Kirschau

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kirschau is a municipality in upper Lusatia in the district of Bautzen in Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a region called Lausitzer Bergland in the valley of the Spree and the Pilke, between the "Mönchswalder berg" (449 m) and the "Lärchenberg" (354 m) and belongs in respects of administration to the district of Bautzen.

It got about 2,558 inhabitants (January 2006) on a surface of about 6,52 km² - it means a density of population of about 392 inhabitants per km². The community is separated into four different parts called (with the sorabian name additional): Bederwitz (Bjedrusk), Keinpostwitz (Bójswecy), Rodewitz (Rozwodecy) and Sonnenberg (Słónčna Hora).

[edit] History

In the document that tells about the destruction of the castel "Körse" the community of Kirschau first has been mentioned in 1352 in a written source. When Upper Lusatia came to Saxony in 1634 - in the time of the Thirty-years-war- Kirschau became a village near the border. A tax station was opened because of the near border to Bohemia. Until 1845 Kirschau was a poor and unimportant village. But helped by Gotthelf August Friese the industry started to develop in this small village - especially the textile industry. Other indutries followd - because of is richness the community also had the name "village of the golden roofs" - some of the old wealth is still visible in the core of the village and in the fine houses of the rich men. After the second world-war in the time of the GDR most enterprises became VEB, is means they now belonged to the new born communist state of eastern Germany. That time the production of textile products still stayed important - also did the production of agriculatural machines in the "Kombinat Fortschritt Landmaschinen Neustadt. Since reunification just a small proportion of the former textile industry left in the region. Today a big bath called "Körse-Therme" which can be used every season is the main attraction in the village.

[edit] Culture and Sights

In the village there can be found two museum, one shows the history of the castel "Körse" and the village, the other one shows the rural tradition and old handicraft of the region.

The most important monuments are the ruins of the castel "Körse", the church of St. John (build in 1924 in Jugendstil) and the houses of the inner city in the same style.