Plauen (; ; ) is a town 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 ...

with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after

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 ...

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 ...

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

Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...

, the second-largest city of the

Vogtland Vogtland (; ) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euroregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former leadershi ...

after

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 ...

, as well as the largest city in the Saxon Vogtland region (''Sächsisches Vogtland''). The city lies on the upper reaches of the

White Elster The White Elster (, ) is a river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into easte ...

River, a tributary of the

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

, in the Central Vogtlandian Hill Country. Plauen is the southwesternmost city of a string of cities sitting in the densely populated foreland of the

Elster Elster may refer to: Places * Black Elster (''Schwarze Elster''), a river in Germany * White Elster (''Weiße Elster''), a river in Germany and the Czech Republic ** Elster Viaduct, a railway bridge over the White Elster ** Elster Viaduct (Pirk ...

and

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 ...

, stretching from Plauen in the southwest via Zwickau, Chemnitz and

Freiberg Freiberg () is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and ...

to Dresden in the northeast. It is the county seat of the

Vogtland District The Vogtlandkreis () is a ''Landkreis'' (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, Saale-Orla, Greiz, Zwickau, and E ...

. Plauen directly borders

Greiz Greiz ( ; ) is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the Greiz (district), district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of the state capital Erfurt, on the White Elster river. Greiz has a large park ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

to the north, and it is also situated near the Saxon border with

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

(

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

) and the

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 ...

(

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

). Plauen and the surrounding Saxon Vogtland are known as the historic center of the German

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

and

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

industry, and the products of the region are protected under the label ' ("Plauen Lace"). The

Elster Viaduct The Elster Viaduct () is a railway bridge in the German state of Saxony. It carries the Leipzig–Hof railway, Leipzig–Hof line near Pöhl, Jocketa over the valley of the White Elster. After the Göltzsch Viaduct (''Göltzschtalbrücke'') it is ...

(''Elstertalbrücke''), spanning the valley of the White Elster between Plauen and

Pöhl Pöhl is a municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Kurze Str., Saxony, 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 ...

, is the second-largest bridge built out of bricks in the world, after the

Göltzsch Viaduct The Göltzsch Viaduct (German: ''Göltzschtalbrücke'', ) is a railway bridge in Germany. It is the largest brick-built bridge in the world, and for a time it was the tallest railway bridge in the world. It spans the valley of the Göltzsch Rive ...

. Despite its location in Saxony the regional

Vogtlandian Vogtlandian ( ; Vogtländisch: ''Vuuchtländisch'', Klingenthal pronunciation: ) is an East Franconian dialect, spoken in Vogtland. Distribution and history Vogtlandian is mainly spoken in rural areas. Speakers are mainly elderly, as school an ...

dialect spoken in Plauen is a variety of

East Franconian East Franconian ( ), usually referred to as Franconian (' ) in German, is a dialect spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, Bamberg, Coburg, Würzburg, Hof, Bayreuth, ...

(with

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

influences) related to the dialects of neighbouring Franconia in Bavaria. The name of the city as well as the names of many of its neighborhoods and boroughs are of

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

origin.

History

Plauen was founded by

Polabian Slavs Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites, Lechitic (West Slavs, West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The ...

in the 12th century as "Plawe" and was passed to the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

in 1327. The town was captured by the Archbishop of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

, , in 1384. In 1466, it was passed to Albertine Saxony and later in 1569 to the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

. Plauen became incorporated into the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

in 1806 during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, and in 1871 it became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. In the late-19th century, Plauen became a centre of

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

manufacturing, specializing in

Chemical lace A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be comb ...

, called

Plauen lace Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest cit ...

. Around 1910, Plauen, as an industrial 'boomtown' of the region, reached its population peak (1910 census: 121,000, 1912: 128,000). Plauen's population, however, has shrunk dramatically since the

Second World War 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 ...

(1939: 111,000 inhabitants). In the 1930s, Plauen hosted the first chapter of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

outside of

. During the war, the Nazis operated a prison in the town, and three subcamps of the

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flos ...

. Five hundred women, mostly Polish, but also Russian, Italian, French, Yugoslavian and Croatian, were imprisoned and used as

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

in the first two subcamps, and 50 men from various countries were imprisoned in the third subcamp. It was occupied by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

troops on 16 April 1945 but was left to

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

on 1 July 1945. On 15 December 1945, the city issued 7 semi-postal postage stamps of its own to raise money for reconstruction. From 1945 onwards, Plauen fell into the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

of Germany, which later became the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(1949–1990). Plauen hosted a large

occupation garrison and, in the last years of the GDR (DDR), an officer school of the Border Guards ("Grenztruppen der DDR"). The first mass demonstration against the communist regime in the GDR began in Plauen on 7 October 1989; this was the beginning of a series of mass demonstrations across the country and ultimately led to the re-unification of Germany in 1990. The exposé ''

Fast Food Nation ''Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal'' is a 2001 book by Eric Schlosser. First serialized by ''Rolling Stone'' in 1999, the book has drawn comparisons to Upton Sinclair's 1906 muckraking novel ''The Jungle''. The book wa ...

'' gives special mention to Plauen as the first city of the GDR to have a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

restaurant following the collapse of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

. As part of Saxony's local government reform of July 1st 2008, Plauen lost its status as a

district-free city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

and was integrated into the

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 ...

district.

Jewish Community of Plauen

The Jewish community of Plauen dates back to the early 14th century and numbered several hundred between the two world wars. A reform-Jewish, bauhaus-style synagogue was opened in 1930, only to be demolished in 1938 during the

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

. Plauen becoming a Nazi stronghold, attacks against the Jewish community were frequent in the 1920s. Physically labelled Jews are documented from 1932. Most of the Jewish population either left or was killed during

The Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Today, no Jewish community exists in Plauen. The city of Plauen maintains a few sites in the city to commemorate past Jewish life in Plauen, such as the Jewish Cemetery. A 3D-model of the Jewish Synagogue of Plauen was designed by Prof. Marc Grellert and his team from the TU Darmstadt as a part of his project to 3D-design German synagogues that were demolished before, during and after WW2.

Politics

The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who served from 1990 to 2000. The mayor was originally chosen by the city council, but since 1994 has been directly elected. of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) was mayor between 2000 and 2021. The most recent mayoral election was held in two rounds on 13 June and 4 July 2021, in which Steffen Zenner (CDU) was elected. ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Steffen Zenner , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 8,390 , 33.5 , 8,768 , 41.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Silvia Queck-Händel , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, 5,881 , 23.5 , 6,477 , 30.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Lars Buchmann , align=left,

, 4,197 , 16.8 , 4,398 , 20.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ingo Eckardt , align=left,

, 2,077 , 8.3 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=169340, , align=left, Thomas Kaden , align=left, Free Saxons , 1,865 , 7.5 , 1,107 , 5.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Thomas Haubenreißer , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 1,635 , 6.5 , align=center colspan=2, ''Withdrew'' , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Andreas Ernstberger , align=left,

, 970 , 3.9 , 574 , 2.7 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 25,015 ! 99.6 ! 21,324 ! 99.8 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 113 ! 0.4 ! 53 ! 0.2 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 25,128 ! 100.0 ! 21,377 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 51,961 ! 48.4 ! 51,926 ! 41.2 , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Plauen
The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) , 24,718 , 28.1 , 8.1 , 12 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 22,638 , 25.8 , 2.1 , 11 , 0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice ( , BSW) is a List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-le ...

(BSW) , 11,730 , 13.4 , New , 5 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD) , 8,155 , 9.3 , 4.7 , 4 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 4,356 , 5.0 , 4.9 , 2 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 4,333 , 4.9 , 9.7 , 2 , 4 , - , , align=left, Initiative Plauen (WV) , 4,179 , 4.8 , 0.6 , 2 , 0 , - , , align=left, Voter Initiative Plauener List (PL) , 4,123 , 4.7 , New , 2 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

(Grüne) , 3,658 , 4.2 , 4.4 , 2 , 1 , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 87,890 ! 100.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ballots ! 30,855 ! 100.0 ! ! 42 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 50,803 ! 60.7 ! 2.5 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Plauen

Industry and infrastructure

Plauen (Vogtland) Oberer Bahnhof Plauen (Vogtland) Oberer Bahnhof ''(Upper station)'' is the main station of Plauen in the German state of Saxony on the Leipzig–Hof line. It is the main hub of rail traffic in Vogtland. This station is maintained and operated by DB Station&Ser ...

lies on the Leipzig–Hof line. The section of this line through Plauen is part of the

Saxon-Franconian trunk line Saxon-Franconian trunk line () is a modern term for a double-track railway route between the German cities of Dresden and Nuremberg. It is 390 kilometres long and currently electrified from Dresden to Hof, Bavaria, Hof. The concept of the Saxony, ...

running between

Nürnberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and its 544,414 (2023) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany. ...

, Hof, Plauen,

and

. The city had another station,

Plauen (Vogtland) Unterer station Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest ci ...

(now defunct), on the

Elster Valley Railway Elster may refer to: Places * Black Elster (''Schwarze Elster''), a river in Germany * White Elster (''Weiße Elster''), a river in Germany and the Czech Republic ** Elster Viaduct, a railway bridge over the White Elster ** Elster Viaduct (Pirk) ...

. There is a plan to rename the Oberer (Upper) station into Plauen Hauptbahnhof (Main Station). Vogtlandbahn (Vogtland Railway), a regional train company, operates services from Plauen to Hof, Werdau,

, Falkenstein and Adorf within Germany and

Cheb Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...

in the

. At these stations, there are other Vogtlandbahn services to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

, Marktredwitz,

and

within Germany and

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in the

. A Vogtlandbahn Express Bus service runs between Plauen and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Schönefeld Airport and Zoological Garden. The Plauen Straßenbahn is a tram system with 6 lines connecting the center of city, the central Plauen-Tunnel stop, to the surrounding areas and the upper railway station (Oberer Bahnhof).

Main sights

* Embroidery Machine Museum *Museum Plauener Spitze *Galerie e.O. plauen *Old City Hall *

– second largest brick bridge in the world *Friedensbrücke – largest stone

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

in the world *Johanniskirche *Old Elster Viaduct – oldest bridge in Saxony *Malzhaus

Education and science

Plauen is home to a

University of Applied Sciences A vocational university or university of applied sciences (UAS), less commonly called a polytechnic university is an institution of higher education and increasingly research that provides applied professional education and grants academic de ...

with about 300 students and a DIPLOMA Fachhochschule.

Twin towns – sister cities

Plauen is twinned with: *

Aš Aš (; ) is a town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Aš consists of nine municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Aš (11, ...

, Czech Republic (1962) *

Steyr Steyr (; ) is a statutory city (Austria), statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd lar ...

, Austria (1970) * Hof, Germany (1987) *

Siegen Siegen () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg region. The university town (n ...

, Germany (1990) *

Cegléd Cegléd (; ) is a city in Pest County, Pest county, Hungary, approximately southeast of the Hungarian capital, Budapest. Name The name of the town is of disputed origin. The name may be derived from the word "szeglet" (meaning "corner") due to i ...

, Hungary (2005) *

Pabianice Pabianice is a city in central Poland with 63,023 inhabitants (2021). Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the capital of Pabianice County. It lies about southwest of Łódź and belongs to the metropolitan area of that city. It is the thi ...

, Poland (2006) *

Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...

, Lithuania (2010) The urban district of Jößnitz is twinned with

Heilsbronn Heilsbronn () is a town in the Ansbach district of the Mittelfranken administrative region of Franconia, in the German state of Bavaria between Nuremberg and Ansbach, in the wooded valley of the Rangau. Its hallmark is the ''Katharinenturm'', ...

, Germany.

Notable people

Heinrich von Plauen Heinrich von Plauen (the Elder) ( – 1429) was the 27th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from November 1410 to October 1413. Having becoming grandmaster in the wake of the Battle of Grunwald, he was a stern proponent of prolonging ...

(1370–1429), Grand Master of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

* Christoph Pezel (1539–1604), theologian *

Johann von Mayr Johann von Mayr (1 May 1716 – 5 January 1759) was a Prussian military officer. He was the head of a Prussian ''Freibataillon'' ("F 2") that, during the Seven Years' War, formed part of the advanced guard of Frederick the Great's Prussian Army. ...

(1716–1759), Prussian general *

Ferdinand Gotthelf Hand Ferdinand Gotthelf Hand (15 February 1786 – 14 March 1851), Germany, German classical scholar, was born at Plauen in Saxony. He studied at Leipzig. In 1810 he became professor at the Weimar gymnasium, and in 1817 professor of philosophy and Gre ...

(1786–1851), philologist *

Eduard Friedrich Poeppig Eduard Friedrich Poeppig (16 July 1798 – 4 September 1868) was a German botanist, zoologist and explorer. Biography Poeppig was born in Plauen, Saxony. He studied medicine and natural history at the University of Leipzig, graduating with a med ...

(1798–1868), botanist, zoologist and explorer *

Gustav Hartenstein Gustav Hartenstein (18 March 1808 – 2 February 1890) was a German philosopher and author. He was one of the most gifted followers of Johann Friedrich Herbart. Biography He was born at Plauen, Kingdom of Saxony, Saxony, and educated at the Fürst ...

(1808–1890), philosopher *

Charles Beyer Charles Frederick Beyer (an anglicised form of his original German name Carl Friedrich Beyer) (14 May 1813 – 2 June 1876) was a celebrated German-British locomotive designer and builder, and co-founder of the Institution of Mechanical Engineer ...

(1813–1876), locomotive designer and engineer *

Emil Kautzsch Emil Friedrich Kautzsch (4 September 1841 – 7 May 1910) was a German Hebrew scholar and biblical critic, born at Plauen, Saxony. Biography He was educated at Leipzig, in whose theological faculty he was appointed privatdozent (1869) and p ...

(1841–1910), theologian * Arwed Rossbach (1844–1902), architect in Leipzig * Hermann Vogel (1854–1921), illustrator * Arthur Hess (1891–1959), SA general and Nazi politician *

Kurt Helbig Kurt Helbig (June 28, 1901, in Plauen – January 30, 1975, in Plauen) was a German Olympic champion weightlifter. He competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal in the lightweight class. References

* 1901 births ...

(1901–1975), weightlifter *

Friedrich Hielscher Friedrich Hielscher (31 May 19026 March 1990) was a German intellectual involved in the Conservative Revolutionary movement during the Weimar Republic and in the German resistance during the Nazi era. He was the founder of an esoteric or Neopaga ...

(1902–1990), religious philosopher, writer and resistance fighter against Nazism *

E.O. Plauen E. O. Plauen (often stylized as e.o.plauen) was the pseudonym of Erich Ohser (18 March 1903 – 5 April 1944) (some sources give his birth year as 1909), a German cartoonist best known for his strip '' Vater und Sohn'' ("Father and Son"). Life ...

(1903–1944), cartoonist *

Paul Wessel Paul Wessel (born 9 April 1904 in Plauen; d. 20 January 1967 in Berlin) was a member of the small secretariat of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the communist party of the former German Democratic R ...

(1904–1967), politician (SED) *

Egon Zill Egon Gustav Adolf Zill (28 March 1906 in Plauen – 23 October 1974 in Munich) was a German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) ''Sturmbannführer'' and concentration camp commandant. Zill was born in Plauen. The son of a brewer from Plauen, Zill's father was s ...

(1906–1974), Nazi SS commandant of the

* Werner Hartenstein (1908–1943), war-time commander of U-156 *

Walter Ballhause Walter Ballhause (born in Hameln on 3 April 1911 – died in Plauen on 8 July 1991) was a German photographer. He was active politically and worked in social documentary photography. Biography Born in Hameln as the son of a shoemaker, Walter Ballh ...

(1911–1991), photographer *

Horst Dohlus Horst Dohlus (30 May 1925 – 28 April 2007) was a high ranking Socialist Unity Party of Germany, SED party functionary in the German Democratic Republic and a member of the country's People's Chamber, National Legislative Assembly (''Volkska ...

(1925–2007), SED functionary * Karl Richter (1926–1981), conductor, organist, and harpsichordist *

Hans Otte Hans Günther Franz Otte (3 December 1926 – 25 December 2007) was a German composer, pianist, radio promoter, and author of many pieces of musical theatre, sound installations, poems, drawings, and art videos. From 1959 to 1984 he served as music ...

(1926–2007), composer and pianist *

Klaus Zoephel Klaus Zoephel (16 July 1929 – 27 January 2017) was a German composer and Conducting, conductor. Life Born in Plauen, ready at a young age, during the Second World War, Zoephel worked as an organist in various places in his native Vogtland. Af ...

(1929–2017), composer and conductor *

Klaus Zink Klaus Zink (20 January 1936 – 9 February 2024) was a German footballer who played as a forward. Zink died on 9 February 2024, at the age of 88. References 1936 births 2024 deaths Sportspeople from Plauen German men's footballers F ...

(born 1936), footballer *

Angelika Bahmann Angelika Bahmann (born 1 April 1952 in Plauen) is a former East Germany, East German slalom canoeing, slalom canoeist and trainer who competed in the 1970s. She won a gold medal in the Canoeing at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Women's slalom K-1 ...

(born 1952), slalom canoeist, Olympic champion *

Kornelia Ender Kornelia Ender (later Matthes now Grummt, born 25 October 1958) is a former East German swimmer who at the 1976 Summer Olympics became the first woman swimmer to win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games, all in world record times. It was l ...

(born 1958), swimmer, Olympic champion *

Volker Eckert Volker Eckert (1 July 1959 – 2 July 2007) was a German serial killer, who killed at least six women in East Germany, France and Spain, between 1974 and 2006. Eckert confessed to only six murders, five of whom were sex workers, but is believed ...

(1959–2007), serial killer *

Matthias Freihof Matthias Freihof (born 25 November 1961) is a German television actor and director. He has performed in many TV films and series including police drama Siska for 5 years. but also works on live stage performing as an actor and a singer. He is m ...

(born 1961), television actor and director *

Andrea Stolletz Andrea Stolletz ( Andrea Wolf born 30 October 1963 in Plauen, Germany) is a German handball goalkeeper. She participated at the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officiall ...

(born 1963), handball player * (born 1967), politician *

Olaf Schubert Michael Haubold (born November 7, 1967), better known by his stage name Olaf Schubert is a German comedian and musician. Life Schubert works as comedian and musician on German broadcasters and radios. Discography by Olaf Schubert * Bestan ...

(born 1967), comedian and musician *

Martin Dulig Martin Dulig (born 26 February 1974) is a German politician for the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD). Until 20 December 2019, he was the Saxony, Saxon State Minister of Labor and Traffic and Deputy Minister Presi ...

(born 1974), politician (SPD) * Philip Geipel (born 1986), racing driver *

Christian Bahmann Christian Bahmann (born 22 July 1981 in Plauen) is a German Canoe slalom, slalom canoeist who competed at the international level from 1999 to 2008. He won a gold in the C2 event at the 2005 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships in Penrith, New ...

(born 1981), slalom canoeist *

Christin Zenner Christin Zenner (born 18 March 1991 in Plauen, Saxony) is a German swimmer, who specialized in backstroke events. She is a two-time champion in the 50 m backstroke at the European Junior Swimming Championships (2006 European Junior Swimming Champ ...

(born 1991), swimmer *

Linda-Philomène Tsoungui Linda-Philomène (Philo) Tsoungui (born 1992 in Plauen) is a German drummer, percussionist, and music producer. She is known as the drummer for The Mars Volta, as well as several German acts, including singer Mine, rapper Fatoni, and rapper Chefk ...

(born 1992), drummer for

The Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership forms the core of the ban ...

Kassem Taher Saleh Kassem Taher Saleh (born 1 June 1993) is a German Civil engineering, civil engineer and politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag since the 2021 German federal election, representing the Dresden I ...

(born 1993), politician (Alliance 90/The Greens)

Honorary citizens

Martin Mutschmann Martin Mutschmann (9 March 1879 – 14 February 1947) was a German factory owner who was a financial supporter of the Nazi Party and became the ''Gauleiter'' (Party leader) and ''Reichsstatthalter'' (Reich Governor) of the state of Saxony during ...

, 1933 (revoked 1945)

Gallery

Plauen Innenstadt Bahnhofstrasse.jpg, Plauen downtown PL-Markt-1.jpg, Old market square Plauen Altes Rathaus.jpg, Old city hall Markuskirche.jpg, Church of St. Mark Das Vogtlandtheater .jpg, Vogtlandtheater Plauen Gedenktafel 7.Oktober.jpg, Commemorative plaque in Plauen for the mass demonstration of 1989

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Vogtlandkreis Populated places established in the 12th century