Oederan

Oederan
Coat of arms
Oederan
Location of Oederan within Mittelsachsen district
Coordinates: 50°51′42″N 13°10′2″E / 50.86167°N 13.16722°E / 50.86167; 13.16722Coordinates: 50°51′42″N 13°10′2″E / 50.86167°N 13.16722°E / 50.86167; 13.16722
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Mittelsachsen
Government
• Mayor	Steffen Schneider (FW)
Area
• Total	77.35 km2 (29.87 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
• Total	8,258
• Density	110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	09569
Dialling codes	037292
Vehicle registration	FG
Website	www.oederan.de

Oederan is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.

Geography

Oederan is situated 14 km southwest of Freiberg, 17 km east of Chemnitz and about 50 km west of Dresden.

The town includes the villages of Börnichen, Breitenau, Frankenstein, Gahlenz, Görbersdorf, Kirchbach, Lößnitztal and Schönerstadt.

History

Oederan was first mentioned as town in 1286. The settlement of the area dates back to a Sorbian tribe in the 9th and 10th century. Rhenish Franconian farmers, craftsmen and traders settled down in the 12th century. Since the Middle Ages the most important industries had been cloth manufacturing and linen weaving. In the 19th century the railway construction had a great influence to the growth of the town. Some medium-sized factories were built around the train station of Oederan.^[2]

During World War II, a subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was located here.^[3]

Literature

Cziborra, Pascal. KZ Oederan. Verlorene Jugend. Lorbeer Verlag. Bielefeld. 2008 ISBN 978-3-938969-06-9

Places of interest

Oederan is known for its tourist attraction “Klein-Erzgebirge”, the oldest miniature park in Germany. About 185 miniatures of famous buildings from the area of the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) in a reduced scale of 1:25^[4] are shown here.

The most important old building is the gothic hall church. The history of the church goes back to the 13th century.^[2] An organ built by famous Gottfried Silbermann is located inside.

The second most prominent building of the town is the town hall. First built around 1400 AD, it burned down several times (1632, 1709 and 1753), and was re-erected in its present shape in 1785.

People

• Igor Mitoraj - (1944-), Polish sculptor and painter
• Minna Planer - (1809–1866), Richard Wagner's wife
• Adolf Gottlieb Fiedler - (1771–1850), Saxon entrepreneur in Saxony and Poland

Towns and municipalities in Mittelsachsen district Altmittweida Augustusburg Bobritzsch-Hilbersdorf Brand-Erbisdorf Burgstädt Claußnitz Döbeln Dorfchemnitz Eppendorf Erlau Flöha Frankenberg Frauenstein Freiberg Geringswalde Großhartmannsdorf Großschirma Großweitzschen Hainichen Halsbrücke Hartha Hartmannsdorf Königsfeld Königshain-Wiederau Kriebstein Leisnig Leubsdorf Lichtenau Lichtenberg Lunzenau Mittweida Mochau Mühlau Mulda Neuhausen Niederwiesa Oberschöna Oederan Ostrau Penig Rechenberg-Bienenmühle Reinsberg Rochlitz Rossau Roßwein Sayda Seelitz Striegistal Taura Waldheim Wechselburg Weißenborn Zettlitz Zschaitz-Ottewig

References

1. ↑ "Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen – Bevölkerung des Freistaates Sachsen jeweils am Monatsende ausgewählter Berichtsmonate nach Gemeinden" (PDF). Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen (in German). 6 September 2014. 
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 oederan.de: History of Oederan. June 8, 2008
3. ↑ Christine O'Keefe: Concentration Camps.
4. ↑ klein-erzgebirge.de: Der älteste Miniaturpark der Welt lädt ein!. June 8, 2008