Markersdorf () is a municipality in the district of Görlitz in

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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, near to the eastern border with Poland. About 25 kilometres directly to the south, ''Markersdorf'' is also the former German name of Markocice, a small township in

Gmina Bogatynia __NOTOC__ Gmina Bogatynia is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Zgorzelec County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland, bordering both the Czech Republic and Germany. Its seat is the town of Bogatynia, which lies appro ...

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 ...

. The current ''Großgemeinde'' (large municipality) of Markersdorf came into being in 1994, when the municipalities of Markersdorf, Deutsch-Paulsdorf (

Upper Sorbian Upper Sorbian (), occasionally referred to as Wendish (), is a minority language spoken by Sorbs in the historical province of Upper Lusatia, today part of Saxony, Germany. It is a West Slavic language, along with Lower Sorbian, Czech, Poli ...

: ''Němske Pawlice''), Friedersdorf, Gersdorf, Holtendorf, Jauernick-Buschbach (''Jawernik-Nechow'') and Pfaffendorf were adjoined in the course of Saxon municipal reforms. The former seven municipalities still exist as equal districts within the municipality, which is symbolized by its coat of arms – seven identical leaves on a tree.

Geography

Markersdorf lies at the foot of the

Landeskrone The Landeskrone (German language, German name; named in Upper Sorbian language, Upper Sorbian) is a hill in Upper Lusatia that is known as the ''Hausberg'' or "local hill" of the town of Görlitz. It is situated in eastern Saxony, Germany, close ...

, bordering the town of

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 ...

to the east.

The Weißer Schöps ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

flows through the municipality. In the south-east of the municipality is the Berzdorfer See (Berzdorf Lake).

History

The municipality of Markersdorf was first mentioned in print in 1360, in a foundation certificate in the Görlitz city book. The first church is said to have been built in Jauernick as early as 980. The proximity of the city of Görlitz brought the surrounding area not only economic boom, but also suffering in times of war. Thus, the community was affected during the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, a ...

, the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, 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 ...

and the

Wars of Liberation The German campaign () was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon, his marshals, and th ...

. Markersdorf is often also called "Napoleonsdorf". In the village, marshal

Géraud Duroc Géraud Christophe Michel Duroc (; born du Roc; 25 October 1772 – 23 May 1813), Duke of Frioul, was a French people, French general and diplomat who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his friendshi ...

, wounded in the

Battle of Bautzen (1813) In the Battle of Bautzen (20–21 May 1813), a combined Prusso-Russian army, retreating after their defeat at Battle of Lützen (1813), Lützen and massively outnumbered, was pushed back by Napoleon but escaped destruction. Some sources cla ...

, died. File:Markersdorf Denkmal für Geraud Christophe Michel Duroc.jpg, Monument to marshal

in Markersdorf File:Markersdorf Deutsch Paulsdorf Schloss.jpg, Deutsch-Paulsdorf manor house File:Markersdorf-Friedersdorf, Kirche St.Ursula, 1663, Blick auf Friedhof u Chor, RvH 20110420.jpg,

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

Church of

St Ursula Ursula (Latin for 'little she-bear') was a Romano-British virgin and martyr possibly of royal origin. She is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. Her feast day in the pre-1970 G ...

in Friedersdorf File:Kirche Gersdorf (Markersdorf).JPG, File:Schönau-Berzdorf - Jauernick (Aussichtsturm Neuberzdorfer Höhe) 02 ies.jpg, Jauernick, seen from the File:Dorfmuseum Markersdorf.jpg, Markersdorf village museum

References

External links

Populated places in Görlitz (district) {{Görlitz-geo-stub