Sister cities of Annaberg-Buchholz

Annaberg-Buchholz (German pronunciation: [ˈanabɛɐ̯k ˈbuːx.hɔlts]) is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, in the Ore Mountains, and is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis.

The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the Pöhlberg (832m above sea level). It has three Protestant churches, among them that of St. Anne's, built 1499-1525 (which is also the largest of its kind in the Federal State of Saxony), a Roman Catholic church, several public monuments, among them those of Luther, of the famous mathematician Adam Ries, and of Barbara Uthmann. Annaberg is well known for its historical old town and market square, the house Markt 2 shows the coat of arms of the family Apian-Bennewitz.

Annaberg, together with the neighbouring suburb, Buchholz, is the chief seat of the braid- and lace-making industry in Germany, introduced here by Barbara Uthmann in 1561, and further developed by Belgian refugees, who, driven from their country by the Duke of Alva, settled here in 1590. The mining industry, for which the town was formerly also famous and which embraced tin, silver and cobalt, has now ceased. A couple of mines have been restored after the break of the wall in 1989 and can be accessed by visitors. Annaberg has technical schools for lace-making, commerce and agriculture, in addition to high grade public schools for boys and girls.

In 1945 the two towns Annaberg and Buchholz merged into the new town Annaberg-Buchholz.