Groitzsch

Groitzsch
Groitzsch
Location of the town of Groitzsch within Leipzig district
Coordinates	51°9′20″N 12°16′50″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
Admin. region	Leipzig
District	Leipzig
Town subdivisions	28
Mayor	Maik Kunze (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	70.06 km2 (27.05 sq mi)
Elevation	152 m  (499 ft)
Population	8,059 (31 December 2010)
- Density	115 /km2 (298 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	L
Postal code	04539
Area code	034296
Website	www.groitzsch.de

Groitzsch (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʁɔʏtʃ]) is a town in the Leipzig district, in Saxony, Germany.

Geography and transport

The town is situated on the river Weiße Elster, 20 km northeast of Zeitz, and 25 km southwest of Leipzig. The B176 goes through Groitzsch and the B2 goes through the subdistricts Kobschütz and Audigast. The new Bundesautobahn 38 is about 15 km away.

History

The original Sorbian name was Groisca.

The oldest archaeological finds in the town district date from approximately 4000 BC. After a dense settlement of the west Saxon region in prehistoric times, Slavic peoples migrated into this region after the migration of Germanic tribes in the 7th century, who appear in the sources as Sorbs. During the Ostsiedlung of the early Middle Ages, the populations mixed with settlers from Thuringia and Franconia. In the history of the town traces of Jewish life are also found.

The town was first mentioned in 1039 in the famous Pegauer Annals.

Notable people

• Ulrike von Levetzow
• Hans Bemmann
• Samuel Rüling