Böhlen () is a town in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, south of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. Its main features are a small airport and a power-plant. It is located in the newly built

Neuseenland Neuseenland is an area south of Leipzig, Germany, where old open-cast mines are being converted into a huge lake district. The region's name is a marketing concept and it means "New Lakeland" in German. It should not be confused with the German ...

, the lakes created in the former open-pit mining areas.

History

The first documented mention of Böhlen dates to 1353, although the area has been settled since the 7th century. The name of the town is derived from the Slavic word ''bely'' (white, bright, shiny). The

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

is first mentioned in 1548. The manor house, locally referred to as the castle, was built in the 16th century. First documentation regarding the old village church dates from 1540, although the building contains Romanesque parts. A

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

epidemy during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

was reportedly only survived by two families. The character of the place was rural for a long time. In 1842 a station on the

Leipzig–Hof railway The Leipzig–Hof railway is a two-track main line in the German states of Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria, originally built and operated by the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company. It runs from Leipzig through Altenburg, the Werdau wye junction, Reiche ...

was opened in Böhlen. A schoolhouse with five classrooms was built in 1879. Böhlen was part of

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

Pegau until 1856, then of ''Gerichtsamt'' (judicial district)

Zwenkau Zwenkau is a town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. Situated between the White Elster and Pleiße rivers, it nestles in the Leipzig Bay and includes parts of the conservation area ''Elsteraue'' and ''Central Germany's Street of Li ...

until 1875 and from then on of ''Amtshauptmannschaft'' (district) Leipzig. Only from the 1920s on the village developed into an industrial location, mainly due to the

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

found in the area. In 1924 one of the largest lignite mines in the world of its time was opened west of Böhlen. It was equipped with a

conveyor bridge A conveyor bridge is a piece of Mining#machines, mining equipment used in Surface mining#Strip mining, strip mining for the removal of overburden and for dumping it on the inner spoil bank of the open-cut mine. It is used together with multibucket ...

of 200 m length and 50 m height. Towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

a subcamp of

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

was established, where 800 prisoners worked as forced labor in a '' Braunkohle-Benzin AG'' ("Brabag") plant. Due to the strategically important industry, Böhlen suffered heavy aerial attacks in 1944/1945. The principal industries were transferred into Soviet administration after World War II, and were returned to the GDR in 1952. In the same year, the ''Kulturhaus'' (arts and leisure center) was opened. By administratively merging the power station, the coal processing plants, and the motor fuel works, the publicly owned ''

Kombinat Combine (russian: Комбинат) is a term for industrial business groups, conglomerates or trusts in the former socialist countries. Examples include VEB Kombinat Robotron, an electronics manufacturer, and IFA, a manufacturer of vehicles ...

'' "Otto Grotewohl" was formed. On 7 October 1964 Böhlen was awarded town status. The neighbouring village of Zeschwitz was incorporated administratively into Böhlen in 1942, but mined over from 1943. Likewise, Stöhna (partially mined over since 1955) was incorporated in 1960, Trachenau (mostly mined over 1962–1965) in 1964, and Großdeuben in 1997. The chemical works were acquired by Dow Olefinverbund in 1995. Today Böhlen, as well as its neighboring city

, are heavily profiting from the new formed

, where old open-cast mines are being converted into huge lakes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bohlen Leipzig (district)