Olbernhau is a town in the district

Erzgebirgskreis Erzgebirgskreis is a district ('' Kreis'') in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the Ore Mountains (German: ''Erzgebirge''), a mountain range in the southern part of the district which forms part of the Germany–Czech Republi ...

, 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 ...

. It is situated in 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 ...

, 35 km southeast of

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

, and 23 km north of Chomutov,

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 ...

History

Presumably, the town's name arose from the old German name Albert (Albernhaw, Alberthau, Albernhau, Albretshain). Olbernhau has its origins back in the 13th century. Encouraged by Archbishop Albert I. of Meissen, the so-called White Monks (

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

) from Osek founded the first settlement in the upper Flöha valley, shortly after ore was found here. Olbernhau was first mentioned in records in 1434 (as "Albernaw") in a contract documenting the sale of Olbernhau to the patritian Caspar von Berbisdorf. Ore mining started in 1511. In the course of the

Protestant reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

Olbernhau became a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in 1539. A school is mentioned for the first time in 1556. The solidly built church was consecrated in 1590. About 1684 the industrial art of

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

ing was introduced in Olbernhau. In 1690, Olbernhau's first barrel forge was erected in the Rungstock valley, and in 1708 the gun manufactory delivered 12,000 guns to the Saxonian Army. In 1815, a

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

mill was founded, which was partly destroyed by explosions in the years 1835, 1850 and 1865. The last gun left the Olbernhau factory in 1854. The launch of the Pockau-Lengefeld–Neuhausen railway (also known as the ''Flöhatalbahn''—Flöha Valley Railway) in May 1875 linked Olbernhau to the railway network. A Kindergarten was built in 1878. In the 1880es, Olbernhau gained a hospital, gasworks and gas street lights, and in 1892 Saxony's very first electric power station began operation in Olbernhau. From 1895, steam trains ran on the section of line between Olbernhau and Neuhausen. On 1 January 1902 Olbernhau received

town privileges 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 traditio ...

. In 1906, the beautiful

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

Concert and Ball Hall "Tivoli" was inaugurated. A public swimming bath opened in 1930. In 2002, one of the worst Flöha floods in history destroyed parts of the town centre and many houses on the river's banks. Thanks to many private donations from all over Germany, most of the enormous damages (amounting to several million Euros) was repaired within one year.

Tourism

Olbernhau is a popular tourist destination. Among the town's major sights are: * the Copper Hammer Mill "Althammer" on which the Russian tzar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

once rode * the open-air museum "Saigerhütte" (founded in 1493, ore processing technology + tiny workmen's houses) * the museum, located in a former manor, offering a wide range of information about local traditions * the "Tanz- und Ballhaus Tivoli", a ballroom with beautiful Art Deco glass window * the pittoresque Oberneuschönberg church (consecrated in 1695). Snuggled in the Flöha Valley with its six sub-valleys, Olbernhau offers scenic views and paths for hiking and winter sports.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Erzgebirgskreis