Zwickau - Guide for Gays, Lesbians and Queers

Queer life in Zwickau is organised mainly through community groups rather than bars and clubs. The central point of contact is the socio-cultural centre Alter Gasometer e.V. at Kleine Biergasse 3. It co-organises Zwickau Pride and hosts Queer Space Zwickau, the city's queer meetup.

Pride is run by a local alliance. Besides the Gasometer, the alliance includes Aidshilfe Westsachsen, Queer Space Zwickau, JACKT Zwickau, different people e.V., the project Queer durch Sachsen and Roter Baum e.V. For advice on sexual health, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, Aidshilfe Westsachsen is the local organisation to contact.

The march takes place on a Saturday at the end of August. It starts at the main railway station, stops at Neumarkt for an interim rally and ends at Kornmarkt, where a festival with a stage, speeches and music begins in the afternoon. It draws a few hundred people.

The city's only gay sauna is the Thermo Club Sauna at Leipziger Straße 40, north of the centre. Its two floors have a dry sauna, steam room, maze, whirlpool, TV lounge and bar. It is closed on Tuesdays; on other days it opens in the afternoon and stays open late at weekends.

With just under 88,000 residents, Zwickau is the fourth-largest city in Saxony. For a wider choice of queer bars and clubs, Leipzig and Chemnitz are the nearest options. Anyone looking to connect in Zwickau is best off starting with the Alter Gasometer's programme. Events and opening hours change more often in smaller cities, so it is worth checking the channels of the groups and the sauna before a visit.