Wurzen

Wurzen (German pronunciation: [ˈvʊɐ̯tsən]) 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.

Founded after 600 by the 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 the first German long distance railway (Leipzig-Dresden, opened 7 April 1839). Therefore the first German railway bridge was constructed to cross the Mulde.

International relations

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, sanctified 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 (sanctified 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) (reerectet 1984).
• Classicistical City hall (after a fire 1803). Today library and galery 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

• Heinrich von Abendroth (1819–1880), army officer, lieutenant general in the Saxon army
• Max Baumbach (1859–1915), sculptor in Berlin
• Ruth Bodenstein-Hoyme (1924–2006), music lecturer, composer
• Gerhard Bosse (born 1921), concertmaster of the Gewandhaus and professor
• 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
• Paul Göhre (1864–1928), theologian and political economist, SPD-politician
• Justus Friedrich Güntz (1801–1875), lawyer, editor and owner of the newspaper Dresdner Anzeiger
• Herwig (died 1119), Bishop of Dresden-Meissen, founder of the Collegiate church in Wurzen
• Hans-Peter Hund (born 1940), painter and graphic artist
• Hermann Ilgen (1856–1940), apothecary, enterpriser, patron of the arts
• 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
• Magdalene Mahrholz-Patzschke (1889–1944), painter
• Dietrich Manicke (born 1923), composer and music theoretician
• Jakob Martini (1829–1909), dermatologist and urologist
• Herbert Meißner (1888–1954), music educationist and singer
• Hans-Georg Mühe (born 1929), composer, music scientist and educationist
• Herbert Petzold (1910–1997), expert in Pomology(„apple-Petzold“)
• Werner Radig (1903–1985), archaeologist and folklorist
• Joachim Ringelnatz (1883–1934), author and painter
• Paul Röber, (1587–1651), Lutheran theologian
• Johann Christian Schoettgen (1687–1751), historian and educationist, rector of the school "Kreuzschule in Dresden
• Clemens Seeber (1851–1905), photo and cinema technician, photo reporter
• Bernhard Moritz von Süßmilch-Hörnig (1823–1892), army officer and cartographer
• 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
• Theodor Uhlig, musician (1822–1853), songwriter, composer
• Siegfried H. Horn, archaeologist (1908–1993)
• Bernd Wagner (born 1948), author
• Manfred Walter (born 1937), football player (national team GDR)
• Rainer Zieger, graphic artist and illustrator
• Julian Riedel, (born 1990), German TV host

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

• Town of Wurzen, official Page (German)
• Wurzen on old picture postcards (German)
• History about the castle of Wurzen (German)