Rotmilan: Twisted Peek
Oberlungwitz
The sculpture "Twisted Peek" by the Rotmilan group (Dominik Mendel, born 1986 in Freising and Toni Bettermann, born 1988 in Lichtenstein/Sa.) seems to draw on constructivism in its clear formal language.
Like the "towers" of the PURPLE PATH artists Frank Maibier in Lichtenau or Olaf Holzapfel on the Dittersdorfer Höhe, the sculpture leaves the city and appears "in the landscape", thus evoking works of art from American Land Art as well as the plein airs of the Clara Mosch group (1977 to 1982) working in Karl-Marx-Stadt, for example. In the open air, sign-like structures were created in trees or from collected wood, which, temporarily installed, pointed to wider contexts such as the environmental pollution that was also rampant in the GDR. The walk-in sculpture, made of light-coloured Douglas fir wood and with a tin roof, allows for a variety of associations, from a watchtower to a hunter's high stand. The four-metre-high space connected by a staircase becomes a picture gallery. Three narrow, horizontally mounted window-like showcases made of screen-printed panels reveal sections of the surrounding landscape.
The view is directed towards Oberlungwitz and further towards the Sachsenring, the traditional motorbike racing circuit between the "stocking town" and Hohenstein-Ernstthal. There have been small races here since the beginning of the 20th century, but the Sachsenring was established in 1927. The very first race attracted 140,000 spectators. In the early 1940s, the first high seats appeared at the track, which became fashionable and a mass phenomenon in the 1950s. Racing fans brought home-made and often adventurous-looking constructions with them: Stools, chairs, often just wooden planks were attached to high tubular or wooden frames, creating an overview for racing fans. In the 1960s, the often artistically constructed seating furniture came into its own; after a number of unfortunately serious accidents, they were banned at the beginning of the 1970s.
(Text: Alexander Ochs / Ulrike Pennewitz)
Rotmilan
Twisted Peek
In Oberlungwitz, Hirschgrund Oberlungwitz, height "Schöne Aussicht"
Material: wood
Erected with the support of the town of Oberlungwitz.
Address:
Hirschgrund Oberlungwitz
Höhe "Schöne Aussicht"
09353 Oberlungwitz
to the location on Google Maps
Oberlungwitz - From monastic origins to industrial town on the Sachsenring
Oberlungwitz, a town in western Saxony, looks back on a multi-layered history that combines monastic beginnings, industrious craftsmanship, industrial prosperity and modern transformation. Nestled in the gently rolling landscape of the foothills of the Ore Mountains, Oberlungwitz is best known today for the Sachsenring, which attracts over 250,000 fans from all over the world to the Motorcycle Grand Prix every July. However, the roots of the neighbouring town of Hohenstein-Ernstthal reach far back into the Middle Ages.
Monastic beginnings in the High Middle Ages
The first documented mention of Oberlungwitz dates back to 1273 and is associated with the founding of a branch of the Cistercian monastery in Grünhain, which was one of the most important spiritual and economic centres in the Ore Mountains. The monks had a decisive influence on the early development of the village: clearing, agriculture and settlement structure followed monastic forms of organisation. Spiritual life centred on the abbey church, which was the religious and social centre of the village for centuries. A successor building to the abbey church from the mid-18th century, St Martin's Church, still exists today.
Linen weaving as the basis of the early modern economy
In the 16th century, Oberlungwitz developed into a centre of linen weaving. For generations, home labour determined the everyday life of many families. Flax processing, spinning and weaving provided a modest but steady income and linked the town to supra-regional trade relations via the road between the economic centres of Chemnitz and Zwickau. Linen weaving laid the foundations for the textile expertise that would later lead Oberlungwitz to industrial importance. An important date in this development is 1731: in this year, Johann Emanuel Samuel Uhlig invested in the first hosiery loom in the region.
Rise of the hosiery industry in the 19th century:
From the 1880s, the profound change from artisanal to industrial textile production began. The hosiery industry established itself from the prospering hosiery knitters' guild. It quickly turned Oberlungwitz into one of the most important locations for this trade in Germany. Mechanical knitting looms increasingly replaced home-based work, five large factories were built in just a few years between 1886 and 1890 and characterised the townscape.
At the beginning of the 20th century, this development reached its peak with the Robert Götze hosiery knitting factory (founded in 1886), which was considered the largest hosiery factory in Germany in the 1930s. Up to 2,800 people were employed here. Oberlungwitz was an influx region, grew to 10,000 inhabitants and was granted town charter in 1936. Even though the golden age of the textile industry has long been history since the structural changes brought about by German reunification in 1990, the old Robert Götze hosiery factory is currently being revitalised.
Tip: Hohenstein-Ernstthal Textile and Racing Museum
There is an interesting exhibition area on the history of the West Saxon hosiery industry in the Textile and Racing Museum in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, the neighbouring town of Oberlungwitz. Not only are the historical hosiery products on display here, but working machines also give an impression of the working world of the time.
Window to the world: the Sachsenring and motorsport fan culture
Another formative chapter in the history of Oberlungwitz was opened in 1927 with the start of motorsport. The "1st Badberg Quadrilateral Race" for motorbikes, as it was called at the time, took place on 27 May 1927 with 140,000 spectators. The route was a city and country road circuit in and around Hohenstein-Ernstthal and Oberlungwitz.
A technophile fan culture was established during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era. The international highlight was the "Grand Prix of Europe" (1936, 1938), albeit under Nazi ideological auspices. From 1937, the circuit was known as the Sachsenring. Racing was suspended during and after the Second World War.
In the GDR, the Motorbike Grand Prix was one of the biggest international sporting events. The 1950 race with 480,000 fans and the world championship races from 1961 to 1972 were spectator magnets. Since the Wall was built in 1961, the Sachsenring was one of the few open windows to the world for GDR citizens. From 1973, the GDR government banned the participation of riders from Western countries.
After German reunification in 1990, the races were restarted with worldwide resonance. The international fan culture at the Sachsenring had survived the division of Europe. Thousands of fans from the region demonstrated peacefully in favour of the return of the Motorcycle Grand Prix. A strong signal to the world: the Sachsenring is open to everyone again. The Motorcycle Grand Prix has been held here without interruption since 1998. Thousands of fans every year make it one of the most popular racetracks in the world (2025 record: 256,441).
Tip: The "Legends at the Sachsenring" exhibition at the Hohenstein-Ernstthal Textile and Racing Museum is well worth a visit.
A major multicultural event
Fans from all over the world have been making the pilgrimage to Saxony every July for decades. Many bring their children to experience the unique fan culture at the Sachsenring. This family tradition shows that the Motorcycle Grand Prix is not only perceived as a sporting event, but also as an open, integrative and democratically orientated cultural festival across generations.
Numerous initiatives are involved in preserving history and festival tradition: historical motorbike exhibitions, vintage car parades, interviews with contemporary witnesses and mining music corps from the Ore Mountains at the opening ceremony. The German national anthem and Steigerlied, the famous anthem of the Erzgebirge mining region, at the foot of which lie Oberlungwitz and Hohenstein-Ernstthal.
Over almost 100 years, the Motorcycle Grand Prix has developed into an intercultural festival where fans of all ages, nationalities, genders and religions celebrate and talk shop together, cultivate friendships and cheer on their motorsport idols. The fan culture at the Sachsenring makes the Motorcycle Grand Prix Germany's biggest single-sport event.
Making the future: A typical mentality in western Saxony
Innovation and a sense of tradition, openness and immigration have always ensured survival in western Saxony. All of this bears witness to many transformation processes that reach far back into history and in some cases continue to this day. The region has always been on the move. People came and went with the economic ups and downs, reinvented themselves culturally and further developed crafts and technology. This is still the case today.
From stocking factory to creative space: ROGO 100 for start-ups, creatives and urban makers
The monumental brick building of the former Robert Götze stocking factory is still a striking testimony to the industrialisation of western Saxony in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is currently being converted into a modern location for lofts, flats and commercial units such as offices, practices and restaurants by Property-Pool Spreewald GmbH from Cottbus, a subsidiary of the Swiss Volare Group. The investors want the industrial icon to become a new driving force for urban development as ROGO100. According to the project website, the spirit of work, tradition and innovation should also be expressed in the current transformation.
Fan culture at the Sachsenring to become intangible cultural heritage
Sachsenring Event GmbH as the organiser of the MotoGP and the Chemnitz Zwickau Region Tourism Association as a regional multiplier initiated an application to register the "fan culture at the Sachsenring" as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2025.
Both organisations bring together a broad alliance of regional stakeholders who have set themselves the goal of preserving the intergenerational, international and peaceful fan culture at the Sachsenring as a valuable cultural heritage. Since the race track was founded in 1927, the fan culture has survived political upheavals and characterised the region's identity and attitude to life.
The application for entry in the national register of intangible cultural heritage was officially submitted to the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism at the end of October 2025.
