Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

White Elster The White Elster
Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

. Thomasstraße, Burgstraße, Marktstraße, Waldstraße, and Leonhardtstraße with their

Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...

houses are well known examples of that architectural style. Prof.-Dr.-Friedrich-Schneider-Straße 4 is one of the earliest examples of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

architecture (built in 1911).

History

As with other nearby settlements, the place name (originally ''Grouts'') is of Slavic origin and means '' gord''. The first documented mention of the settlement dates from 1209. The prime location of Greiz on the confluence of the

White Elster The White Elster
Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central

House of Reuss Reuss (german: Reuß , ) was the name of several historical states located in present-day Thuringia, Germany. Several lordships of the Holy Roman Empire which arose after 1300 and became Imperial Counties from 1673 and Imperial Principalities in ...

, a ruling German dynasty whose male members were all named Heinrich, built 2 castles in Greiz: the "Oberes Schloss" (Upper Castle) and the "Unteres Schloss" (Lower Castle). Both were built by famous architects and are still considered unique. Greiz became the capital of the

Principality of Reuss-Greiz The Principality of Reuss-Greiz (german: Fürstentum Reuß-Greiz), called the Principality of the Reuss Elder Line (german: Fürstentum Reuß älterer Linie) after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of ...

(until 1918). Fußgängerzone Greiz

Between 1934 and 1943 809 people were forcibly sterilized by

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

in the district hospital in Wichmannstraße. The local old folk's home and the care home submitted 122 sick people to the euthanasia program

Aktion T4 (German, ) was a campaign of mass murder by involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The term was first used in post- war trials against doctors who had been involved in the killings. The name T4 is an abbreviation of 4, a street address o ...

. During

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 opposing ...

hundreds of prisoners of war as well as men and women from countries occupied by Nazi Germany worked as forced laborers in Sorgwald near Thalbach, a village about 2 km south-east of Greiz and in other enterprises. At least 102 of them died. There is a memorial for them in the Old Cemetery. There is also a monument to the officer Kurt von Westernhagen, who refused orders in April 1945 to blow up the bridge and defend the town, for which he was shot by the Gestapo.Thüringer Verband der Verfolgten des Naziregimes – Bund der Antifaschisten und Studienkreis deutscher Widerstand 1933–1945 (Hrsg.): ''Heimatgeschichtlicher Wegweiser zu Stätten des Widerstandes und der Verfolgung 1933–1945.'' (= ''Heimatgeschichtliche Wegweiser'', Band 8.) Erfurt 2003, , S. 111 ff. During

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 opposing ...

, Greiz did not suffer much damage, although 3 of the 5 bridges in town were destroyed. In 1941,

Ulf Merbold Ulf Dietrich Merbold (born June 20, 1941) is a German physicist and astronaut who flew to space three times, becoming the first West German citizen in space and the first non-American to fly on a NASA spacecraft. Merbold flew on two Space Shu ...

, who became in 1983 the first astronaut from

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

was born in 1943. Greiz has a population of about 20,400 people. The former municipality

Neumühle/Elster Neumühle/Elster is a village and a former municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. Since December 2019, it is part of the town Greiz. Geography The district is located in the Thuringian Slate Mountains in the valley of the ...

was merged into Greiz in December 2019.

Economy

In addition to a chemical works and a disused paper factory there are mechanical engineering operations, plastics manufacturing businesses, wood machining enterprises, medical technology, suppliers to the automobile industry, printing houses and breweries. In recent years various high tech businesses (sensor technology, climate simulators, micro-chip production) and environmental technology companies developed. File:Greiz - upper castle (aka).jpg, Upper Castle File:Greiz Schlösser Unteres und Oberes Schloss oberhalb der Weißen Elster Foto 2009 Wolfgang Pehlemann Wiesbaden IMG 0796.jpg, Upper and Lower castles File:Unteres Schloss Greiz.JPG, Lower Castle File:Greiz - town panorama (aka).jpg, View over the town File:Fotothek df n-23 0000089 Werkansicht.jpg, The VEB chemical factory at Greiz-Dölau 1979 File:Alte Papierfabrik Greiz.jpg, The old paper factory File:Luftaufnahme Oberes Schloss Greiz.jpg, Aerial view of Upper Castle, 2022 File:Luftaufnahme Sommerpalais Greiz Rückseite.png, Sommerpalais (Summer Palais)

Neighbouring towns and districts

The following are the districts adjacent to Greiz: * In the Greiz district:

Zeulenroda-Triebes Zeulenroda-Triebes is a German town in the district of Greiz in the state of Thuringia. Zeulenroda-Triebes is situated in the south of Greiz in the mountains of the Thuringian Slate Mountains (Thüringer Schiefergebirge), on the border with Saxon ...

,

Langenwetzendorf Langenwetzendorf is a municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. History Within the German Empire (1871-1918), Langenwetzendorf was part of the Principality of Reuss-Gera The Principality of Reuss-Gera (german: Fürstentum ...

,

Mohlsdorf-Teichwolframsdorf Mohlsdorf-Teichwolframsdorf is a municipality in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2012 by the merger of the former municipalities Mohlsdorf and Teichwolframsdorf. Geography The rural community is located ...

,

Berga/Elster Berga/Elster is a town in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the White Elster river, 14 km southeast of Gera. History Within the German Empire (1871–1918), Berga/Elster was part of the Grand Duchy of Saxe-W ...

* In the

Vogtlandkreis The Vogtlandkreis () is a ''Landkreis'' (rural district) in the southwest of Saxony, Germany, at the borders to Thuringia, Bavaria, and the Czech Republic. Neighboring districts are (from south clockwise) Hof, Saale-Orla, Greiz, Zwickau and Erzg ...

district (

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 ...

):

Reichenbach im Vogtland Reichenbach im Vogtland is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony in eastern Germany. With a population of 20,108, it is the second-largest town in the Vogtlandkreis after Plauen. It is located close to the A72 between Plauen (at c. 18&n ...

, Netzschkau,

Elsterberg Elsterberg () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, 6 km southwest of Greiz, and 13 km north of Plauen. Geography Location Elsterberg is situated in a deep valley, w ...

, Pöhl,

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the S ...

, Rosenbach/Vogtl. Adjacent towns include: *

Elsterberg Elsterberg () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, 6 km southwest of Greiz, and 13 km north of Plauen. Geography Location Elsterberg is situated in a deep valley, w ...

*

Reichenbach im Vogtland Reichenbach im Vogtland is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony in eastern Germany. With a population of 20,108, it is the second-largest town in the Vogtlandkreis after Plauen. It is located close to the A72 between Plauen (at c. 18&n ...

*

Hohenleuben Hohenleuben is a town in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 12 km northwest of Greiz, and 19 km south of Gera. History Within the German Empire (1871-1918), Hohenleuben was part of the Principality of Reuss-G ...

*

Werdau Werdau () is a town in Germany, part of the Landkreis Zwickau (district), Zwickau in Saxony. It is situated on the river Pleiße, 8 km from Zwickau. The town was mentioned as early as 1304, and in 1398 it was purchased by Frederick I, Elect ...

Transport

Greiz station is on the

Gera Süd–Weischlitz railway The Gera Süd–Weischlitz railway (also known as the ''Elstertalbahn''—"Elster Valley Railway") is a main railway line in the German federal states of Thuringia and Saxony, which was originally built and operated by the Saxon-Thuringian Railway ...

.

Demographics

The current population is about 20,400. Like many towns in the former East Germany, Greiz has suffered from population decline in recent years. Einwohnerentwicklung von Greiz

References

External links

*
Town of Greiz
{{Authority control Greiz (district) Principality of Reuss-Greiz