Otterwisch is a municipality in the

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 ...

district 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 ...

Geography and transport

The town is situated about 12 km southwest of

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 10 km northeast of Borna. The Leipzig–Geithain railroad passes through the town and the national road B 176 transverses the south of the parish.

History

The first documented mention of Otterwisch was in 1269. The meaning of the place name is not known for certain but may be derived from Otter Wiese (otter meadow). Großbuch is a part of Otterwisch since 1970. Its foundation dates back to the year 1104 and

Wiprecht of Groitzsch Wiprecht (or Wigbert) of Groitzsch (died 22 May 1124) was the Margrave of Meissen and the Saxon Ostmark from 1123 until his death. He was born to a noble family of the Altmark, the son of Wiprecht of Balsamgau and Sigena of Leinungen. After his fa ...

. Its central point is the church in whose massive tower three valuable bronze bells from pre-

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 ...

times still function. Großbuch was the scene of

witch trials A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East. ...

in the period 1488–1489.

Sights of interest

Otterwisch House is in private ownership and is being renovated. It was built between 1727 and 1730 by Duchess Rahel Charlotte Vitzthum von Eckstädt in the

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 ...

style. It belonged to the von Arnim family from 1904 to 1945.

References

Leipzig (district) {{Leipzig-geo-stub