Crimmitschau (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁɪmɪtʃaʊ]) is a town in the district of Zwickau in Saxony, Germany.

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Crimmitschau
Town
June 2004 aerial photograph of Mannichswalde, which is part of Crimmitschau,
Coat of arms
Location of Crimmitschau within Zwickau district
Crimmitschau Show map of Germany Crimmitschau Show map of Saxony
Coordinates: 50°49′5″N 12°23′15″E
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Zwickau
Subdivisions	13
Government
• Mayor (2017–24)	André Raphael[1] (CDU)
Area
• Total	61.04 km2 (23.57 sq mi)
Elevation	273 m (896 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	18,567
• Density	300/km2 (790/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	08451
Dialling codes	03762
Vehicle registration	Z
Website	www.crimmitschau.de

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Crimmitschau lies on the river Pleiße in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains.

In the course of German eastward expansion, the city of Crimmitschau and a castle of the same name (now called the Schweinsburg) were established from around 1170 to 1200 as an organized German colony. The settlement's existence is first documented in 1212. In 1414 Crimmitschau received town privileges from Markgraf Wilhelm II.

On 15 March 1844, Crimmitschau was connected to the German rail network (on the Leipzig–Hof railway, which was later extended to Bavaria). Its current station was opened in 1873

Around the turn of the century, Crimmitschau was the site of a large concentrated textile industry, and was called "The City of 100 chimneys" (Stadt der 100 Schornsteine).

From August 22, 1903, to January 18, 1904, it was the site of one of the largest and longest strikes in the German Empire, which affected the entire nation.

In 1944, some Crimmitschau property was bombed by Allied Forces.

At the end of the 1980s, a great part of the old and inner cities were torn down and replaced with prefabricated concrete buildings. Similar plans existed for the southern suburb, but were not put in place after the regime change in 1990.

Crimmitschau is twinned with:^[4]

• Bystřice nad Pernštejnem, Czech Republic
• Wiehl, Germany

Landmarks include the town hall, the late Gothic parish church of Saint Laurentius (Saint Lawrence)(1513), with its star and cross ribbed arches, the former Cistercian nunnery of Frankenhausen Abbey (founded around 1290) in the district of Frankenhausen and the open-air museum of Blankenhain Castle located at the castle of the same name.

Crimmitschau has a well-known ice hockey club, the ETC Crimmitschau, which plays in the second highest German league. The city also has a soccer team, FC Crimmitschau and an American Football Team, the Tornados Crimmitschau.

Crimmitschau lies directly at the Autobahn A4 and can be reached through the exits Schmölln and Meerane. The Deutsche Bahn AG provides connections from Crimmitschau station to Zwickau, Leipzig, Hof.

• Julius Motteler (1838–1907), Reichstag deputy, co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
• Adolf Paul Schulze (1840–1891), emigrated to Scotland and became a successful merchant and noted microscopist
• Heinrich Mauersberger (1909–1982), engineer and inventor in the textile industry
• Helmut Bräutigam (1914–1942), composer
• Gerhard Zwerenz (1925–2015), writer and former Bundestag deputy
• Peter Graf (born 1937), painter
• Wolf-Dieter Storl (born 1942), ethnobotanist and author
• Klaus Gruner (born 1954), handball player, Olympic champion 1980
• Udo Kießling (born 1955), ice hockey player
• Gabi Zange (born 1961), speed skater