Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

state of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, and belongs to the district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. Zittau is located in

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...

, the southern part of

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

, on the Mandau and

Lusatian Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.

rivers, in the foreland of the Zittau Mountains. The city has a population of around 25,000 and is located directly on the western edge of the Turów Coal Mine, one of the largest artificial holes visible from

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

, on the other side of the Lusatian Neisse. The ''Großes Zittauer Fastentuch'' (Great Zittau Lenten Cloth) is, along with the

Bayeux Tapestry The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery, embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest, Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy challenging H ...

, one of the most impressive textile works in Western tradition. It is the third-largest existing Lenten veil. It was made in Zittau in 1472 and is now exhibited in the secularized '' Kirche zum Heiligen Kreuz'', that belongs to the Zittau Municipal Museums, where it is kept in the largest museum display case in the world.

Geography

Zittau sits on the Mandau River, while the

Lusatian Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.

, which forms the border with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, touches the city in the east. The

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of both rivers is located in the southeast of the city. Further south is a

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

of Germany, Poland and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, and the incorporated village of Hartau lies where the Lusatian Neisse forms the German/Czech border for a short distance. Zittau lies in the Zittau Basin, just north of the Zittau Mountains (part of the

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ), also known as the Sudeten Mountains or Sudetic Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince of the Bohemian Massif province in Central Europe, shared by the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany. They consist mainly of mountain rang ...

Climate

The climate is cool temperate with cool winters and warm summers with an average annual temperature of 8.6 °C. The annual precipitation total is 883 mm. All twelve months are humid. The climate classification according to Köppen and Geiger is Cfb.

History

The history of the city dates back to a 12th-century Slavic settlement. The area belonged to the Czech (Bohemian) Duchy (and later Kingdom) from the 11th century. It was first mentioned under the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

ized name ''Sitavia'' in 1238. It was granted

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1255 by King

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278 ...

, who also built defensive walls. In 1319 it passed to the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

-ruled Duchy of Jawor of then-fragmented Poland, and after the death of Duke Henry I of Jawor in 1346, it became part of the Czech (Bohemian) Crown again. The city's coat of arms still shows a Czech Lion and a

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

n Piast Eagle. In 1346 the city became one of the members of the Six-City League of Upper Lusatia. At that time the city was granted a special title—it was called "Die Reiche" ("the Rich") because of its high proportion of well-to-do citizens. In 1359 and 1422 it suffered great fires. In 1469, together with the Lusatian League, the city recognized Hungarian King

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

as rightful ruler, thus passing to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and after his death in 1490 the city returned to the Bohemian Crown, then under the rule of Polish prince Vladislaus II. It remained part of it until 1635 when it passed to the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

. During the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

, especially following the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

in 1620, a large number of Protestant refugees from Bohemia came to Zittau, where the Protestant Saxon rulers took them in. Many of them went on to find refuge in surrounding villages, in Dresden, and in Berlin in Brandenburg. Primarily as a result of the near-complete destruction of the city during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, Zittau's then prosperity is reflected today in only a few exceptional buildings and the cemeteries where the well-to-do were buried. One of the most important trading goods of this early age in the 16th century was beer. Later in the 18th and 19th century textiles became important too, a tradition common in the region of

. In 1813, two Polish military units were established in the city, that is the 1st Horse Artillery Company of the Jan Henryk Dąbrowski Division and 2nd Horse Artillery Company of the VIII Corps of Prince Józef Poniatowski. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a Nazi prison and a

labour camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see British and American spelling differences, spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are unfree labour, forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have ...

was located in the city. The camp provided

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

for Phänomen Werke Gustav Hiller, a truck and motorcycle manufacturing company (which became VEB Kraftfahrzeugwerk Phänomen after the war, renamed VEB Robur-Werke Zittau in 1957).

Politics

Lord Mayors

*2001-2015: Arnd Voigt ("Free citizens Zittau")) *since August 2015: Thomas Zenker ("Zittau can do more").

Local council

The local council has 26 members, the results of the elections in August 2014 are:

Reichstag Deputies

Following the

North German Confederation Treaty The North German Confederation Treaty (in German ''Augustbündnis'', or Alliance of August) (also called the North German Federation Treaty and the Treaty of 18 August 1866) was the treaty between the Kingdom of Prussia and other northern and centr ...

the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

entered the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...

in 1866. This continued after the founding of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

on 18 January 1871. Following this Saxony participated in Reichstag elections from February 1867. Zittau returned a series of Reichstag Deputies until 1919 when the existing constituencies were scrapped.

Main sights

* Church of our Lady: A semi-gothic church that is first mentioned in 1355. * City Hall: Designed by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...

and built in Italian palazzo style between 1840 and 1845. * Flower Clock: A notable Zittau attraction, the flower clock was built in 1907 from a clockwork of an old Tower clock and contains approximately 4800 plants planted three times annually. * Friary Church: It was the church of the Franciscan Monastery. Their high altar was sacred to the apostles Peter and Paulus in 1293. The main aisle dates from 1480 and was built in the style of late gothic. In the years 1696, 1731 and 1748 prayer rooms were built on the south side of the church. These were special seating areas for wealthy citizens. * Markt: The main central square * St John's Church: Originally built in 1230 in the Romanesque style of the Order of Saint John, whose patron saint was

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. It was later dedicated also to

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how ...

. The building was destroyed in 1757 by Austrian soldiers during the Seven Years' War. The current building was built between 1766 and 1837. * Zittau Lenten Altar Cloths, two large decorated cloths which were used to hide the altar during

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. The big lenten altar cloth (56 m²) from 1472 is shown in the Gothic Holy Cross Church, the little lenten altar cloth (15 m²) from 1573, one of six lenten altar cloths of the Arma Christi type in the world, in the Museum of Cultural History in the former Franciscan Monastery. . * Several historic fountains: Green Fountain (1679), Roland or Mars Fountain (1585), Fountain of the Samaritan Woman (1679), Hercules Fountain (1708), Swan Fountain (1710), Little Grinder's Fountain (early 19th century). * Neustadt square with the Salt House, warehouse and stables built in 1511 (the roof dates from 1730). * Old Grammar School and Dornspach's House, Renaissance buildings. * Building Crafts College (Baugewerkeschule), a Gothic Revival building from 1846/48 by Carl August Schramm. * Urban Swimming-Bath (1873) and the Johanneum, a school building from 1869/71, both Neoclassical buildings. * Heinrich Marschner's Birthplace, a house from 17th century.

Culture

There are roughly 3,500 students studying at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and at the independent International Graduate School, Germany's smallest university; it caters to students from nearby Poland and the Czech Republic.

Transport

Road

The city lacks connections to good infrastructure in Germany, but a direct link is planned to the nearest motorway between

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

and

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

. The town is relatively well-connected to Liberec and the rest of the Czech Republic through dual-carriageway 35 just south of the town.

Rail

Zittau railway station is located north of the town's centre. Passenger services are operated by three railway companies. The first being Vogtlandbahn, which provides a services from Dresden to Zittau and then directly through to Liberec in the Czech Republic. The second is Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn (ODEG), which links Zittau to

, with connections to Poland, and

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

, where connections to Berlin exist. Zittau is located on the Zittau–Löbau railway which was originally opened in 1848, making it one of the oldest railways in Germany. The Zittau–Kurort Oybin/Kurort Jonsdorf railway with all together four stations within Zittau's limits is a heritage

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...

taking passengers from Zittau to the mountain spa resort towns of Oybin and Jonsdorf in the Zittau Mountains. It is operated by the Saxon-Upper Lusatian Railway Company.

Border crossings

Zittau is located close to the point where the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland meet and there are several international border crossings in the vicinity. Permanent immigration and customs controls were, however, removed on 21 December 2007, when all three countries became part of the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

Germany–Czech Republic

*Hartau –

Hrádek nad Nisou Hrádek nad Nisou (; , ) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Hr� ...

: Located in the village of Hartau south of Zittau, this crossing is for pedestrians only.

Germany–Poland

*Zittau Chopinstraße – Sieniawka: This crossing-point consists of a road bridge over the Lausitzer Neisse River which forms the border between Germany and Poland to the east of Zittau. The Polish town after the crossing is Sieniawka (''Kleinschönau'' before 1945). *Zittau Friedenstraße – Porajów: Also consisting of a road bridge over the Lausitzer Neisse River south of Zittau. The Polish village after the border is Porajów (''Großporitsch''). This crossing is used for those proceeding to the Czech Republic via the Czech-Polish border crossing south of Porajow. The Czech border crossing is located at

(''Grottau''). *Zittau Lusatiaweg – Porajów: this formerly closed bridge was re-opened to pedestrians and cyclists in December 2007. Zittau is the only city along the

Oder–Neisse line The Oder–Neisse line (, ) is an unofficial term for the Germany–Poland border, modern border between Germany and Poland. The line generally follows the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, meeting the Baltic Sea in the north. A small portion ...

where a number of river bridges remain closed as international crossing-points between Germany and Poland even though both countries are in the Schengen Area.

Twin towns – sister cities

Zittau is twinned with: * Bogatynia, Poland *

, Czech Republic *

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

, Czech Republic *

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

, Italy *

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, United States * Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany *

Zielona Góra Zielona Góra (; ''Green Mountain''; ) is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (). The region is closely associated with vineyards and holds an annual Zielona Góra Wine Fest, Wine Fest. Zie ...

, Poland

Notable people

* Ernst Baier (1905–2001), figure skater, 1936 Olympic champion * Max Fiedler (1859–1939), conductor and composer * Melchior Franck (1579–1639), composer * Andreas Hammerschmidt (c. 1611–1675), composer and organist * Gotthard Handrick (1908–1979), athlete and fighter pilot * Moritz Haupt (1808–1874), philologist * Lutz Heilmann (born 1976), politician (The Left) * Henriette Heinze (born 1973), actress * Fritz Hertzsch (1892–1941), Generalmajor in World War II * Christian Keymann (1607–1662), hymnwriter * Alfred Klotz (1874–1956), philologist * Johann Krieger (1651–1735), composer and organist * Johann Kuhnau (1660–1722), composer, organist and harpsichordist * Gottfried Grünewald (1673–1739), composer, operatic bass, pantaleon virtuoso and harpsichordist * Theodor Leupold, cyclist * Albert Johann Ludovici (1820–1894), artist * Wolfgang Makatsch (1906–1983), ornithologist and oologist * Heinrich Marschner (1795–1861), composer * Stephan Meyer (born 1981), politician (CDU) * Ulrich Pinner (born 1954), tennis player *

Georg-Wilhelm Postel __NOTOC__ Georg-Wilhelm Postel (25 April 1896 – 20 September 1953) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Postel was taken prisoner by t ...

(1896–1953), World War II general * Christian Gottlieb Priber (1697–1744), utopian colonist * Heinz Richter (born 1947), cyclist *

Werner Richter __NOTOC__ Werner Richter (21 October 1893 – 3 June 1944) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Werner Richter was wounded on 21 May 1944 and died in Riga on 3 June 1944. Awards ...

(1893–1944), Generalleutnant in World War II * Marco Rudolph (born 1970), boxer * René Sommerfeldt (born 1974), cross-country skier * Lisa Tetzner (1894–1963), children's author * Steffen Tölzer (born 1985), ice hockey player * Christian Weise (1642–1708), writer, dramatist, poet, pedagogue and librarian * Dieter-Gerhardt Worm (born 1930), conductor * Albert Zimmermann (1808–1888), painter * Max Zimmermann (1811–1878), painter * Robert Zimmermann (1815–1864), painter * Richard Zimmermann (1820–1875), painter * Chval of Zittau (born and died in the 13th century), nobleman from the Ronovci family and the founder of the family of the .

Honorary citizens

Martin Mutschmann Martin Mutschmann (9 March 1879 – 14 February 1947) was a German factory owner who was a financial supporter of the Nazi Party and became the ''Gauleiter'' (Party leader) and ''Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich Governor) of the state of Saxony during ...

, 1933 (revoked during

German Reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in 1990, along with other high-ranking Nazi officials in line with "Article VIII, Section II o
Allied Control Council Directive No. 38of 1946
* Gerhard Gebauer, granted in 2010

Notes

References

Sources

* *

External links

{{Authority control Czech Republic–Germany border crossings Germany–Poland border crossings Towns in Görlitz (district) 12th-century establishments in Bohemia Populated places established in the 12th century