On 23 April 1990, a referendum on the future name of the city was held: 76% of the voters voted for the old name "Chemnitz".
On 1 June 1990, the city was officially renamed.

After the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990, the city of Chemnitz faced several difficult tasks.
Many inhabitants migrated to the former West Germany and unemployment in the region increased sharply; in addition Chemnitz did not have adequate shopping facilities, but this was increasingly demanded.
Large shopping centers were constructed on the city periphery to the early 1990s.

Chemnitz is the only major German city whose centre was re-planned after 1990, similar to the reconstruction of several other German cities in the immediate post-war years.
Plans for the recovery of a compressed city centre around the historic town hall in 1991 led to an urban design competition.
This was announced internationally by the city and carried out with the help of the partner city of Düsseldorf.
The mooted project on an essentially unused area of the former city would be comparable in circumference with the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.

Numerous internationally renowned architects such as Hans Kollhoff, Helmut Jahn and Christoph Ingenhoven provided designs for a new city centre.
The mid-1990s began the development of the inner city brownfields around the town hall to a new town.
In Chemnitz city more than 66,000 square meters of retail space have emerged.
With the construction of office and commercial building on the construction site "B3" at the Düsseldorf court, the last gap in 2010 was closed in city centre image.
The intensive development included demolition of partially historically valuable buildings from the period and was controversial.
Between 1990 and 2007 more than 250 buildings were leveled.

In late August 2018 the city was the site of a series of protests that attracted at least 8,000 people.
The protests were also attended by some far-right and Neo-Nazi groups.
News outlets reported about mob violence and riots.
The protests started after two immigrants were arrested in connection with the murder of Daniel H., a 35 year old Cuban-German man, which had happened on 26 August.
Violent clashes occurred between far-right protesters and far-left counter protesters, leading to injuries.
The mobs outnumbered the local police presence.
There were reports that rightist protesters chased down dark skinned bystanders and those that appeared to be foreigners on the streets before more police arrived and intervened.
The riots were widely condemned by media outlets and politicians throughout Germany, and were "described as reminiscent of civil war and Nazi pogroms."

The reports of mob violence and riots were criticized as incorrect later on.
The German language Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung corrected its earlier reports, stating that there had evidently been no mob violence but there have been sporadic encroachments.
Minister President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer came to the same conclusion: "there were no mobs and man hunts".

One week after the protests, a free "Concert against the Right" under the motto "We are more" (#wirsindmehr) attracted an audience of some 65,000 people.
A one-minute silence commemorated Daniel H., the Cuban-German man killed.
The concert itself has been criticized for far-left activities and violent song texts of some of the participating bands.
On 23 April 1990, a referendum on the future name of the city was held: 76% of the voters voted for the old name "Chemnitz". On 1 June 1990, the city was officially renamed.
After the reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990, the city of Chemnitz faced several difficult tasks. Many inhabitants migrated to the former West Germany and unemployment in the region increased sharply; in addition Chemnitz did not have adequate shopping facilities, but this was increasingly demanded. Large shopping centers were constructed on the city periphery to the early 1990s.
Chemnitz is the only major German city whose centre was re-planned after 1990, similar to the reconstruction of several other German cities in the immediate post-war years. Plans for the recovery of a compressed city centre around the historic town hall in 1991 led to an urban design competition. This was announced internationally by the city and carried out with the help of the partner city of Düsseldorf. The mooted project on an essentially unused area of the former city would be comparable in circumference with the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.
Numerous internationally renowned architects such as Hans Kollhoff, Helmut Jahn and Christoph Ingenhoven provided designs for a new city centre. The mid-1990s began the development of the inner city brownfields around the town hall to a new town. In Chemnitz city more than 66,000 square meters of retail space have emerged. With the construction of office and commercial building on the construction site "B3" at the Düsseldorf court, the last gap in 2010 was closed in city centre image. The intensive development included demolition of partially historically valuable buildings from the period and was controversial. Between 1990 and 2007 more than 250 buildings were leveled.
In late August 2018 the city was the site of a series of protests that attracted at least 8,000 people. The protests were also attended by some far-right and Neo-Nazi groups. News outlets reported about mob violence and riots. The protests started after two immigrants were arrested in connection with the murder of Daniel H., a 35 year old Cuban-German man, which had happened on 26 August. Violent clashes occurred between far-right protesters and far-left counter protesters, leading to injuries. The mobs outnumbered the local police presence. There were reports that rightist protesters chased down dark skinned bystanders and those that appeared to be foreigners on the streets before more police arrived and intervened. The riots were widely condemned by media outlets and politicians throughout Germany, and were "described as reminiscent of civil war and Nazi pogroms."
The reports of mob violence and riots were criticized as incorrect later on. The German language Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung corrected its earlier reports, stating that there had evidently been no mob violence but there have been sporadic encroachments. Minister President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer came to the same conclusion: "there were no mobs and man hunts".
One week after the protests, a free "Concert against the Right" under the motto "We are more" (#wirsindmehr) attracted an audience of some 65,000 people. A one-minute silence commemorated Daniel H., the Cuban-German man killed. The concert itself has been criticized for far-left activities and violent song texts of some of the participating bands.
Chemnitz