Werdau () is a town in
Germany, part of the
Landkreis Zwickau in
Saxony. It is situated on the river
Pleiße
The Pleiße is a river of Saxony and Thuringia, Germany.
The Pleiße has its source southwest of Zwickau at Ebersbrunn, then flows through Werdau, Crimmitschau, Altenburg, and other towns and villages in Saxony and Thuringia, before flowing fr ...
, 8 km from
Zwickau.
The town was mentioned as early as 1304, and in 1398 it was purchased by
Frederick, then margrave of Meissen, who afterwards became
Elector of Saxony.
The textile industry was the dominant industry in Werdau since the 14th century. The industrial character of the town further increased in the 20th century with the large-scale truck production by the
IFA conglomerate. Both industries were not competitive after the
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
in 1990, leading to a sharp
deindustrialisation
Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry.
There are different interpre ...
. The character of the town changed dramatically over the last 20 years after almost all factories were demolished and the characteristic East-German residential
Plattenbauten were scaled back.
In 1905, the city held a contest for the design of a new town hall, as the old one built in 1727 had become too small. The tower and floorplan of one design was combined with the façade of another, and ground was broken for construction on August 1, 1908. It was inaugurated on April 26, 1911, with
Frederick Augustus III of Saxony in attendance.
is located on the
Leipzig–Hof railway.
File:Marienkirche Werdau.jpg, Marien-Church
File:Stadtmuseum Werdau.JPG, City Museum
File:Werdau - Cemetery chapel (aka).jpg, Cemetery chapel
File:Werdau advertising clock (aka).jpg, Advertising clock
File:Katholische Kirche Werdau.jpg, Catholic Church
References
External links
*
Zwickau (district)
{{Zwickau-geo-stub