Wunsiedel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wunsiedel | |
| Coat of arms | Location |
 |
  |
| Administration | |
| Country |  Germany |
|---|---|
| State | Bavaria |
| Admin. region | Upper Franconia |
| District | Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge |
| Mayor | Karl-Willi Beck (CSU) |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 54.91 km² (21.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 525 m (1723 ft) |
| Population | 9,986 (31/12/2006) |
| - Density | 182 /km² (471 /sq mi) |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | WUN |
| Postal code | 95632 |
| Area code | 09232 |
| Website | www.wunsiedel.de |
Wunsiedel is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Fichtelgebirge mountains, at the bottom of the Kösseine Plateau. Wunsiedel is the seat of the Wunsiedel district.
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[edit] History
Wunsiedel was first mentioned in 1163. In 1285, Burgrave Frederick III of Nuremberg received fiefdom over the town by King Rudolph I of Germany. In 1326, Wunsiedel was incorporated as a city by Burgrave Frederick IV.
In the Middle Ages, Wunsiedel played an important role in tin mining and the production of tin plates. In 1613, it became capital of the Sechsämterland – an area comparable in size to the modern district Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge.
Wunsiedel was a part of the Margraviate of Ansbach-Bayreuth until 1791 when the last margrave abdicated and the region was placed under Prussian administration. In 1810, it became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Wunsiedel received its current appearance in a neoclassic style after a conflagration in 1834, destroying two-thirds of the city.
After World War II Wunsiedel was part of the American Zone and a Fluchtlingssuchstelle was installed at the Landratsamt at the Bezirksamtstrasse 8.
[edit] Wunsiedel and Rudolf Hess
In the late 1980s, the cemetery of Wunsiedel became rather infamous for bearing the grave of Adolf Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess, who had died in a Berlin prison on August 17, 1987. In the following years, neonazi groups organized memorial marches on each August 17. The number of participants rose from 120 in 1988 to more than 1,100 in 1990. The gatherings faced strong protests both from the civil population and from the antifascist movement. In fear of open violence between the two groups, the marches were eventually banned in 1991.
Under the impression of the situation having "cooled down", the Bavarian Administrative Court permitted the gatherings again in 2001. The result was unexpected though: Neonazi groups managed to amass more and more people, the peak being reached in 2004, when over 4,500 Nazi-Skinheads from all over Europe assembled in Wunsiedel. 2004 the local initiative "Wunsiedel ist bunt, nicht braun" ("Wunsiedel is colourful, not brown") managed a noteworthy counter-demonstration with about 800 participants, decorating the city with rainbow flags and spraying the neonazis with confetti. The initiative later received the Bündnispreis for engagement and bravery by the German federal ministers Otto Schily and Brigitte Zypries.
In 2005, the memorial march was for the first time banned on the basis of article 130 of the German crime code, outlawing incitement of the people. A complaint against the banning was rejected by the Federal Constitutional Court. Nevertheless, more than 2,500 people met on August 20, 2005, to celebrate a Day of Democracy in Wunsiedel.
[edit] Law and government
Wunsiedel is governed by its mayor and a city council with 24 seats. Both are elected every four years. In the council, the CSU currently holds 13 seats, the SPD holds 7 seats, and the Greens 1 seat. The remaining 3 seats went to a free voters' association.
[edit] Boroughs
The year of incorporation to Wunsiedel is in brackets.
- Schönbrunn (1975)
- Hildenbach (1978)
- Holenbrunn (1978)
- Bernstein (1978)
[edit] Twinnings
Mende (Lozère), France since 1980- Schwarzenberg/Erzgeb., Germany since 1990
Volterra, Italy since 2006
[edit] Notable residents
- Jean Paul (1763-1825), author
- Dr. August Tuppert, (1883)
- Friedrich Meinel (1894)
- Hannsheinz Bauer (1909-2005), one of the "fathers" of the Basic Law, born on March 28, 1909 in Wunsiedel
- Dr. Heinrich Hohenner, professor of geodesy (1946)
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