Oschatz () is a town in the district

Nordsachsen Nordsachsen (, ) is a district (''Districts of Germany, Kreis'') in Saxony, Germany. History The district was established by merging the former districts of Delitzsch (district), Delitzsch and Torgau-Oschatz as part of the district reform of Au ...

, 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 located 60 km east of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and 60 km west of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Geography

Site and climate

Oschatz lies in the Saxon Lowland and is located on the river Döllnitz, which joins the river

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

as a left tributary 15 km away near

Riesa Riesa (; ) is a town in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, approximately northwest of Dresden. History The name ''Riesa'' is derived from Slavic ''Riezowe''. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears f ...

. Oschatz is situated near the forested regions of the Dahlener Heath as well as the Wermsdorf Forest and the Collmberg. Neighboring districts include:

Liebschützberg Liebschützberg is a municipality in the district Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. Until 1991 the territory of Liebschützberg and its 1,600 residents were part of the town of Borna. During the administrative reform of Saxony which followed the ...

Strehla Strehla (; , ) is a small town in the district of Meißen, Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, north of Riesa. This place name means ''arrow'' in Sorbian. Strehla includes the following subdivisions: *Forberge *Görzig/Trebnitz ...

, Riesa, Stauchitz, Naundorf,

Wermsdorf Wermsdorf is a Municipalities in Germany, municipality in the Nordsachsen Districts of Germany, district in Saxony, Germany. Two hunting castles of the Saxon Dukes and Kings are to be found here. Geography Landscape Wermsdorf is situated wi ...

and Dahlen. The average air temperature in Oschatz is approximately 8.6 °C, the annual rainfall is about 570 millimeters.

Subdistricts

The administrative district of the town Oschatz also contains the following 14

townlands A townland (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Outer Hebrides, Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Middle Ages, medieval Gael ...

History

Early times to 18th century

The area of the present-day town has been settled since

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

times. The name Oschatz derives from the Sorbian word for

abatis An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed (in the modern era) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced ...

. The first written mention was in 1200 as a name "Johannes de Ozzetz", however the association to Oschatz is uncertain. The first definite mention of the town dates from 1238, as ''Ozzechz'' is mentioned in a document from the Henry III, Margrave of Meißen. The oldest document found in the town archive is an indulgence letter from Bishop Conrad of

Meißen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

, dated 1246. In 1344 the people's army The Geharnischten certified for the association of towns Oschatz,

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies first met near ...

and

Grimma Grimma (; , ) is a town in Saxony, Central Germany, on the left bank of the Mulde, southeast of Leipzig. Founded in 1170, it is part of the Leipzig district. Location The town is in northern Saxony, southeast of Leipzig and south of Wurz ...

, and a schoolmaster was employed in 1365. A fort in Oschatz was first mentioned in 1377, and a watch tower was erected at the site of the current museum. The town received market rights in 1394. The town hall was built in the Market Square in 1477. In 1478 the town was awarded its own jurisdiction by the local rulers. The current town hall was built between 1538 and 1546. During the

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

Oschatz, like many towns in the region, turned Protestant. There are still letters from Luther,

Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the L ...

and

Justus Jonas Justus Jonas, the Elder (5 June 1493 – 9 October 1555), or simply Justus Jonas, was a German Lutheran theologian and reformer. He was a Jurist, Professor and Hymn writer. He is best known for his translations of the writings of Martin Luther ...

in the town archives. Plague killed 900 of 3000 inhabitants in 1566. Oschatz was scene of a witchcraft trial in 1583. Leonhard Sihra was convicted of sorcery and was hanged. In 1616 the town experienced a fire which destroyed 440 houses and storehouses.

19th century to modern times

Population development

Architecture and monuments

Notable buildings:Sehenswürdigkeiten der Stadt Oschatz
Oschatzer Freizeitstätten *The 16th century town hall, rebuilt after the 1842 fire *The 19th century neogothic St.-Aegidien-Kirche, with two 75 m high towers *The 13th-15th century Klosterkirche, the only remaining building of the Franciscan monastery *several 16th and 17th century buildings on the Neumarkt square Monuments: * Monument in the town park to the victims of Fascism with an additional memorial plaque for French Resistance fighters, which was erected in 1984. * Graves and a memorial stone in the graveyard beside the chapel for 19 female predominantly Jewish

Concentration Camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

prisoners, who were on a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...

from one of the subcamps of

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

when they died in April 1945. * Memorial at the corner of Leipziger Platz and Friedrich-Naumann-Promenade in memory of the overnight stay of

Ernst Thälmann Ernst Johannes Fritz Thälmann (; 16 April 1886 – 18 August 1944) was a German communist politician and leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) from 1925 to 1933. A committed communist, Thälmann sought to overthrow the liberal democr ...

, the chairman of the KPD before he was interned in

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 ...

prison. * Plaque on the house at Strehlaer Straße 5, also in memorial of Thälmann.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Oschatz has a connection to the A14 autobahn via the exits Mutzschen, Leisnig or Döbeln-North. The

Bundesstraße 6 The Bundesstraße 6 (abbr. B6) is a German federal highway running from Bremerhaven on the North Sea coast in a southeasterly direction through the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony to Görlitz on the Polish border. H ...

goes through the town and the Bundesstraße 169 is few kilometres distant and connects with the A14 as well as the towns of Döbeln (towards

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 Riesa (towards

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 ...

Tourism

In the historic center the hotel and restaurant ' Zum Schwan' is located, one of the oldest

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

s in

, founded in 1458. Oschatz is situated at the

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the Historic roads, historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History ...

, a centuries old trade route, recognised as

Cultural Route of the Council of Europe A Culture Route of the Council of Europe, sometimes referred to as a European Cultural Route, is a certification awarded by the Council of Europe to networks promoting the European shared culture, history and memory. These routes must also match ...

. Several historical monuments and other places of interest can be found in the old town. Oschatz is the terminal station of the narrow gauge Döllnitzbahn. The city hosted the 2006 Saxon Garden Exhibition (Landesgartenschau) and since that time has renovated and upgraded its landscape park, called O-Park.

International relations

Oschatz is twinned with: * Blomberg,

Filderstadt Filderstadt (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Fildorsdadd'') is a town in the Esslingen (district), district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located approximately 13 km south of Stuttgart. Filderstadt is located n ...

, Germany *

Starogard Gdański Starogard Gdański (; until 1950: ''Starogard''; formerly ) is a city in Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland with 48,328 inhabitants (2004). Starogard is the capital of Starogard County. Founded in the Middle Ages, Starogard is a city 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 ...

Třebíč Třebíč (; ) is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 35,000 inhabitants. The beginnings of the town's history are connected with the establishment of a Benedictines, Benedictine monastery, where the castle is loca ...

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 ...

Vénissieux Vénissieux (; Arpitan language, Arpitan: or in the Lyonnais dialect) is a Communes of France, commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in eastern France. Geography Vénissieux is located on the sou ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

People

Melanie Müller Melanie "Melli" Müller (born 10 June 1988) is a German reality television personality, schlager singer and former pornographic actress. Early life From 2005 to 2009, Müller, who was born in Oschatz, trained as a restaurant specialist and ...

(born 1988), German television personality

References

External links

{{Authority control Nordsachsen