Wurzen

Wurzen
Town
Coat of arms
Location of Wurzen within Leipzig district
Wurzen Wurzen
Coordinates: 51°22′N 12°43′E
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Leipzig
Subdivisions	5
Government
• Mayor	Jörg Röglin (Ind.)
Area
• Total	68.54 km2 (26.46 sq mi)
Elevation	124 m (407 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	16,614
• Density	240/km2 (630/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
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

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Wurzen is twinned with:

• Barsinghausen, Germany
• Warstein, Germany
• Tamási, Hungary

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

• Max Baumbach (1859–1915), sculptor in Berlin
• Johann Gottlob Böhme (1717–1780), historian of the Enlightenment, Goethe's teacher at the University of Leipzig
• Kristina Dörfer (born 1984), singer and actress
• Wilhelm Fischer (1796–1884), Saxon mining official
• Fritz Geißler(1921–1984), composer, most famous symphony musician of the GDR
• Herwig (died 1119), Bishop of Dresden-Meissen, founder of the Collegiate church in Wurzen
• Hans-Ludwig Hirsch (born 1950), graduate chemist;
• Hermann Ilgen (1856–1940), pharmacist, entrepreneur, sports and art patron, honorary citizen of Wurzen since 1929
• Ekkehart Jesse (born 1948), historian and sociologist, researcher of Extremism
• Detlev Kästner, boxer, bronze medallist Olympic Games Boxing at the 1980 Summer Olympics
• Karl Ludwig Langbein (1811–1873), jurist and Member of Frankfurt Parliament
• Magnus Gottfried Lichtwer (1719–1783), jurist and one of the most important German fabulists
• Nadja Michael (* 1969), German opera song and oratorio singer
• Julian Riedel, (born 1990), German TV host
• Joachim Ringelnatz (1883–1934), author and painter (The city is styling itself 'Ringelnatz City' in its official advertisements and website as a tribute to him.)
• Paul Röber, (1587–1651), Lutheran theologian
• Johann Christian Schöttgen (1687–1751), Hebraist, historian and educationist, rector of the Kreuzschule in Dresden
• Abraham Teller (1609–1658), theologian, songwriter of Hymns, rector of Thomasschule zu Leipzig
• Otto Georg Thierack (1889–1946), 1936 to 1942 president of the People's Court (German) and last minister of justice in Third Reich
• Ralf Thomas (born 1932), evangelical theologian, historian and municipal politician
• Theodor Uhlig, musician (1822–1853), songwriter, composer
• Siegfried H. Horn, archaeologist (1908–1993)
• Manfred Walter (born 1937), football player (national team GDR)
• Philipp Wende (born 1985), rower, Gold medal winner at the Summer Olympic Games

Persons with relation to Wurzen

Wilhelm Hasenclever

• John IX of Haugwitz (1524–1595); Last Catholic bishop of Meissen
• Anna Katharina Schönkopf (1746–1810); Youth friend of Goethe in Leipzig
• Wilhelm Hasenclever (1837–1889); Social Democratic publicist and politician; Lived in Wurzen
• Georg Wrba (1872–1939); sculptor

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.

External links

• Official website Template:De icon
• History about the castle of Wurzen Template:De icon