Artwork by Leunora Salihu adorns the former Hoheneck women's prison

The "Purple Path" project for the European Capital of Culture 2025 in Chemnitz has one more exhibit. The artwork "Bogen" by German-Kosovar artist Leunora Salihu now adorns the former Hoheneck women's prison in Stollberg. Saxony's Minister of Culture Barbara Klepsch (CDU) also attended the inauguration. The exhibit consists of hundreds of circular aluminum discs in the shape of an arch and was funded by the federal government and the Free State of Saxony.

Minister: Hoheneck is a memorial for democracy

"The former Hoheneck women's prison is not only a place of remembrance, but also a memorial for our democracy. The new work of art reflects this and points from the past remembered here to the future," emphasized Klepsch. Among other things, it encourages us to move forward courageously despite all adversity and to take action to prevent places like Hoheneck from re-emerging.

Leunora Salihu is a Kosovar-German sculptor and university lecturer. She studied at various art colleges in Germany and was a student of Tony Cragg, who also has a work of art on the Purple Path - the "Stack" in Aue-Bad Schlema.

Art trail to connect Chemnitz with 38 municipalities in the region

The "Purple Path" is being created as an art trail in the run-up to the Capital of Culture and is intended to connect the city of Chemnitz with 38 municipalities in the region. The artworks are by local and internationally renowned artists from the field of modern visual arts.

Hoheneck is now a memorial site that commemorates the once notorious women's prison in the GDR. In July of this year, Klepsch opened a permanent exhibition here with Federal President Franz-Walter Steinmeier. It focuses on the fates of former prisoners and tells the story of imprisoned women.