Pirna (; hsb, Pěrno; ) 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 ...
and capital of the administrative district
Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge
Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains (german: Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge) is a district (''Districts of Germany, Kreis'') in Saxony, Germany. It is named after the mountain ranges Saxon Switzerland and Eastern Ore Mountains.
History
Th ...
. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near
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 ...
and is an important district town as well as a ''
Große Kreisstadt
''Große Kreisstadt'' (, "major district town") is a term in the municipal law ('' Gemeindeordnung'') of several German states. In some federal states the term is used as a special legal status for a district-affiliated town—as distinct from an ...
''.
Geography
Geographical location
Pirna is located in the vicinity of the
Sandstone Mountains in the upper
Elbe valley, where two nearby tributaries,
Wesenitz
The Wesenitz (''Wjazońca'' in Upper Sorbian language) is a river in Saxony, Germany, right tributary of the Elbe. Its total length is . The Wesenitz runs through the tourist regions of the Lusatian Highlands and Saxon Switzerland. Its name is d ...
from the north and
Gottleuba
The Gottleuba (Rybný potok in the Czech Republic) is a small river in the Czech Republic and in Saxony, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe.
The Gottleuba's source is in the eastern part of the Ore Mountains (Central Europe), Ore Mounta ...
from the south, flow into the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
. It is also called the "gate to the
Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland (german: Sächsische Schweiz) is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sands ...
" (
Ger: ''Tor zur Sächsischen Schweiz''). The
Saxon wine region (
Ger: ''Sächsische Weinstraße''), which was established in 1992, stretches from Pirna via
Pillnitz
Pillnitz is a quarter in the east of Dresden, Germany. It can be reached by bus, ship, walking along the river or by bicycle. Pillnitz is most famous for its Baroque palace and park, the Pillnitz Castle.
Pillnitz Palace consists of the Riversid ...
,
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 ...
, and
Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
to
Diesbar-Seußlitz.
Neighboring municipalities
Pirna is located southeast of
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 ...
. Neighboring municipalities
are
Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel
Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel is a spa town in the district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge in Saxony, Germany. The municipality borders the Czech Republic in the south. The municipality was formed on 1 January 1999 by the merger of the former ...
(town),
Bahretal
Bahretal is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the northeastern foothills of the Erzgebirge (''Ore Mountains''), between Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel and Dohna. It consists of ...
,
Dohma
Dohma is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe aft ...
,
Dohna
Dohna is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, Saxony, Germany. It is located south of Heidenau, in the Müglitz valley and lies at the northeastern foot of the Eastern Ore Mountains. It is accessed by the Pirna interchange ...
(town),
Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach
Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach () is a municipality in the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Wesenitz, 6 km west of Stolpen, 9 km northeast of Pirna and 18 km east of Dresden.
...
,
Heidenau
Heidenau is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, 13 km southeast of Dresden (centre).
In 2015, it became known for riots by local far-right forces ...
(town),
Königstein (town),
Lohmen
Lohmen is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.
History
Lohmen was first officially recognized as a village in 1292. The village name comes from the Slovak term ''lom'' or "fissure". There were ...
,
Stadt Wehlen
Stadt Wehlen (also: Wehlen) is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western edge of Saxon Switzerland, on the right bank of the Elbe, 6 km east of Pirna, and 23 km southeast o ...
(town), and
Struppen
Struppen is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.
References
Populated places in Saxon Switzerland
{{SächsischeSchweizOsterzgebirge-geo-stub ...
.
Names
*french: Pirne
* hsb, Pěrno
Language
The regiolect spoken in Pirna is ''Südostmeißenisch'', which is part of the
Upper Saxon German
Upper Saxon (german: Obersächsisch, ; ) is an East Central German language spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it's mostl ...
group of
regiolect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
s.
History
Stone Age
Tools made of
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
from the late
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
(about 12,000-8000 BC), at the end of the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
, are evidence for the earliest human settlement in the area. Later on, people belonging to the
Linear Pottery culture
The Linear Pottery culture (LBK) is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic period, flourishing . Derived from the German ''Linearbandkeramik'', it is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Inci ...
, who farmed grain and cattle, lived here during the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
(5500-4000 BC) because of a good climate and
Loess
Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits.
Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...
soil. Around 600 AD a
Slavic group called the
Sorbs
Sorbs ( hsb, Serbja, dsb, Serby, german: Sorben; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a indigenous West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Saxony and Brandenbu ...
, who were fishermen and farmers, succeeded the Germanic tribes in the Elbe Valley, who had lived in the area for a couple of centuries from the 4th century BC on. The name ''Pirna'' derives from the
Sorbian phrase, ''na pernem'', meaning on the hard (stone) and is also related to the
Slavic deity
Perun
In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, firmam ...
, whose cult was present in all
Slavic and
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
territories. The representation of a pear tree in the coat of arms was a later cryptic representation of the
Perun
In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перýн) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, firmam ...
cult, covered up by a fanciful, German-language notion about the town's name ("pear" is ''Birne'' in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, which sounds rather like "Pirna" lat, "Pyrus").
Middle Ages
With the
conquest
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
of the Slavic communities and the founding of the Mark by the Germans (
Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...
founded the castle of
Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
in 929), settlement in the Pirna area is again verifiable. The castle in Pirna, which was mentioned for the first time in 1269, probably already existed in the 11th century. In the context of the second Eastern German colonization the town was founded by
Henry III, Margrave of
Meissen
Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...
.
The streets are aligned from east to west and north to south forming a chessboard-like system. Only the streets east of the church are not aligned in this form, caused by the nearby ''Burgberg''. In 1233, Pirna was mentioned officially for the first time in a document. In 1293, King
Wenceslaus II
Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1 ...
of
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 ...
acquired both town and castle from the
Bishop of Meissen
The Bishop of Dresden-Meissen is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen in the Archdiocese of Berlin.
The diocese covers an area of and was erected as the Diocese of Meissen on 24 June 1921. Th ...
. Therefore Pirna belonged to Bohemia until 1405.
Early Modern times
In 1502, the construction of the new church was begun under Meister Peter Ulrich von Pirna.
With the introduction of the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
into Saxony in 1539,
Anton Lauterbach
Anton may refer to: People
* Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Anton (surname)
Places
* Anton Municipality, Bulgaria
** Anton, Sofia Province, a village
* Antón District, Panama
** Antón, a town and capital ...
, a friend of
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
, became pastor and superintendent. In 1544 the strategically important castle was upgraded to a fortress by
Maurice, Elector of Saxony
Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity.
...
. Three years later, it withstood the siege by elector
John Frederick, Elector of Saxony
John Frederick I (30 June 1503 in Torgau – 3 March 1554 in Weimar), called the Magnanimous, was the Elector of Saxony (1532–1547) and head of the Schmalkaldic League.
Early years
John Frederick was the eldest son of Elector John by his firs ...
in the
Schmalkaldic War
The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...
.
On April 23, 1639, the town was invaded by
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
troops under the commander in chief of the
Swedish army
The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces.
History
Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...
,
Johan Banér
Johan Banér (23 June 1596 – 10 May 1641) was a Swedish field marshal in the Thirty Years' War.
Early life
Johan Banér was born at Djursholm Castle in Uppland. As a four-year-old he was forced to witness how his father, the Privy Councillou ...
. During the five-month long siege of the fortress, which was in the end futile, the town was greatly devastated. About 600 people were murdered (''Pirnaisches Elend'', lit. "Misery of Pirna"). In around 1670, based upon recent military developments, the Sonnenstein fortress was built. Only the powerful stonework still exists today. In 1707, Pirna had debts that related to the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
of more than 100,000
Thaler
A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...
s.
Prussian Pirna
![Canaletto (I) 021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Canaletto_%28I%29_021.jpg)
On August 29, 1756, the small Saxon army fled before the
Prussians, who had invaded without declaring war, to the levels between
Königstein Fortress
Königstein Fortress (german: Festung Königstein), the "Saxony, Saxon Bastille", is a hilltop fortress near Dresden, in Saxon Switzerland, Germany, above the town of Königstein, Saxony, Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe. It is one ...
and
Sonnenstein Castle
The Sonnenstein Castle is a castle in Pirna, near Dresden, Germany. It housed a mental hospital, which operated from 1811 to the end of World War II in 1945. During the War, it functioned as an extermination centre for the Nazi ''Aktion T4'' pro ...
and capitulated there on October 16, two days after Sonnenstein
surrendered
Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully or it may be the result of defeat in battle. A sovereign ...
. In 1758, Austrian troops and the Imperial Army besieged the fortress.
Napoleonic Pirna
A
''Kattundruck'' manufactory for cotton printing opened as the first of its kind in 1774. In 1811 the physician
Ernst Gottlob Pienitz opened a very large mental hospital in Castle Sonnenstein. But when on September 14, 1813,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
troops occupied the Sonnenstein, they forced the evacuation of 275 patients, seized supplies and tore the roof trusses out to remove a fire threat. In September 1813, emperor
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
temporarily lived at the Marienhaus, located at the market. Until
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 ...
's surrender on November 11 the French defended the fortress. Only in February 1814 the hospital for the mentally ill was able to open again.
Industrial revolution, Imperial Germany and the Weimar Republic
In 1837,
steamship
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
travel began on the upper Elbe. A few years later, in 1848, a
railway line
Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...
connecting Dresden and Pirna opened. In 1880, the first section of the ''
Sekundärbahn''-type railway line from Pirna to Gottleuba, the
Gottleuba Valley railway
The Gottleuba Valley railway (german: Gottleubatalbahn) was the second railway line to be built in Saxony as a '' Sekundärbahn''. It ran along the Gottleuba valley from Pirna via Berggießhübel to Bad Gottleuba
Bad or BAD may refer to:
C ...
was opened. The line was closed in 1976. In 1894, another railway line opened was the
Pirna–Großcotta railway, connecting Pirna with the
Lohmgrund, a major location of Saxonian sandstone quarries. It closed in 1999.
Pirna became an
industrial town
An industrial city or industrial town is a town or city in which the municipal economy, at least historically, is centered around industry, with important factories or other production facilities in the town. It has been part of most countries' i ...
in 1862 with the building of factories. Mechanical engineering, glass, cellulose and rayon production also expanded. In 1875, the sandstone
Elbbrücke was completed. During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
Pirna became a garrison and the engineer battalions 12 and 5 of the Royal Saxon field artillery regiment No. 64 were billeted on Rottwerndorfer Straße. In 1922/23, the town incorporated several municipalities including
Posta,
Niedervogelgesang
Niedervogelgesang is a village in the municipality of Pirna, in Saxony, Germany. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1923. The place was mentioned for the first time in 1551. It is situated on the left bank of the river Elbe, 3 km east of Pirna tow ...
,
Obervogelgesang,
Copitz,
Hinterjessen,
Neundorf,
Zuschendorf
Zuschendorf is a village in the municipality of Pirna in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district of Saxony, Germany. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1923. The place was mentioned for the first time in 1378. It lies in the valley of the riv ...
,
Rottwerndorf and
Zehista. The population totaled about 30,000 inhabitants.
National Socialism and Second World War
![Pirna Sonnenstein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Pirna_Sonnenstein.jpg)
From early 1940 until end of June 1942, a part of the large mental asylum within
Sonnenstein Castle
The Sonnenstein Castle is a castle in Pirna, near Dresden, Germany. It housed a mental hospital, which operated from 1811 to the end of World War II in 1945. During the War, it functioned as an extermination centre for the Nazi ''Aktion T4'' pro ...
was converted into a
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eut ...
killing center: the
Sonnenstein Nazi Death Institute. It was a testing ground for initial development of certain methods, later generally adopted and refined for usage associated with the
Final Solution
The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...
. A gas chamber and crematorium were installed in the cellar of the former men's sanitary (building C 16). A high brick-wall on two sides of the complex shielded it from outside view. Four buildings were located inside this brick-wall shielding. They were used as offices, living rooms for the personnel, etc. Sleeping quarters for the men responsible for
incinerating
Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...
the bodies were provided in the attic of building C 16. It is possible that other sections of the buildings were also used by
Action 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 of ...
.
From end of June 1940 until September 1942, approximately 15,000 persons were killed in the scope of the
mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...
by involuntary euthanasia program and the
Sonderbehandlung
(, "special treatment") is any sort of preferential treatment. However, the word ''Sonderbehandlung'' was used as an euphemism for mass murder by Nazi functionaries and the SS, who commonly used the abbreviation ''S.B.'' in documentation. It ...
Action 14f13
Action 14f13, also called ''Sonderbehandlung'' (special treatment) 14f13 and Aktion 14f13, was a campaign by Nazi Germany to murder Nazi concentration camp prisoners. Also called ''invalid'' or ''prisoner euthanasia'', the sick, the elderly and t ...
. The personnel list consisted of about 100 persons. One third of them were reassigned to the extermination camps in occupied Poland, because of their recent experiences in deception, killing, gassing and incinerating of people. There, they were trained by the detachments responsible for organized killing in camps like
Treblinka
Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The camp ...
.
These killings ceased after pressure was exerted on the authorities by the local population. During August and September 1942, the Sonnenstein killing center was closed and incriminating installations such as gas chamber installations and crematorium ovens dismantled. After October 1942, the buildings were used as a military hospital.
This part of the town's history was largely unrecognized in Germany until 1989, but after the regime change which was happening during this period, efforts to remember these catastrophic events began. In June 2000 a permanent exhibition opened, and today a small plaque at the base of Sonnenstein Castle together with the
Sonnenstein Memorial provide remembrance.
At the end of the war several air raids took place mainly targeting the railway station in Pirna and the
Děčín–Dresden Railway. The air raid on April 19, 1945, destroyed all railway tracks and also the bridge over the Elbe. Thought there were only strategic targets most of the over 200 dead were civilians.
During the GDR and Socialism
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J0330-0016-001, Sächsisches Kunstseidenwerk Pirna, (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-J0330-0016-001%2C_S%C3%A4chsisches_Kunstseidenwerk_Pirna%2C_%28cropped%29.jpg)
During the existence of the
GDR
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and its economic model, a so-called
planned economy
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...
, people mostly worked in
publicly owned enterprises:
* the
artificial silk Artificial silk or art silk is any synthetic fiber which resembles silk, but typically costs less to produce. Frequently, "artificial silk" is just a synonym for rayon. When made out of bamboo viscose it is also sometimes called bamboo silk.
The ...
factory (which formerly belonged to
Hugo Küttner, a well-known artificial silk business owner) established at an industrial zone located near today's
B 172
* the
cellulose fiber
Cellulose fibers () are fibers made with ethers or esters of cellulose, which can be obtained from the bark, wood or leaves of plants, or from other plant-based material. In addition to cellulose, the fibers may also contain hemicellulose and l ...
factory (its location has been between the railway line & the Gottleuba river flowing into the Elbe)
* the
VEB Strömungsmaschinen Pirna (a builder of
hydraulic machinery
Hydraulic machines use liquid fluid power to perform work. Heavy construction vehicles are a common example. In this type of machine, hydraulic fluid is pumped to various hydraulic motors and hydraulic cylinders throughout the machine and b ...
) on the Sonnenstein, originally being founded in 1956 as
VEB Entwicklungsbau Pirna
* the
Wismut in Königstein
Among other things,
Pirna 014
The Pirna 014 was an axial turbojet designed in East Germany (or the GDR) in the mid- to late 1950s by former Junkers engineers, who were repatriated to East Germany in 1954 after being held in custody in the Soviet Union following World War ...
turbines for the ''
152'' jet aircraft developed in the GDR were built at VEB Strömungsmaschinen. All these businesses did not continue to exist for long after reunification, because they were not competitive. The Elbe river was heavily polluted by industry wastewater, especially from the cellulose fiber factory; swimming in the river was no longer possible without dangers to health.
In the mid-1980s, around 1,700 un-renovated apartments stood empty in Pirna, 400 of them in the old town. Individual particularly badly dilapidated houses were demolished in the period that followed, for example a house on the southeast corner of the market square and the so-called ''Kern’sche Haus'' in the ''Burgstraße''. When in 1989 the ''Teufelserkerhaus'' was to be torn down as part of demolition measures in the old town, public demonstrations happened with people shouting “Save Pirna”. From this circle, the ''Kuratorium Altstadt'' (literally ''Old Town Board of Trustees'') was formed, which provided outstanding services during the period of reconstruction which began after the fall of the
Berlin wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
.
After German Re-unification
![Pirna - Blick über das Wohngebiet Sonnenstein - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Pirna_-_Blick_%C3%BCber_das_Wohngebiet_Sonnenstein_-_geograph.org.uk_-_7911.jpg)
The de-industrialization in the course of
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 ...
, unprecedented in the history of the town, was formative. The immediate transition to a market economy led to the shutdown of a considerable part of the structure-determining industrial companies. In the three largest factories of silk, fluid machinery and cellulose fiber alone, more than 5,000 jobs were lost by the mid-1990s as a result of closure and liquidation by the ''
Treuhandanstalt
The ("Trust agency"), colloquially referred to as , was an agency established by the government of the German Democratic Republic to reprivatise/privatise East German enterprises, Volkseigene Betriebe (VEBs), prior to German reunification. Cre ...
''. It is true that new jobs were created in the service industry; however, these alone could not compensate for such a huge loss. The establishment of new jobs in the manufacturing industry turned out to be difficult, not least because of the lack of a
federal highway Federal Highways and Federal Routes can be found in:
*Australia: Federal Highway
*Brazil: Brazilian Federal Highway and Brazilian Highway System
*Germany: ''Bundesstraßen''
*Malaysia: Federal Highway and Malaysian Federal Roads System
*Mexico: ...
connection.
The reconstruction of the inner town has been advanced considerably since the beginning of the 1990s with intensive funding from the urban development funding programs. In the meantime, over 90% of the 300 buildings in the historic old town have been renovated. The number of inhabitants in the redevelopment area of the old town has doubled since the end of the 1990s, from almost 1,000 to almost 2,000 (as of 2013). The market square and the surrounding alleys have developed into a district quite worth seeing with shops, bars and cafes, as well as other cultural offerings (including the Tom-Pauls-Theater). The renovation of the old town repeatedly brought historical features to light. During the renovation of a house on the market square, for example, an approx. 500-year-old wall painting was uncovered that shows a "wrong" type of wild animal hunting - animals hunting and devouring humans - and which, according to the Saxon State Office for Monument Protection, is unique in this form in Saxony. In addition, valuable wooden beam ceilings were exposed in numerous houses.
![Pirna HW2002 Pirna Dohnaische-bei-Fähre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Pirna_HW2002_Pirna_Dohnaische-bei-F%C3%A4hre.jpg)
In August 2002, the town suffered great damage during the widespread
flooding
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, reaching its apex on 16 August. Two factors greatly worsened the effect: First, the large earthen structure supporting the railway line acted as a dam, retaining the waters both longer and higher on the towns' side. Second, all the shop-fronts which had been renovated post-unification were practically all kind of sealed in terms of water-tightness: the floodwaters rose outside whilst the shops themselves stayed dry inside; but when reaching certain critical points, the weight of the water then suddenly destroyed these shop-fronts when the windows broke. Ironically, older "leaky" shopfronts did not suffer this fate, as the water built up height and thus pressure equally on both sides. Whilst international media mainly concentrated on the impact upon
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 ...
the impact upon Pirna was proportionately much worse.
Schöna and
Bad Schandau
Bad Schandau (; hsb, Žandow) is a spa town in Germany, in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district of Saxony. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, at the mouth of the valley of the Kirnitzsch and in the area often described as S ...
were also affected heavily.
In July 2005, Pirna finally received federal highway access via its own connection, when a section from Dresden to Pirna of the
Bundesautobahn 17
is an autobahn in Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It links Dresden to the Czech border where the D8 continues to Prague. The road is a fairly new contribution to the German autobahn network. Construction began in 1998, with the first stretch open ...
was completed. The extension to the Czech border was opened to traffic in December 2006.
The inner town and the areas close to the Elbe in Pirna were again affected by severe flooding by the Elbe in June 2013, while still being severe, it failed to meet the record levels of the 2002 flood: The water level of the Elbe reached a height of (2002: ). By June 5, 2013, around 7,700 people had to be evacuated, and about 1000 buildings were affected by the water.
Administrative incorporations
![Districts of Pirna in 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Districts_of_Pirna_in_2015.svg)
Villages and other municipalities that were incorporated into Pirna:
* 1850: Hausberggemeinde
* 1922/23:
Posta,
Niedervogelgesang
Niedervogelgesang is a village in the municipality of Pirna, in Saxony, Germany. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1923. The place was mentioned for the first time in 1551. It is situated on the left bank of the river Elbe, 3 km east of Pirna tow ...
,
Zuschendorf
Zuschendorf is a village in the municipality of Pirna in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district of Saxony, Germany. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1923. The place was mentioned for the first time in 1378. It lies in the valley of the riv ...
,
Neundorf,
Rottwerndorf,
Hinter-Jessen und
Copitz
* 1930:
Zehista
* 1950:
Cunnersdorf,
Mockethal,
Zatzschkepp
* 1971:
Liebethal
* 1974:
Krietzschwitz,
Obervogelgesang
* 1998:
Birkwitz-Pratzschwitz,
Graupa
Population
Change of population ''(from 1960, all figures for December 31)'':
1 October 29
2 August 31
Culture
Museums
*StadtMuseum Pirna - municipal museum
*Botanischen Sammlungen Landschloß Zuschendorf - botanical collections
*DDR Museum Pirna - museum devoted to East Germany memorabilia
*Gedenkstätte Pirna-Sonnenstein - Sonnenstein memorial
*Richard-Wagner-Stätten, Jagdschloss Graupa - museum dedicated to the German composer
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
Music
* ''Neue Elbland Philharmonie'' – 60 musicians and about 160 concerts every year
* ''Pirnaer Jazznacht'' – a repeating event covering
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
music
Art
*Pirna Art Day - annual day of art
Transport
Pirna station
Pirna station is the largest railway station in the town of Pirna in the German state of Saxony. The station is integrated into the network of the Dresden S-Bahn. It is also the starting point of a Regionalbahn service and a Regional-Express sto ...
, on the
Dresden S-Bahn
The Dresden S-Bahn is a network of S-Bahn-type commuter train services in Dresden and the surrounding area. It is commissioned by Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO) from DB Regio ''Verkehrsbetrieb Südostsachsen'' and currently consists of three servi ...
and the
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 ...
to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
railway, is located to the west of the town centre, and is the junction point for the line to
Neustadt in Sachsen
Neustadt in Sachsen is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Czech Republic, 35 km east of Dresden (centre), and 23 km southwest of Bautzen. At Neustadt, the ...
and
Sebnitz
Sebnitz (; hsb, Zebnica) is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.
Geography
The town of Sebnitz lies in the valley of the river Sebnitz and its side valleys between 251 and 460 m above sea level betwee ...
. Besides the town's main station, it is also served by
Obervogelgesang,
Pirna-Copitz and
Pirna-Copitz Nord stations. Pirna is also a stop for the
Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt
The Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt of Dresden, Germany is the oldest and biggest paddle steamer fleet in the world. It consists of nine wheel steamers, two salon ships and two motor ships. It was formerly known as the White Fleet (''Weisse Flotte'' ...
ships, including historic
paddle steamers
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...
, operating on the Elbe between Dresden and the Czech border.
Local and regional bus services are operated by the
Regionalverkehr Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge
The Regionalverkehr Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge (RVSOE}) is a company that operates public transport services in the German state of Saxony. It is a member of the ''Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe'' (Upper Elbe Transport Association), a transport ...
.
Twin towns – sister cities
Pirna is
twinned with:
*
Baienfurt
Baienfurt ( Low Alemannic: ''Boeafurt'') is a municipality in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
Sister cities
* Brest, Belarus
* Martonvásár, Hungary
* Goito, Italy
* Pirna, Germany
* Remscheid, Germany
G ...
, Germany (2010)
*
Bolesławiec
Bolesławiec (pronounced , szl, Bolesławiec, german: Bunzlau) is a historic city situated on the Bóbr River in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Bolesławiec County, and of Gmina Bolesławiec ...
, Poland (1980)
*
Capannori
Capannori () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Lucca, in northern Tuscany.
History
The 40 hamlets of Capannori are located on the lands that once corresponded to the eastern territories of the Republic of Lucca. Most of those h ...
, Italy (2016)
*
Děčín
Děčín (; german: Tetschen, 1942–1945: ''Tetschen–Bodenbach'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 47,000 inhabitants. It is the 7th largest municipality in the country by area.
Administrative parts
D ...
, Czech Republic (1975)
*
Longuyon
Longuyon () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The inhabitants are called ''Longuyonnais''.
Geography
Longuyon is located at the confluence of the Chiers and Crusnes rivers and so ...
, France (1980)
*
Remscheid
Remscheid () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third-largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on the south ...
, Germany (1990)
*
Varkaus
Varkaus (before year 1929 ''Warkaus'') is a Middle- Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region, between city of Kuopio and town of Savonlinna.
T ...
, Finland (1961)
Notable people
![Johann-tetzel-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Johann-tetzel-1.jpg)
*
Johann Tetzel
Johann Tetzel (c. 1465 – 11 August 1519) was a German Dominican friar and preacher. He was appointed Inquisitor for Poland and Saxony, later becoming the Grand Commissioner for indulgences in Germany. Tetzel was known for granting indulgence ...
(1465–1519),
Dominican friar, Grand Inquisitor of Heresy to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
*
Johann Sommer
Johann Sommer ( la, Ioannes Sommerus; 1542–1574) was a Transylvanian Saxon Protestant theologian, poet and Despot Vodă's biographer.
Sommer was born in Pirna. In 1562 he enrolled at University of Frankfurt, but did not graduate. Born in P ...
(1542–1574), Transylvanian theologian and chronicler
*
Gertrud Eysoldt
Gertrud Franziska Gabriele Eysoldt (30 November 1870 – 6 January 1955) was a German actress. She appeared in more than fifteen films from 1923 to 1949.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
1870 births
1955 deaths
Peop ...
(1870–1955), actress and director
*
Siegfried Rädel (1893–1943), communist town delegate
*
Eva Schulze-Knabe (1907–1976), painter
*
Hermann Rosa (1911–1981), sculptor and architect
*
Ute Trekel-Burckhardt
Ute Trekel-Burckhardt (born 3 November 1939) is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. She was a long-time lead soloist of the Berlin State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden in East Berlin (later: Berlin State Opera). She took part in world premieres ...
(born 1939), operatic mezzo-soprano
*
Francesco Friedrich
Francesco Friedrich (born 2 May 1990) is a German bobsledder who has been active since 2006. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, he and his brakeman Thorsten Margis tied with Canada's Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz for t ...
(born 1990), bobsledder, Olympic winner
Honorary citizens
*
Martin Mutschmann
Martin Mutschmann (9 March 1879 – 14 February 1947) was the Nazi Regional Leader (''Gauleiter'') of the state of Saxony ('' Gau Saxony'') during the time of the Third Reich.
Early years
Born in Hirschberg on the Saale in the Principality ...
, 1 June 1933
(revoked ?)
See also
*
Geibeltbad Pirna
The Geibeltbad Pirna is a public bath and water sport facility in Pirna near Dresden, Saxony in Germany. Finished under the Nazis on June 20, 1937, it is one of the largest baths in the world. Completely paid by the Anna Marie Geibelt Foundation ...
*
Eisenkammer Pirna
References
External links
Street map of PirnaPirna's archivesThe historical old town of Pirna - a virtual town guideKuratorium Altstadt e.V.Erlpeter, with articles of historyContributions to Pirna's history (by Hugo Jensch)Sonnenstein MemorialProgramme of its festivities
{{Authority control
Pirna
Populated riverside places in Germany
Populated places on the Elbe