One of the most striking buildings of Zwickau's city centre is the Gewandhaus situated directly next to the town hall. The building, constructed between 1522 to 1525 in the renaissance style, was used first as store and guildhall by cloth-maker masters. It testifies the city's affluence and self-confidence of the cloth-makers informertimes.

Image Copyright: Wolfgang Buttkus

The splendid top of the 'Gewandhaus' shows the cloth-makers guild emblem, "spectacles or scissors". At the beginning of the 19th-century the Gewandhaus was used more and more as venue for theatre presentations. With theconstructing ofa theatre hall the building was finally officially declared town theatre in 1883. Rebuilding to keep up with the times took place in the following years. The 'Gewandhaus' meets the requirements of a modern theatreof today's times.