Reichenbach im Vogtland is a town in 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 of

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 ...

in eastern Germany. With a population of 20,108, it is the second-largest town in the Vogtlandkreis after

Plauen 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 ...

. It is located close to the A72 between Plauen (at c. 18 km) 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: ), ...

(at c. 19 km).

History

The town of Reichenbach im Vogtland dates back to a settlement of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

and owes its early growth to its privileged situation in a valley close to Mylau Castle. In 1212, it was officially named ''Richenbach'', possibly because of the many wetland basins (German: ''Bächen'') located in what is today the

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

. Reichenbach was granted

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 ...

around 1240 and mentioned in a 1271 decree as "civitatis richenbach", a town with autonomous rights to self-defence, trade, and municipal elections. Much of the Reichenbach history was lost in the town fires of 1720, 1773, and 1833. The foundations of the Ss. Peter and Paul

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

still date back to the 12th century. Ansicht Reichenbach um 1850

The rise of

industrialisation Industrialisation ( UK) or industrialization ( US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for th ...

allowed the town to grow further, again promoted by its accessibility.

Sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeo ...

and

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

were Reichenbach's main trades, but in the 19th century the

metal working Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

industry settled in the city and in the early 20th century, there was a rise of the

pulp and paper industry The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood, specifically pulpwood, as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard, and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process In the manufacturing process, pulp is intr ...

and printing works. Some of Reichenbach's most remarkable structures date from this era, including its

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

(1837–1839), the railway station (1846), and world's largest brick bridge, 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 ...

(1846–1851). Reichenbach im Vogtland has had a rather insignificant role in

World War II 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 ...

. The town was the

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

site of many prisoners of various nationalities, who died in the subcamp 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 ...

located in nearby Lengenfeld. On March 21, 1945, American bombings killed 161 citizens and destroyed or damaged many buildings. Against the orders of the

National Socialists Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

, Mayor Otto Schreiber capitulated the town on April 17 without a fight. The town was occupied by American troops, who handed over control to the

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 July 1. About 120 innocent youth aged 15 and 16 were taken in custody and transferred to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

's secret service (predecessor of the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

), hoping all other citizens would be spared. After Germany was split up, Reichenbach im Vogtland became part of

East Germany 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 ...

. The population has since declined from nearly 35,000 to little over 20,000 today. As was the case with many former East German industrial cities, the 1991

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

caused many workers to lose their jobs and they started to move away. Many initiatives have since been deployed to rebuild the local economy. There are still many industrial buildings in Reichenbach with a high historic value, but with little appeal. The administrative district of Reichenbach has grown since the early 20th century to include the quarters and villages of Brunn (1994), Cunsdorf (1924), Friesen (1994), Mylau (2016), Obermylau (2016), Oberreichenbach (1908), Rotschau (1996), and Schneidenbach (1999), and has had a collaborative relationship with Heinsdorfergrund since 2000. Schneidenbach joined on 1 January 1999, and Mylau on 1 January 2016.

Historical population

Sites of interest

* Reichenbach is home to the

, the world's largest brick bridge, located about 4 km (2.5 mi) west of the town center spanning across the Reichenbach district of Mylau and the adjacent town of

Netzschkau Netzschkau () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea ...

* The Neuberinhaus is a local historical and theatrical museum, named after the town's most famous citizen, actress

Friederike Caroline Neuber Friederike Caroline Neuber, née Friederike Caroline Weissenborn, also known as Friedericke Karoline Neuber, Frederika Neuber, Karoline Neuber, Carolina Neuber, Frau Neuber, and ''Die Neuberin'' (9 March 1697 – 30 November 1760), was a Germa ...

(1697–1760), nicknamed "the Neuberin". Permanent expositions include her life and work, 18th century German

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

and the town's history. Reichenbach - Laga Panorama 2

* The ''Park der Generationen'' (Park of Generations), the gardens of the 5th Saxon ''Landesgartenschau'' (horticultural show) held between May 1 and October 18, 2009.

Communications

Reichenbach im Vogtland also has a telecommunication tower of

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...

erected out of concrete, which includes a VHF broadcasting station for among others Vogtlandradio. It is not to be confused with the tower in

Reichenbach (Oberlausitz) Reichenbach/O.L. (full German name: Reichenbach/ Oberlausitz, Sorbian and Polish: ''Rychbach'') is a town in the Görlitz district, in eastern Saxony, in eastern Germany. It is located 13 km west of Görlitz. History The settlement was fir ...

which transmits MDR Info at 1,188 kHz.

Education

The Westsächsische Hochschule Zwickau - University of Applied Sciences Zwickau teaches architecture at

bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

and

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

level and Textile- and Leather Craftsmanship. The town also has a gymnasium, a middle school, three primary schools, and a

special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...

for the physically and mentally challenged. Middle school students also attend schools in the surrounding towns.

Twin towns – sister cities

Reichenbach im Vogtland is twinned with: * Althen-des-Paluds, France * Jędrzejów, Poland *

Karlštejn Karlštejn Castle (; ) is a castle in the Czech Republic. It is a large Gothic architecture, Gothic castle founded in 1348 by King Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as ...

, Czech Republic *

Ma'alot-Tarshiha Ma'alot-Tarshiha (; ) is a city in the North District, Israel, North District in Israel, about east of Nahariya, and about Above mean sea level, above sea level. The city was established in 1963 through a municipal merger of the Arab citizens of ...

, Israel * Montecarlo, Italy *

Nordhorn Nordhorn (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Nothoorn'', or ''Notthoarn'', ''Netthoarn,'' and Dutch: ''Noordhoorn'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the district seat of Grafschaft Bentheim, located in the southwest corner of the state, near th ...

, Germany * Ročov, Czech Republic * Waldenbuch, Germany

Notable people

* Josef Bachmann (1944–1970), activist * Richard Benz (1884–1966), historian * Karl Böttiger (1760–1835), archaeologist and classicist * Fedor Flinzer (1832–1911), author, educator, and illustrator * Willy Rudolf Foerster (1905–1966),

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

in Japan who rescued

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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 ...

* Jürgen Fuchs (1950–1999), author and dissident *

August Horch August Horch (12 October 1868 – 3 February 1951) was a German engineer and automobile pioneer, the founder of the manufacturing giant that eventually became Audi. Beginnings Horch was born in Winningen, Rhenish Prussia. His initial ...

(1868–1951), automobile pioneer * Johann Friedrich Krause (1770–1832), theologian * Rudolf Krause (1907–1987), racing driver * Johann Friedrich Krause (1770–1820), theologian * Georg Lenck (1685–1744), musician *

(1697–1760), actor and director *

Wolfgang Mattheuer Wolfgang Mattheuer (7 April 1927—7 April 2004) was a German painter, graphic artist and sculptor. Together with Werner Tübke and Bernhard Heisig he was a leading representative of the Leipzig School, a figurative art current in East Germany. ...

(1927–2004), painter, graphic artist, sculptor * Karl Nitz (born 1938), judoka * Nadja Sthamer (born 1990), politician * Henry Stöhr (born 1960), judoka * Manfred Winter (born 1954), speed skater

References

External links

*
Local churches and denominations
{{Authority control Vogtlandkreis