Zwickau, Germany

Zwickau is a city of about 92,000 residents on the Zwickauer Mulde river in Saxony, first documented in 1118. Coal was mined here from 1316 until 1978, and the city's automotive heritage runs deep: the Horch and Audi factories began building cars in 1904, the Auto Union consortium later evolved into Audi, and Volkswagen opened its Mosel plant in 1990, which now builds only the electric ID series. Composer Robert Schumann was born at Hauptmarkt 5 in 1810, and the 1910 Robert Schumann House museum preserves his letters and piano. The 1230 Saint Mary's Cathedral holds a 1479 altar by Michael Wolgemut, and the 1580 Priesterhäuser are the oldest surviving residential buildings in Saxony.