Münchenbernsdorf () is a town in the district of Greiz, in

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, Germany. It is situated approximately 16 km southwest of

Gera Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...

. The town is seat of a municipal association with eight members.

Geography

Münchenbernsdorf is located southwest of

, the third-largest city in Thuringia. The town is nestled on the gentle slopes of a hilly basin from where the creek named Görlitzbach originates. This stream flows northeastwards past Münchenbernsdorf's municipal neighborhoods, or villages, of Kleinbernsdorf, Kananda, and Schöna on its way to its mouth that opens into the

White Elster The White Elster (, ) is a river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into easte ...

river, just north of Gera. The basin represents the more western part of the White Elster watershed in this area. Within 2 kilometers west of Münchenbernsdorf, one finds the eastern watershed for the

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

river near the village of Tautendorf. A small branch of the Görlitzbach starts north of the town but is dammed to form several ponds. The larger pond (in German: ''Mahlteich'') is used as an outdoor natural swimming pond in the summer. The run off from these ponds eventually flows into the Görlitzbach at Kleinbernsdorf.

Neighboring Municipalities

Surrounding Münchenbernsdorf are the following towns (clockwise from the north): Lindenkreuz, Saara, Hundhaupten, Bocka, Harth-Pöllnitz and Lederhose, all located in the administrative district of

Greiz Greiz ( ; ) is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the Greiz (district), district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of the state capital Erfurt, on the White Elster river. Greiz has a large park ...

, as well as Renthendorf and Tautendorf in the

Saale-Holzland Saale-Holzland (official German language, German name: Saale-Holzland-Kreis) is a ''Kreis'' (Districts of Germany, district) in the east of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the district Burgenlandkreis in Sa ...

district.

Municipal Subdivisions

Other than Münchenbernsdorf proper, there are the following municipal subdivisions, in order of their location downstream from Münchenbernsdorf along the Görlitzbach: *Kleinbernsdorf * Kanada * Schöna

History

The community was likely founded in the second half of the 12th century. A document dated August 17, 1251 from the lord protector (Vogt) of Weida ( Weida, Thuringia) first mentions Münchenbernsdorf as a locality. The

Partition of Leipzig The Treaty of Leipzig or Partition of Leipzig (German ''Leipziger Teilung'') was signed on 11 November 1485 between Elector Ernest of Saxony and his younger brother Albert III, the sons of Elector Frederick II of Saxony from the House of Wettin. ...

of 1485 ceded the settlement to the Ernestiner nobility line. Then in 1571, it became part 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 ...

. To punish the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

for its allegiance to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and France, the

Vienna Congress The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

of 1815 granted certain tracts that included Münchenberndorf to the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, then ruled by Grand Duke

Charles Augustus Karl August, sometimes anglicised as Charles Augustus (3 September 1757 – 14 June 1828), was the sovereign Duke of Saxe-Weimar and of Saxe-Eisenach (in personal union) from 1758, Duke of Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach ...

(in German: ''Carl August''). In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the community prospered economically through the introduction and growth of carpet factories, permitting the acquisition of

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 ...

(in German: ''Stadtrecht'') in 1904. The town of Münchenbernsdorf itself is a member and seat of the Münchenbernsdorf (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft) (administrative municipality community) since March 9, 1992.

References

Greiz (district) {{Greiz-geo-stub