summer getaways in the mountains—and that is precisely what this project idea builds upon. Its goal is to boost tourism and recreation in Johanngeorgenstadt year-round. The Ore Mountains are already a popular travel destination, but there is still untapped potential in the area. Our town’s cool, high-altitude climate could once again become a major asset in the face of climate change, as stressed-out city dwellers seek relief from the heat and a connection to nature during the summer. Proposed measures include a forest campground, an attractive natural swimming area (outdoor pool), and new recreational offerings for both summer and winter, linked by better trails and improved access. Through the careful development of tourism, Johanngeorgenstadt aims to attract more visitors without harming nature. In the simulation exercise, “Summer Retreat” was the most convincing from a technical standpoint: It received the highest overall rating from participants in the impact analysis (i.e., this project is expected to have the greatest positive effects on quality of life, economic strength, and utilization). At the same time, it was selected for implementation very frequently during the simulation rounds. Citizens therefore place great trust in this concept because it builds on our strengths—nature, climate, and recreation—and views sustainable tourism as an opportunity for the future.
    3. The “Work-Holz-Balance” Project: Behind this catchy name lies a concept that aims to bring together work, innovation, and tradition in Johanngeorgenstadt. “Work-Holz-Balance” alludes to the fact that wood has a long tradition in the Ore Mountains as a regional raw material and building material—and that it also holds economic opportunities for the future. According to the concept, this project combines sustainability, community, and innovation—for a livable future in the forest. “Work-Holz-Balance” was also very well received in the simulation game: Many groups selected it for implementation, and participants allocated numerous budget points to it; in the overall ranking of all criteria, it achieved an outstanding third place. From the citizens’ perspective, this idea is therefore considered particularly promising for the future because it could bring new jobs and young people to the city, combines traditional woodworking expertise with modern concepts, and thus boosts both the local economy and quality of life.

    Conclusion: The analysis of the simulation exercise provides a clear indication of which projects the citizens believe should be prioritized for Johanngeorgenstadt. From the citizens’ perspective, “Boundless Connections,” “Summer Retreat,” and “Work-Forest-Balance” bring together key future themes: cross-border cooperation, tourism appeal, and economic innovation rooted in tradition. These results will now serve as guidelines for the city council and city administration. The city of Johanngeorgenstadt will take the findings seriously and do its utmost to explore how these ideas can be developed into concrete projects. All citizens are cordially invited to continue actively shaping this path—with ideas, feedback, and commitment.

    Click here to download the "Glück Auf Zukunft" newsletter, which includes all 14 project ideas.

    You can find the overall evaluation of the simulation game here: