Crimmitschau

Crimmitschau
Town
June 2004 aerial photograph of Mannichswalde, which is part of Crimmitschau,
Coat of arms
Location of Crimmitschau within Zwickau district
Crimmitschau Crimmitschau
Coordinates: 50°49′5″N 12°23′15″E
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Zwickau
Subdivisions	13
Government
• Mayor (2017–24)	André Raphael (CDU)
Area
• Total	61.04 km2 (23.57 sq mi)
Elevation	273 m (896 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	18,567
• Density	300/km2 (790/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	08451
Dialling codes	03762
Vehicle registration	Z
Website	www.crimmitschau.de

Crimmitschau (German pronunciation: [ˈkʁɪmɪtʃaʊ]) is a town in the district of Zwickau in Saxony, Germany.

Geography

Crimmitschau lies on the river Pleiße in the northern foothills of the Erzgebirge.

Neighboring municipalities

Adjacent communities include: Zwickau, Dennheritz, Neukirchen, Meerane, and Langenbernsdorf in Landkreis of Zwickau; Heyersdorf, Jonaswalde, Ponitz and Thonhausen in Thuringian Landkreis of Altenburger Land; as well as Braunichswalde, Rückersdorf, and Seelingstädt in Thuringia in Landkreis of Greiz.

Municipality subdivisions

The town Crimmitschau consists of Crimmitschau proper and the following five Ortschaften (localities), each containing several Ortsteile or divisions:

• Blankenhain (incl. Großpillingsdorf)
• Frankenhausen (incl. Gösau and Gosel)
• Langenreinsdorf
• Lauenhain
• Mannichswalde

The Ortsteile Rudelswalde and Gablenz are not part of an Ortschaft.

History

In the course of German eastward expansion, the city of Crimmitschau and a castle of the same name (now called the Schweinsburg) were established from around 1170 to 1200 as an organized German colony. The settlement's existence is first documented in 1212. In 1414 Crimmitschau received town privileges from Markgraf Wilhelm II.

On 15 March 1844, Crimmitschau was connected to the German rail network (on the Leipzig–Hof railway, which was later extended to Bavaria). Its current station was opened in 1873

Around the turn of the century, Crimmitschau was the site of a large concentrated textile industry, and was called "The City of 100 chimneys" (Stadt der 100 Schornsteine).

From August 22, 1903, to January 18, 1904, it was the site of one of the largest and longest strikes in the German Empire, which affected the entire nation.

In 1944, some Crimmitschau property was bombed by Allied Forces.

At the end of the 1980s, a great part of the old and inner cities were torn down and replaced with prefabricated concrete buildings. Similar plans existed for the southern suburb, but were not put in place after the regime change in 1990.

Population

Population of Crimmitschau

Year Population 1834 03,767 1875 17,649 1880 18,925 1890 19,300 1933 27,938 1939 27,247 1946 30,504 1950 34,541 1960 31,279 1981 26,229 1984 25,086

Year Population 1995 23,888 1997 23,420 1999 23,570 2000 23,305 2002 22,874 2004 22,528 2006 21,953 2008 21.080 2009 20.833 2010 20.901

Religion

Even though a majority of the people in Crimmitschau are not affiliated with any religion, there are some Protestant parishes and even a Catholic parish, belonging to the Diocese of Dresden-Meissen. The most important churches are: St. Laurentius-Kirche, Johanniskirche, and the Lutherkirche.

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Crimmitschau is twinned with:

• Bystřice nad Pernštejnem, Czech Republic
• Wiehl, Germany

Sights

Blankenhain Castle

Landmarks include the town hall, the late Gothic parish church of Saint Laurentius (Saint Lawrence)(1513), with its star and cross ribbed arches, the former Cistercian nunnery of Frankenhausen Abbey (founded around 1290) in the district of Frankenhausen and the open-air museum of Blankenhain Castle located at the castle of the same name.

Museums

• Western Saxon Textile Museum, which is located in a fully functional textile factory, former known as "Gebrüder Pfau KG"
• The Agricultural and Open-Air Museum of Schloss Blankenhain

Parks

• The Zöffelpark, which was built in the pre-war period and named after Emil Oskar Zöffel, an important textile manufacturer and Philanthropist in the history of the city.
• The Bismarck-Hain, a former cemetery, named after Reichskanzler Otto von Bismarck. This park was known as Friedenspark (Peace-park) during GDR-times.
• The Sahnpark, located north of the city center, is the largest park in Crimmitschau and harbours an old open-air bath, an animal park and the stadium of ETC Crimmitschau.

Sport

Crimmitschau has a well-known ice hockey club, the ETC Crimmitschau, which plays in the second highest German league. The city also has a soccer team, FC Crimmitschau and an American Football Team, the Tornados Crimmitschau.

Business and infrastructure

Crimmitschau station

Crimmitschau lies directly at the Autobahn A4 and can be reached through the exits Schmölln and Meerane. The Deutsche Bahn AG provides connections from Crimmitschau station to Zwickau, Leipzig, Hof.

Education

There are three elementary schools, two secondary schools, a gymnasium, and a special education school in Crimmitschau.

Notable people

• Julius Motteler (1838–1907), Reichstag deputy, co-founder of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
• Adolf Paul Schulze (1840–1891), emigrated to Scotland and became a successful merchant and noted microscopist
• Heinrich Mauersberger (1909–1982), engineer and inventor in the textile industry
• Helmut Bräutigam (1914–1942), composer
• Gerhard Zwerenz (1925–2015), writer and former Bundestag deputy
• Peter Graf (born 1937), painter
• Wolf-Dieter Storl (born 1942), ethnobotanist and author
• Klaus Gruner (born 1954), handball player, Olympic champion 1980
• Udo Kießling (born 1955), ice hockey player
• Gabi Zange (born 1961), speed skater

Honorary citizen

• 1895: Otto von Bismarck, chancellor of the Reich
• 1984: Walter Richter, gardener

External links

• Media related to Crimmitschau at Wikimedia Commons
• Coat of Arms
• (in German) ETC-Crimmitschau
• (in German) the West Saxon Textile Museum of Crimmitschau
• (in German) Agricultural and Open-Air Museum of Schloss Blankenhain Archived 2020-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
• (in German) the Julius-Motteler-Gymnasium of Crimmitschau