Greiz ( ) is a Kreis (
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 ...
) in the east of
Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the west clockwise)
Saale-Holzland
Saale-Holzland (official German language, German name: Saale-Holzland-Kreis) is a ''Kreis'' (Districts of Germany, district) in the east of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the district Burgenlandkreis in Sa ...
,
Saale-Orla, district-free city
Gera
Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...
, the
Burgenlandkreis
Burgenlandkreis () is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is .
History
The district was established as Landkreis Burgenland by the merger of the former Burgenlandkreis and Landkreis Weißenfels as part of the reform of 2007. ...
in
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...
,
Altenburger Land, and the two
Saxon districts
Zwickau and
Vogtlandkreis
The Vogtlandkreis () is a ''Landkreis'' (List of German rural districts, rural district) in the southwest of Saxony, Germany, at the borders of Thuringia, Bavaria, and the Czech Republic. Neighbouring districts are (from south clockwise) Hof (dist ...
.
History
Historically the area of the district was part of the ''Vogtland'', named after the title ''Vogt'' given to the local rulers in the 13th century. Only two lines of the ''Reuß'' family survived from that time, with one principality based in Greiz, and the other in Gera and Schleiz. In 1919 both were merged into the ''Volksstaat Reuß'', which then became part of Thuringia in 1920.
A subcamp of the
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...
was located at
Berga/Elster 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 ...
. It was an
SS joint venture, in which inmates dug tunnels and laid railway tracks for the Schwalbe V project.
[Edward Victor. ''Alphabetical List of Camps, Subcamps and Other Camps.'' www.edwardvictor.com/Holocaust/List %20 of %20 camps.htm]
The district in its current form was created on 1 July 1994, when the districts Gera-Land, Zeulenroda and the previous district Greiz were merged.
Geography
In the south of the district are the mountains of the Thuringian Slate Mountains (''Thüringer Schiefergebirge'') and the
Ore Mountains
The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...
, with the river valley of the ''Weiße Elster'' going through the district from south to north.
Coat of arms
Both the lion as well as the crane in the top part of the coat of arms derive from the coat of arms of the Reuß families and their principalities. In the bottom is a part of the coat of arms of Saxony, as a small part of the district belonged to the Duchies of Saxony.
Towns and municipalities
Sights
Sights in the district Greiz:
*The Upper Castle of Greiz
*The Lower Castle of Greiz
*The Summer Palace Greiz
*Weida Osterburg Castle
*Ronneburg Castle
*Reichenfels Castle Ruin
*Old Guardhouse "Alte Wache" in
Greiz
*Zeulenroda Town Hall
*Widen Church Ruin in Weida
*St. Veit Parish Church
*Mildenfurth Monastery
*Cronschwitz Monastery Ruin
*Greiz Park
*Fairy Tale Forest in Wünschendorf
Museums in the district Greiz:
*Museum of Local History in
Greiz
*Summer Palace in
Greiz
*Zeulenroda City Museum in
Zeulenroda
*
Osterburg Castle Museum in
Weida, Thuringia
*
Heinrich Schütz House in
Bad Köstritz
*Museum in
Hohenleuben
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control