Wilthen (

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 ...

) or Wjelećin (

Upper Sorbian Upper Sorbian (), occasionally referred to as "Wendish", is a minority language spoken by Sorbs in Germany in the historical province of Upper Lusatia, which is today part of Saxony. It is grouped in the West Slavic language branch, together ...

) is a town in the district of Bautzen, 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 ...

. It is near the border with the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, south of

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budis ...

and east 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 ...

Geography

Nearby communities are Obergurig/Hornja Hórka, Großpostwitz/Budestecy,

Kirschau Kirschau ( Sorbian ''Korzym'') is a village and a former municipality in Upper Lusatia in the district of Bautzen in Saxony in Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Schirgiswalde-Kirschau. It is situated in a region called Lausitze ...

Schirgiswalde Schirgiswalde (in Sorbian ''Šěrachów'', in Czech ''Šerachov'') is a town and a former municipality in the district of Bautzen in Saxony in Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Schirgiswalde-Kirschau. It is located on the riv ...

, and Steinigtwolmsdorf/Wołbramecy. Wilthen today consists of a central settlement and some smaller villages. The parts of the community are named Sora, Ingersdorf and Tautewalde. The place is well known in Germany because of its biggest employer, an alcohol-producing company.

History

Wilthen arose out of an old Sorbian village that was mentioned first in 1222. In 1669 the village received the status of a town and marketplace. It still was regarded to as a village because only a few markets are located there each year. Three hundred years later, it became a town again. Since 1972, Wilthen has been an official place of recovery (Erholungsort).

Mayors

*Horst Hönig: 1974–1987 *Gabriele Parakeninks: 1988–1990 *Bernd Wucke: May 1990–January 1991 *Manfred Melior (CDU): Januar 1991–August 1991 *Knut Vetter (FDP): 1991–2008 *Michael Herfort (CDU): since August 2008

Culture, sights and tourism

The town is situated in the "Lausitzer Bergland", a hillregion between

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 ...

and the Zittauer Gebirge in the

Lusatian Mountains The Lusatian Mountains ( cs, Lužické hory; german: Lausitzer Gebirge; pl, Góry Łużyckie) are a mountain range of the Western Sudetes on the southeastern border of Germany with the Czech Republic. They are a continuation of the Ore Mountains ...

. Wilthen offers many possibilities of touring like many look outs upon the hilltops and nearby restaurants. Another touring-route leads through the small pond-district. Some remains of the old rural culture and weaving tradition of the region can be found in a small camber of home "Heimatstube". With a group of more than ten people it is also possible to get into the distillery "Wilthener Weinbrennerei", founded in 1843 and since 1992 owned by the company

Hardenberg-Wilthen Hardenberg Wilthen AG is a distillery in Nörten-Hardenberg and Wilthen, Germany. It produces Korn and a number of other liquors. The company ranks as Germany's second largest liquor producer. History Hardenberg Wilthen has been owned and mana ...

. Few of the old houses of the town has been preserved like some old craftsmen-houses.

Economy

At the beginning of the 19th century the town started to become a well known place of textile industry, machine building, plastic production and alcohol production. Important enterprises today are: The distillery Wilthener Weinbrennerei (

AG), KEW Kunststofferzeugnisse GmbH Wilthen, Lakowa GmbH Kunststoffbe- und verarbeitung, VTN Härterei Wilthen GmbH, SLM GmbH and Schumann Kies- und Hartsteinwerke.

References

External links

{{Authority control Towns in Saxony Populated places in Bautzen (district)