Plauen (German pronunciation: [ˈplaʊən];[3][4] Upper Sorbian: Pławno; Czech: Plavno) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000.

The city lies on the upper reaches of the White Elster River, a tributary of the Saale, in the Central Vogtlandian Hill Country.

The exposé Fast Food Nation gives special mention to Plauen as the first city of the GDR to have a McDonald's restaurant following the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

As part of Saxony's local government reform of July 1st 2008, Plauen lost its status as a district-free city and was integrated into the Vogtlandkreis district.

[12] The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Rolf Magerkord [de] of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served from 1990 to 2000.

[1] The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows: Plauen (Vogtland) Oberer Bahnhof lies on the Leipzig–Hof line.

Vogtlandbahn (Vogtland Railway), a regional train company, operates services from Plauen to Hof, Werdau, Chemnitz, Zwickau, Falkenstein and Adorf within Germany and Cheb in the Czech Republic.

At these stations, there are other Vogtlandbahn services to Munich, Regensburg, Marktredwitz, Dresden and Leipzig within Germany and Karlovy Vary and Prague in the Czech Republic.

A Vogtlandbahn Express Bus service runs between Plauen and Berlin Schönefeld Airport and Zoological Garden.

The Plauen Straßenbahn is a tram system with 6 lines connecting the center of city, the central Plauen-Tunnel stop, to the surrounding areas and the upper railway station (Oberer Bahnhof).