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Markneukirchen () is a town 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, 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, close to the
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
border. It lies in between the Erzgebirge and the
Fichtelgebirge The Fichtel MountainsRandlesome, C. et al. (2011). ''Business Cultures in Europe'', 2nd ed., Routledge, Abingdon and New York, p. 52. . (german: Fichtelgebirge, cs, Smrčiny), form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria ...
in the
Elstergebirge The Elster Mountains (german: Elstergebirge, cs, Halštrovské hory) is a small range of mountains, in Saxony and the Czech Republic, to the west of the Ore Mountains. They lie in a region known as Vogtland, and take their name from the River El ...
, southeast of
Plauen Plauen (; Czech language, 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 larges ...
, and northeast of (Czech Republic). Markneukirchen is the main town of the small
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
-making region, known for four centuries for high quality brass, woodwind and string instruments. Within this small locality, 113 different enterprises are involved in making musical instruments. They rely on traditional methods but sell all over the world.The sweet sound of success
BBC News, by Stephen Evans, 17 March 2013
The town is home to the Museum of Musical Instruments founded in 1883 by ''Paul Otto Apian-Bennewitz''. It hosts an annual International Instrumental
Competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...
and
master class A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are being developed. "Masterclass" is als ...
es.
/sup> Since 1993 the competition has been a member of the
World Federation of International Music Competitions The World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classi ...
. Arnold Voigt worked in the town for most of his life.


History

''Nothaft'': In the 13th century, the new village was established and took the name of the local
Egerland The Egerland ( cs, Chebsko; german: Egerland; Egerland German dialect: ''Eghalånd'') is a historical region in the far north west of Bohemia in what is today the Czech Republic, at the border with Germany. It is named after the German name ''Eg ...
nobility: ''Albertus Nothaft de Wildstein'', who was occupying the area and moving in families from Bayern and Oberpfalz. In a deed from a century later, 1378, it was referred to as ''Nuwenkirchen dictum Nothaft''. Around 1274 the name was first recorded as ''Neukirchen'' (new church). The new church building was mentioned in a deed from Klosters Waldsassen, as ''Chunradus de Newenkirchen''. In 1357 (''Nuenkirchin'') and 1360 (''stat'') the place gained a market with the same rights as the neighbouring towns of
Adorf Adorf () is a small town and municipality in the Vogtlandkreis to the south-west of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Gettengrün, a village within the municipality, borders on the Czech Republic. Etymology The name Adorf can be analysed as " ...
und Oelsnitz. The market was founded by Vögte von Plauen (either Heinrich der Ältere or Heinrich der Lange), who used it to establish a higher place in the pecking order, in their struggle with the Wettiner dynasty. The town's instrument-making history stems from the 17th century arrival of a group of
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
fleeing religious persecution across the border in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
. Among them were some who already practised the instrument trade. By the 1900s, 80 percent of the world's musical instruments were made in this small town. The present spelling ''Markneukirchen'', that is ''Mark'' without a ''t'', was fixed in 1858 by royal decree from
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
, so it would not be confused with other Neukirchens. Under
communist rule A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
, the businesses in the town were reorganised
collectively A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...
. The state managed trade with the outside world, and decided a production schedule for the instrument makers at the start of each year, rendering it a useful foreign-exchange income.


Local government reorganisation

In 1994 Wohlhausen and Breitenfeld were subsumed into Markneukirchen (on January and 1 March, respectively), and Landwüst joined in 1999. Erlbach became part of Markneukirchen in 2014.


Population


Coat of arms

The arms share with
Plauen Plauen (; Czech language, 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 larges ...
und
Adorf Adorf () is a small town and municipality in the Vogtlandkreis to the south-west of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Gettengrün, a village within the municipality, borders on the Czech Republic. Etymology The name Adorf can be analysed as " ...
the motif of the Plauen Vögte, that is a left-facing lion with doubled tail and aggressive tongue.


Partner towns

*
Heusweiler Heusweiler (; Saarlandic: ''Heiswiller''; older french: Hoysviller, link=no) is a municipality in the District of Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. ...
(
Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
)


Museums

* The Musical Instrument Museum of Markneukirchen was founded in 1883 by Paul Otto Apian-Bennewitz a teacher and organist. At that time the manufacture of orchestral instruments was expanding due to increased trade with many European countries and with the United States. He envisaged a teaching collection of European and ethnic instruments. The collection now comprises more than 3,100 items from Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australia. The core collection consists of instruments from the immediate area that document the development of instruments from the 17th century to the present day. In the last 60 years, three million people have visited the museum in the ''Paulus-Schlösschen'', a late baroque town house.


Public transport

Markneukirchen's first railway station was on the Chemnitz-Aue-Adorf Line near Siebenbrunn. In 1909 the Stichbahn railway from Siebenbrunn to Erlbach opened with a station near the post office and in the town centre. This closed in 1975 and Siebenbrunn on the Vogtlandbahn became the nearest station again.


Education

* The ''Villa Merz'' offers a ''Studiengang Musikinstrumentenbau Markneukirchen'' validated through the Westsächsischen Hochschule Zwickau (FH) (Fachbereich Angewandte Kunst Schneeberg). * The ''Gymnasium Markneukirchen'' has a strong musical tradition. * The Musikschule Reinhold Glier offers music course to all- and provides training that leads to membership of the towns numerous ensembles, orchestra and choirs such as the Symphonie, Blasorchester der Stadt, the Handwerkerorchester Migma, the Jugendblas- and Symphonieorchester.


Notable people

* Hermann Bauer (1892–1976), painter and graphic artist, bookplate designer * Erhard Fietz, musician, composer, teacher * Friedrich Glier (1891–1953), teacher, organist, composer and collector of folk melodies, honoured with a street name. * Martin Jordan (1897–1945),
NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
, Reichstag member * Christian Friedrich Martin (1793–1873), American guitar maker, born and trained in Markneukirchen *
Ernst Heinrich Roth Ernst Heinrich Roth (1877–1948), also often referred to as Ernst Heinrich Roth I to distinguish him from later family members of the same name, was a German luthier and master of a large and successful violin-making workshop in the East German ...
(1877–1948), violin maker * Oscar Schuster (1873–1917), doctor, author of fiction, mountaineer * Hans Schuster, sculptor * Rudolf Schuster (1848–1902), landscape painter * Jakob Weller (1602–1664), senior cleric at the court of the Duke of Saxony in Dresden. * Erich Wild (1895–1964), local historian, honoured with a street name * Roland Zimmer, musician * Hans Peter Wilfer. Founder and owner Warwick GmbH & Co Music Equipment


Literature

* Crasselt, Friedrich August: ''Versuch einer Chronik von Markneukirchen im K. Sächs. Voigtlande. Entworfen von Friedrich August Crasselt, d.Z. Diaconus daselbst'', Schneeberg 1821. * Eichler, Heidrun/Stadtlander, Gert (Red.): ''Musikinstrumenten-Museum Markneukirchen. Hg. von der Sächsischen Landesstelle für Museumswesen'', Berlin/München 2000 (Sächsische Museen, Bd. 9). () * Hellriegel, Franz Wilhelm Rudolf: ''Chronik von Markneukirchen'', Zwickau 1913. * Erich Wild: ''Geschichte von Markneukirchen. Stadt und Kirchspiel'', Plauen 1925 (Beilageheft zur 34. Jahresschrift 1925 des Vereins für vogtländische Geschichte und Altertumskunde). * Ernst Heinrich Roth, Geigenbauer. Seine Geigern von 1920 bis 1930 sind besonders weltweit gesucht.


References


External links


Website of the City of Markneukirchen


{{Authority control Towns in Saxony Vogtlandkreis