Rackwitz

Rackwitz is a municipality in the district of Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany.

For the German politician, see Werner Rackwitz.
Rackwitz
Coat of arms
Location of Rackwitz within Nordsachsen district
Rackwitz
Rackwitz
Coordinates: 51°26′N 12°23′E
CountryGermany
StateSaxony
DistrictNordsachsen
Subdivisions7
Government
 • MayorManfred Freigang
Area
 • Total39.92 km2 (15.41 sq mi)
Elevation
129 m (423 ft)
Population
 (2018-12-31)[1]
 • Total5,030
 • Density130/km2 (330/sq mi)
Time zoneCET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes
04519
Dialling codes034294, 034202
Vehicle registrationTDO, DZ, EB, OZ, TG, TO

Geography

Site, situation and location

Rackwitz is about 10 km north of Leipzig and 13 km south of Delitzsch.

The surrounding landscape belongs to the Leipzig Bay and is drained by the river Lober, a tributary of the Mulde. The lakes Schladitzer See and Werbeliner See, which were created from disused open-cast mines, are situated nearby.

Leipzig Trade Fair Center and Leipzig/Halle Airport are also in the vicinity.

Villages

Rackwitz municipality contains the following villages with populations in brackets:

  • Biesen (182)
  • Brodenaundorf (40)
  • Kreuma (162)
  • Lemsel (313)
  • Podelwitz (466)
  • Rackwitz (2,282) with Güntheritz
  • Zschortau (1,489)

Also within the municipality's area are the footprints of the now demolished villages Schladitz with Kömmlitz, Kattersnaundorf and Werbelin, on the sites of which are now lakes, formerly open-cast lignite mines.

History

The Rackwitz area was settled by Slavs in prehistoric times. The name Rak means shrimp, and can be seen in the coat of arms. Der Ort Rackwitz ist aus den Orten Rackwitz und Güntheritz entstanden. The oldest part of the present day municipality is Podelwitz, which was documented in 1250. Since 1349/50 Zschortau and Rackwitz were mentioned in documents. Brodenaundorf was mentioned in 1547.

At the start of the 15th Century, plague and famine decimated Rackwitz. The municipality was also plundered during the Thirty Years War. In 1692 trials for witchcraft took place in Rackwitz in which two witches were tried.[2]

On June 21, 1871 a train crash killed 19 and injured 56 in the vicinity of Rackwitz.[3]

Mergers and Annexations
Former municipality Date Comment
Biesen1. July 1950Merged into Zschortau
Brodenaundorf1. July 1950Merged into Zschortau
Güntheritzbetween 1925 und 1939Annexed by Rackwitz
Kattersnaundorf1981Demolished in 1981 to make way for the open-cast lignite mine Delitzsch-Southwest devastiert, and thereby merged into Zschortau
Kömmlitz1 April 1936Merged into Schladitz, then demolished in 1986-89 for lignite mine
Kreuma1 May 1974Merged into Zschortau
Lemsel1 March 1994Merged into Zschortau
Podelwitz1999Merged into Rackwitz
Schladitz1989demolished in 1986-89 for lignite mine and thereby annexed by Rackwitz. Gives its name to the lake on the site of the lignite mine, known as Schladitzer Bucht.
Werbelin1 January 1957Merged with Kattersnaundorf, when Kattersnaudorf was demolished in 1981, Werbelin was merged into Zschortau, and was itself demolished in 1992 for the mine.
Zschortau1 March 2004Annexed by Rackwitz

Historical Population

Note that the population figures in the table below include the figures for other districts that were merged with Rackwitz at various points in time (see table above, thereby accounting for significant increases.

Historical Population of Rackwitz
Year1818188018951910192519391946195019641990200020132015 [4]
Inhabitants769611312419210551375132917863228338849164855

Culture and Sights
Podelwitz church
Church in Zschortau
Herrenhaus of the Rittergutes Güntheritz
Church tower in Kreuma

Buildings
  • The church in Podelwitz was gifted from Henry the Illustrious of the House of Wettin to the Teutonic Order on Christmas Eve 1250.
  • The church in Zschortau contains the last remaining organ by Johann Scheibel, which was tested by Johann Sebastian Bach.[5]
  • Only the tower remains from the church in Kreuma.
  • Castle in Zschortauer Park which is today an educational institution.
  • Herrenhaus of the Rittergutes Güntheritz

References
  1. "Bevölkerung des Freistaates Sachsen jeweils am Monatsende ausgewählter Berichtsmonate nach Gemeinden" (PDF). Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen (in German). July 2019.
  2. Manfred Wilde: Die Zauberei- und Hexenprozesse in Kursachsen, Cologne, Weimar, Vienna 2003, page 509.
  3. Martin Weltner: Bahn-Katastrophen. Folgenschwere Zugunfälle und ihre Ursachen. Munich 2008. ISBN 978-3-7654-7096-7, page 14.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. http://www.leipzigerneuseenland.de/en/node/2619
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