Breitenfeld, Leipzig

Breitenfeld
Stadtteil of Leipzig
Breitenfeld
Coordinates: 51°24′10″N 12°20′40″E / 51.40278°N 12.34444°E / 51.40278; 12.34444Coordinates: 51°24′10″N 12°20′40″E / 51.40278°N 12.34444°E / 51.40278; 12.34444
Country Germany
State Saxony
District Urban districts of Germany
City Leipzig
Government
 • Mayor Burkhard Jung (SPD)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Vehicle registration L
Website www.leipzig.de

The village of Breitenfeld belongs to the city of Leipzig. The village lies in the vicinity of the old road to Landsberg. On the south, it borders of the borough of Gohlis, in the west on Lindenthal and in the east, on Wiederitzsch.

History

Destroyed Manor (Fall, 1948), now the site of the Leipzig's animal rescue.

Breitenfeld was first mentioned in documents in 1271, as part of the estate of the Margrafs of Landsberg. When the elder Dietrich of Landsberg died, his illegitimate son, Dietrich II, inherited the property. The property of Breitenfeld, which included Wiederitzsch and Lindenthal, came under the legal jurisdiction of the Bishopric of Merseburg. After the Reformation, Breitenfeld came into the possession of different Saxon noble families. These occupants were counted among the Saxon noble houses, and usually had their seat at Landsberg.

Reconstruction of destroyed farms and houses, 1950. Photo by Hans-Gunter Quarschinsky, 1950

During the Thirty Years War, in 1631, in the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631), an alliance of Saxon and Swedish forces, under the command of Gustav Adolf, the king of Sweden, with additional German allies and mercenaries, defeated the armies of the Catholic League and the Habsburgs, commanded by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. In 1642, in a second Battle of Breitenfeld (1642), the troops of Sweden and Saxony again defeated the imperial troops.

The Culture House (1951)

At the Battle of Nations in 1813, the Prussian general Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher established his command post in the Breitenfeld mill, from which he coordinated the attacks on Napoleon's French troops positioned in Möckern and Gohlis.

In 1856, the patrimonial authority was relinquished and Breitenfeld acquired local autonomy within the duchy of Saxony, as a community with its own village council. In 1923, the village formed part of the conjoined community of Lindenthal, and in 1999, joined with the city of Leipzig. Since 2002, Breitenfeld has been the main home of the Leipzig animal rescue, and the city's fairgrounds and exhibition hall is located at the village.

Battle Monument

Monument commemorating First Battle of Breitenfeld, 1631. Photo by Nino Schramm, 2005.

In the eastern portion of the village, a monument to Gustav Adolf reminds viewers of the Battle of Breitenfeld, 1631. It was erected in 1831 on the two hundredth anniversary of the battle and bears the following inscription:

„Gustav Adolph, Christ und Held, Rettete bei Breitenfeld Glaubensfreiheit für die Welt. Am 7. September 1631 / 1831.“
Gustav Adolf, Savior and Hero, Saved at Breitenfeld,the Freedom of Belief for the entire World. 7 September 1631 / 1831.

Notes

    References

    Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Breitenfeld.
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