Wehrsdorf (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

) or Wernarjecy ( Upper Sorbian) is a small village in a valley of the

Lusatian Highlands The Lusatian Highlands''Upper Lusatia''
at www.silvaportal.info. Accessed on 10 July 20 ...

in the region of

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to t ...

(''Oberlausitz'') in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It has about 1,776 inhabitants and belongs to an administrative community of three different villages, with

Sohland an der Spree Sohland an der Spree (German) or Załom ( Upper Sorbian) is a municipality in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany near the border of the Czech Republic in a region called Lusatia. The river Spree flows through the village. Together with som ...

and Taubenheim. This community is offícially called Sohland after the largest of these villages. Altogether, the community has about 7,700 inhabitants.Zensus 2011 – Gemeinde Sohland a.d. Spree
/ref> The village is near the border to the

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

Monuments

The most important building in the village is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

church, built in 1725 in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

style. The tower is more than 40 meters high and sends its greetings over the valleys of the region. Near the church is an old cemetery with its typical flowered graves. The most important architectural heritage of the southern part of Upper Lusatia is the so-called " Umgebindehäuser", special, half-timbered houses which unite the differences of the Slavic and the Franconian styles of wood houses. Most of the present houses were built between 1850-1890.

Religion

Most people are still

atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

, as in the time of official

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

, but there is also a Lutheran tradition and most people are linked to this religion, as well as a strong Catholic minority. Upper Lusatia is typically a religious mixed region.

Economy

In the time before

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governmen ...

in 1990, the village was still a typical "Saxon industrial village" with four big and several small enterprises, all state-owned. They produced furniture, clothing, metal instruments and more. After the reunification, most of the firms were not able to survive; only the firm that produced furnitures still exists. The high rate of unemployment today is also the primary reason why so many people have left the region. But in comparison with other villages of Upper Lusatia, Wehrsdorf is still well off. Before 1990, Upper Lusatia was a tourist area, and tourism is still important. There are four restaurants, a hotel (****) and several private bed-and-breakfasts.

Historical Population

Quelle: http://hov.isgv.de/Wehrsdorf

References

{{Authority control Towns in Saxony