Hoyerswerda

Wojerecy Hoyerswerda
View of Downtown
Hoyerswerda
Location of the town of Hoyerswerda within Hoyerswerda district
Coordinates	51°26′N 14°15′E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
Admin. region	Dresden
District	Hoyerswerda
Lord Mayor	Stefan Skora (CDU)
Governing party	Die Wahlplattform für Hoyerswerda
Basic statistics
Area	94.76 km2 (36.59 sq mi)
Elevation	117 m  (384 ft)
Population	36,687 (31 December 2011)
- Density	387 /km2 (1,003 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	HY (before: BZ, old: HY)
Website	hoyerswerda.de

Hoyerswerda (Upper Sorbian: Wojerecy, Lower Sorbian: Wórjejce) is the largest city in the district of Bautzen in the German state of Saxony. It is located in Lusatia, a region where many people speak the Sorbian languages in addition to the German.

In the Lusatia region, Hoyerswerda is the largest city and also the only city in this part of Germany which is well known in the whole country. The reasons are the many shopping centers, bars, markets, hotels and attractions, things that are not found so often in Lusatia.

Hoyerswerda is also notorious in Germany for two attacks on immigrants in 1991. One occurred in district WK IX and the other, in the downtown area.

Hoyerswerda is divided into the Old Town and the New Town. The Old Town is the historical center with many old houses and many sight-seeing attractions, and the New Town is very colorful and modern. Prior to renovation, ugly prefabricated apartment blocks predominated in this area.

The city is near the many lakes, marshes and waterways of Lusatia. This is a reason for many tourists to spend their holidays there. Also, the place is very attractive for bicyclers and inline skaters who use the new paths meandering among the lakes.

Geography

The city is situated in the north of the district of Bautzen, close to the borders of Saxony with Brandenburg. It is 65 km from Dresden and 150 km from Berlin. Hoyerswerda is part of Upper Lusatia and lies on a rural plain characterized by the presence of several lakes and some marshes.

Districts

Hoyerswerda is divided into an Old Town, New Town and the following districts:

- Bröthen-Michalken (Upper Sorbian: Brětnja/Michałki)

- Dörgenhausen (Upper Sorbian: Němcy)

- Knappenrode (Upper Sorbian: Hórnikecy)

- Schwarzkolm (Upper Sorbian: Čorny Chołmc)

- Zeißig (Upper Sorbian: Ćisk)

Old Town

The old town of Hoyerswerda is divided into eleven districts (English translation in parentheses):

Neida, Dresdner Vorstadt, Am Bahnhof (at the railroad station), Am Stadtrand (on the outskirts), an der Neupetershainer Bahn, An der Thrune, Innere Altstadt (Downtown/historical center), Senftenberger Vorstadt, Spremberger Vorstadt, Nördliche Elsteraue, Südliche Elsteraue.

New Town

The new town of Hoyerswerda is divided into 14 districts (English translation in parentheses):

Neustadt Zentrum (New Town Center), Kühnicht, Grünewaldring, Gondelteich (Gondola Lake), Wohnkomplex I, Wohnkomplex II, Wohnkomplex III, Wohnkomplex IV, Wohnkomplex V/VE, Wohnkomplex VI, Wohnkomplex VII, Wohnkomplex VIII, Wohnkomplex IX, Wohnkomplex X.

[1][2]

History

Early history

The first settlers arrived in this area in 700 BC. They were Romans. Many artifacts form this old culture have been found in the Hoyerswerda area.

In 1000 AD, the construction of the first church in the city occurred. It was the church "Heilige Familie" which is still standing today in downtown Hoyerswerda.

In 1150, Hoyerswerda first appeared on a map of Lusatia.

The city was first mentioned in 1268. The mayor at the time was Hoyer von Vredeberg.

In 1371 it was designated an official marketplace. Before this Hoyerswerda was a very little town with only a few structures, but the city then got bigger and bigger under the leadership of the new mayor Karl IV.

It received municipal rights from Freiherr von Duba on December 19, 1423, as well as the right to elect its own council.

In the 17th century, the city had many problems because of the 30 Years War. The Number of inhabitants went down drastically, but recovered at the end of the century.

In 1624, Hoyerswerda became the capital of the district Spremberg. A few years later the district took the name Hoyerswerda because of the growing importance of the city.

In the middle of this century Hoyerswerda was already the biggest town in the Lusatian region.

In the 18th century the Elector of Saxony, Augustus the Strong, gave the Duchy of Hoyerswerda to Katherina von Teschen, who helped the town develop trade and manufacture. The Battle of Hoyerswerda occurred nearby in 1759 during the Seven Years' War.

In 1815, Hoyerswerda became part of the Prussian Province of Silesia. In 1873 the new railway between Hoyerswerda and Ruhland opened. It had a positive effect on the economic development of the city. In 1912, the Domowina, the organisation of the Sorbs, was founded in the city. The town became part of the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia in 1912.

Recent history

At the end of the Second World War the town was declared a core center of German defence and was therefore heavily damaged. The invading Soviet Red Army set fire to the town. It became part of Saxony again after the war, but from 1952 until 1990, when the states of East Germany were abolished, it was administered by the Bezirk (Region) of Cottbus.

During the time of GDR, Hoyerswerda became an important industrial town. The lignite processing enterprise "Schwarze Pumpe" was established in 1955 (it is today in the federal state of Brandenburg). Since 1957, the demand for new living space rose dramatically. In the following years, 10 new living areas with tens of thousands of apartments were built. In 1981, the city reached its maximum number of inhabitants, with 71,054 people living there. At that time, more children per inhabitant were born in Hoyerswerda than anywhere else in the GDR. Upon reunification in 1990, the people of the city decided to become part of the reconstituted state of Saxony.

With the end of the GDR and the reorganization of the East German economy, many enterprises in the industrial region of Hoyerswerda were down-sized or closed. The social situation in the city became especially dangerous. In 1991, for example, a xenophobic attack took place on a hostel containing refugees. It became necessary to develop an anti-violence program for the city. Between 1993 and 1998, several smaller villages became part of the city, but the number of overall inhabitants declined rapidly, from about 70,000 people in the 1980s to about 41,000 people by the end of 2000. There have been attempts to renovate the city. Many of the apartment blocks built during the time of the GDR have been demolished or renovated. This project, like others, was financed with money from the EU and the Federal Republic of Germany.^{[citation needed]}

Its role as an independently ruled town in Saxony disappeared in 2008 with the reshaping of the regional administration of Saxony.

Economic situation

While part of East Germany, employment in Hoyerswerda was provided by a power plant, glassworks, coal mines, and an army artillery range. With the reunification of Germany and the subsequent demise of a centrally-planned economy, the city lost many jobs as the glassworks and artillery range were closed, and the power plant reduced its payroll. Unemployment remains at 9,7% (Economist, August 27, 2011). It is, however, expected that new houses must be built in Hoyerswerda, because of an anticipated increase in population due to copper mining at Schwarze Pumpe. There is also a thermal power plant planned for Hoyerswerda, because the district heating contract with Schwarze Pumpe will end in 2016. Since 2000, there were more tourists then ever before in the city. The number of tourists is expected to increase along with the population.

Personalities

Gabriele Faehnrich Matthias Heidrich Tony Jantschke

Petra Pfaff Marcel Rozgonyi Rudolf von Sebottendorf

Otto Dammerau Matthias Höll'',german singer''

Sisters cities

• Dillingen/Saar (Germany)
• Huittinen (Finland)
• Pforzheim (Germany)
• Solingen (Germany)
• Środa Wielkopolska (Poland)

See also

• Riot of Hoyerswerda

References

• "Still Troubled". The Economist. August 27 – September 2, 2005.

External links

• (German) Hoyerswerda official site
• (German) Hoyerswerda on isgv website