On September 12, 2026, the “European Peace Ride” will come to Glashütte and make a stop at the Watch Museum between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. This tour for cyclists is a new edition of the Peace Ride, which once thrilled an audience of millions. However, the European Peace Ride, which has been around since 2021, is not competitive in nature.
European Peace Ride: https://peace-ride.com/en
The connection between the Peace Ride and Glashütte already existed. On April 25 and 26, 1965, the GDR Peace Ride team led by its captain Klaus Ampler was a guest in our town. The background to this was the start of a major advertising campaign by the watch companies in Glashütte and Ruhla. The newly released wristwatch models “Spezimatic” from Glashütte and “Ruhla-electric” were tested by the drivers on the Peace Ride. The motto of the advertising campaign “Contact with Time” was also present everywhere during the tour: at all stage locations on flags, posters, boards, scoreboards as well as on the caps, race bags and food bags of the GDR team. Other advertising materials such as printed peaked caps, balloons, scarves, postcards and yo-yo games were distributed on site. A travelling exhibition of the watch industry was shown at the award ceremonies. The campaign was continued in the following years.
During the visit to Glashütte in 1965, the athletes did not miss the opportunity to take a look at the production of the VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe. Many onlookers followed a small peace ride from Schlottwitz to Glashütte, in which the Glashütte youth competed for victory. Dear readers: perhaps one of you was there at the time and can still remember this special visit. Share these memories with us and visit the peloton between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. at the refreshment and meeting station on the museum forecourt. At the same time, the museum is showing a small exhibition in the foyer with a number of photos and some exhibits that commemorate the visit 61 years ago.
