Wurzen

Wurzen

Coat of arms
Wurzen
Location of Wurzen within Leipzig district
Coordinates: 51°22′N 12°43′E / 51.367°N 12.717°E / 51.367; 12.717Coordinates: 51°22′N 12°43′E / 51.367°N 12.717°E / 51.367; 12.717
Country Germany
State Saxony
District Leipzig
Government
 • Mayor Jörg Röglin (Ind.)
Area
 • Total 68.54 km2 (26.46 sq mi)
Elevation 124 m (407 ft)
Population (2017-12-31)[1]
 • Total 16,220
 • Density 240/km2 (610/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 04808
Dialling codes 03425, 034261
Vehicle registration L, BNA, GHA, GRM, MTL, WUR
Website www.wurzen.de

Wurzen (German pronunciation: [ˈvʊɐ̯tsn̩]) is a town in the Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Mulde, here crossed by two bridges, 25 km east of Leipzig, by rail N.E. of Leipzig on the main line via Riesa to Dresden. It has a cathedral dating from the twelfth century, a castle, at one time a residence of the bishops of Meissen and later utilized as law courts, several schools, an agricultural college and as a police station including a prison.

History

Founded after 600 by Slavs, Wurzen is first mentioned in the act of donation from Otto I in 961 as a "Burgward" civitas vurcine. Situated in the "anderen Gau Neletici", it was a town early in the twelfth century when Herwig, bishop of Meissen, founded a Collegiate church here. In 1581 it passed to the elector of Saxony. During the Thirty Years' War (1637) it was sacked by the Swedish army and almost burned down completely.

In 1768 Goethe travelled from Leipzig to Dresden and back through Wurzen. The long waiting for the ferry inspired him later a passage in his first edition of Faust.

On 31 July 1838 Wurzen was connected with Wurzen railway station to the first German long distance railway (Leipzig–Dresden, opened 7 April 1839). Therefore, the first German railway bridge was constructed to cross the Mulde.

Like in comparable cities of the former GDR, the city saw right-wing influence and right-wing motivated violence in the 1990s. However, there has been an active network of antifascist groups, civil society groups for democracy and church-related groups working against this - also with the support of the city administration.

Via regia and Central German St. James Way


Wurzen is located on the central German route of the St. James pilgrims way to Santiago de Compostela, the so called Camino de Santiago. It follows the old Via Regia street which has been designated a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe in 2005.

International relations

Wurzen is twinned with:

Economy

A commercial main focus is the production of pastries and candies. Furthermore, there are several high-performance medium-sized businesses in mechanical engineering and some specialty companies in town (conveying machinery, lighting design, production of felt).

Main sights

  • Collegiate church St. Marien (Cathedral, consecrated in 1114). Romanesque up to late Gothic architecture (1508). Large ensemble of bronze sculptures from Georg Wrba (1932)
  • Lutheran Church St. Wenceslai (16th/17th century)
  • Catholic Church Herz-Jesu (consecrated in 1902), in Neo-Romanesque style.
  • Castle of Wurzen (from 1497 to 1581 occasionally residence of the Bishop of Dresden-Meissen), an example of late Gothic architecture
  • House Lossow (historico-cultural museum with an exhibition Ringelnatz art). Mannerism/ Baroque (1668)
  • Birthplace of the fabulist Magnus Gottfried Lichtwer at Cathedrals square (17th century)
  • Birthplace of Joachim Ringelnatz (17th/18th century).
  • Fountain at the marketplace in honour of Joachim Ringelnatz (1983), it shows Ringelnatz on a Seahorse.
  • Former post-office of the Electorate of Saxony with emblem adorned gate (1734).
  • Postal column (miles distance column) (1724) (re-erected in 1984).
  • Classicistical City hall (after a fire 1803). Today library and gallery of the town.
  • Former (royal) Gymnasium (1883) with mural paintings from Max Seliger.
  • Memorial for the dead soldiers of World War I in the former old cemetery (bronze sculpture from Georg Wrba 1930).
  • Pesthäuschen, memorial for the victims of the Bubonic plague 1607 (17th century) in the former old cemetery.
  • Memorial for the victims of Fascism and the deads of the long march (1945) in the new cemetery.
  • Memorial place for the soldiers of the Red Army and Albert Kuntz in the municipal park (1974).
  • Commemorative plaque for the victims of Stalinism in the castle courtyard (2005).
  • Millenniums stone (Badergraben) (2000).
  • Cityscape dominating buildings of the mill (Mühlgraben) (1917–1925).
  • Former North-station of the "Muldentalbahn" (1875), today Magistrates' Court.
  • Water tower of the former municipal waterworks (1893).
  • Imperial post office with telegraph station tower (1890/91).
  • Bismarck tower on the Wachtelberg hill (Dehnitz, 1911).

Notable residents

Magnus Gottfreid Lichtwer
Otto Georg Thierack

Persons with relation to Wurzen

Wilhelm Hasenclever

References

  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wurzen". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  1. ↑ "Aktuelle Einwohnerzahlen nach Gemeinden 2017] (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)" (PDF). Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen (in German). October 2018.
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