Agriculture plays an important role in the region, because the Loess soil around the city is very fertile.
69% of the municipal territory is in agricultural use, both for cultivation and cattle farming.
A famous product of the region is Altenburger Ziegenkäse, a soft cheese of goat milk with some caraway seed inside with protected Geographical indication.
Another typical dish of Altenburg is Mutzbraten, a flame-grilled pork speciality.
Altenburg is also known for its mustard, which is produced by Altenburger Senf und Feinkost.
Altenburger beer also enjoys some popularity.

The industry of Altenburg was based on the production of textiles and hardware during the 19th and 20th century, but most of the companies did not survive the transition to capitalism after German reunification.
Altenburg was especially known for its sewing machine production from companies like Vesta.
Today, the main branches are food industries (with a factory of Vion NV amongst others) and engineering with car component production in focus.
The Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur produced the Gumpert Apollo supercar between 2005 and its bankruptcy in 2013.
Altenburg is also noted for produced playing cards.
The Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik (playing card factory) was founded in 1831; today it is a subsidiary company of Cartamundi and market leader in Germany.
In 2012, there were 19 companies with more than 20 workers in industrial sector, employing 1,400 people and generating an overall turnover of €451 million.

Altenburg is a regional service hub for retail, hospitals, government, culture etc.
Tourism doesn't play a big role, although the city hosts many historic sights and is a local center of culture with theater and museums.
In 2012, 37,000 hotel guests had 87,000 overnight stays in Altenburg.
Agriculture plays an important role in the region, because the Loess soil around the city is very fertile. 69% of the municipal territory is in agricultural use, both for cultivation and cattle farming. A famous product of the region is Altenburger Ziegenkäse, a soft cheese of goat milk with some caraway seed inside with protected Geographical indication. Another typical dish of Altenburg is Mutzbraten, a flame-grilled pork speciality. Altenburg is also known for its mustard, which is produced by Altenburger Senf und Feinkost. Altenburger beer also enjoys some popularity.
The industry of Altenburg was based on the production of textiles and hardware during the 19th and 20th century, but most of the companies did not survive the transition to capitalism after German reunification. Altenburg was especially known for its sewing machine production from companies like Vesta. Today, the main branches are food industries (with a factory of Vion NV amongst others) and engineering with car component production in focus. The Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur produced the Gumpert Apollo supercar between 2005 and its bankruptcy in 2013. Altenburg is also noted for produced playing cards. The Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik (playing card factory) was founded in 1831; today it is a subsidiary company of Cartamundi and market leader in Germany. In 2012, there were 19 companies with more than 20 workers in industrial sector, employing 1,400 people and generating an overall turnover of €451 million.
Altenburg is a regional service hub for retail, hospitals, government, culture etc. Tourism doesn't play a big role, although the city hosts many historic sights and is a local center of culture with theater and museums. In 2012, 37,000 hotel guests had 87,000 overnight stays in Altenburg.
Altenburg