Freiberg, Saxony

Freiberg
Freiberg
Coordinates
Administration
Country Germany
State Saxony
Admin. region Chemnitz
District Mittelsachsen
Town subdivisions 12
Mayor Bernd-Erwin Schramm (Ind.)
Basic statistics
Area 48.05 km2 (18.55 sq mi)
Elevation 400 m  (1312 ft)
Population 41,342 (31 December 2010)[1]
 - Density 860 /km2 (2,228 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate FG
Postal code 09599
Area code 03731
Website www.freiberg.de

Freiberg (i.e. free mountain) is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.

Contents

History

The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries. A symbol of this history is the Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (famously known as the Mining Academy), established in 1765 and the oldest university of mining and metallurgy in the world. Freiberg also has a notable cathedral containing two famous Gottfried Silbermann organs. Furthermore there are two other organs made by Gottfried Silbermann - one at the St. Peter's Church (Petrikirche) and the other one at the St. James' Church (Jacobikirche). The medieval part of Freiberg stands under heritage protection.

The river, Freiberger Mulde, flows through the township of Freiberg, not the city itself.

In 1944 the Flossenbürg concentration camp oversaw a subcamp built outside the city of Freiberg. It housed over 500 female survivors of other camps, including Auschwitz Birkenau. Altogether 50 or so SS women worked in this camp until its evacuation in April 1945. The female survivors later reached the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria.

In 1985 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built the Freiberg Germany Temple here because of the large number of members in the region. The Freiberg Germany Temple serves Latter-day Saints from all over Eastern Germany, and majority of the East Europe today.

Regular events

Every year in Freiberg the Mining Town Festival (Bergstadtfest) is held on the last weekend in June with a procession by the historic miners' and ironworkers' guilds, the so called Miners' and Ironworkers' Parade. The Freiberg Christmas Market takes place during Advent. During that time a so-called Mettenschicht is held with a parade by the miners' and ironworkers' guilds and the SAXONIA Miners Music Corps. This includes a traditional sermon on the mount in St. Peter's Church and waiting by the miners on the second Saturday in Advent. Firmly established is the potter's gathering on a weekend in the second half of April on the Upper Market (Obermarkt). Every year on the Drei Brüder Schacht mineshaft in the quarter of Zug there is a model steam engine gathering. Every year the Freiberg Art Award is given and the Mining Town Queen (Bergstadt-Königin) is chosen.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Twin towns—Sister cities

Freiberg is twinned with:

External links

Notes and References

  1. ^ "Bevölkerung des Freistaates Sachsen jeweils am Monatsende ausgewählter Berichtsmonate nach Gemeinden" (in German). Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen. 31 July 2011. http://www.statistik.sachsen.de/download/010_GB-Bev/Bev_Gemeinde.pdf. 
  2. ^ Town Twinnings and international relations (from the official city website. Accessed 2008-08-11.)
  3. ^ "List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr District". © 2009 Twins2010.com. http://www.twins2010.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pic/Dokumente/List_of_Twin_Towns_01.pdf?PHPSESSID=2edd34819db21e450d3bb625549ce4fd. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
  4. ^ "Twin Cities". Ness Ziona Municipality. http://www.ness-ziona.muni.il/Htmls/English/twin%20cities.html. Retrieved 2008-04-14. 

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Freiberg Freiberg] at Wikimedia Commons
Towns and municipalities in Mittelsachsen district