Schleiz is a town in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Saale-Orla-Kreis Saale-Orla is a ''Kreis'' (Districts of Germany, district) in the east of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Saale-Holzland, Greiz (district), Greiz, the Vogtlandkreis in Saxony, the Bavarian dist ...

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 larg ...

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 ...

. The former municipality

Crispendorf Crispendorf is a village and a former municipality in the district Saale-Orla-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the town Schleiz Schleiz is a town in the district of Saale-Orla-Kreis in Thuringia, Germany. The ...

was merged into Schleiz in January 2019, and

Burgk Burgk is a village and a former municipality in the district Saale-Orla-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany. Since December 2019, it is part of the town Schleiz Schleiz is a town in the district of Saale-Orla-Kreis in Thuringia, Germany. The forme ...

in December 2019.

Location

Schleiz is in the Thuringian

Vogtland Vogtland (; cz, Fojtsko) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former ...

area, an area of wooded hills on the borders of

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 ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

and 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 ...

. The city is located in a valley with the river

Wisenta Wisenta is a river of Thuringia and Saxony, Germany. It flows into the Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tr ...

near the motorway A 9 (

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

–

München Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Neighboring parishes

Distances calculated as between town centers.

Subdivisions

Schleiz includes the following subdivisions: * Möschlitz * Grochwitz * Oberböhmsdorf * Lössau * Langenbuch * Wüstendittersdorf * Dröswein * Gräfenwarth * Oschitz * Heinrichsruh *

History

Schleiz can be traced back to a settlement established about 1200 ("Altstadt") and a separate "Neustadt" that was established next to it. The "Neustadt" had a castle and a city wall. Until 2 December 1482 they were totally separate communities after which they combined to one city. There was a settlement of the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

here, and for some years previous to 1848 the town was the capital of the small principality of

Reuss-Schleiz The Principality of Reuss-Gera (german: Fürstentum Reuß-Gera), called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line (german: Fürstentum Reuß jüngerer Linie) after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Re ...

. In the vicinity a battle was fought, between the French and the Prussians on 9 October 1806. Within the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

(1871-1918), Schleiz was part of the

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

20th Century

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 opposin ...

hundreds of women and men from several nations, including the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

were transported to Schleiz as forced laborers. At least 60 of them died there. The palace was destroyed April 1945.

Population

Trend of population figures:

Recreation

Schleiz is also the site of the Schleizer Triangle motor racing track. Schleiz Boettger plaque

Notable people

Johann Friedrich Böttger Johann Friedrich Böttger (also Böttcher or Böttiger; 4 February 1682 – 13 March 1719) was a German alchemist. Böttger was born in Schleiz and died in Dresden. He is normally credited with being the first European to discover the secret of th ...

(1682–1719), alchemist and co-inventor of European porcelain * Heinrich Gottfried Piegler (1797–1849), probably the largest manufacturer of

Döbereiner's lamp Döbereiner's lamp, also called a "tinderbox" ("Feuerzeug"), is a lighter invented in 1823 by the German chemist Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner. The lighter is based on the Fürstenberger lighter (invented in Basel in 1780; in which hydrogen gas is ...

s * Richard Barthold (1855-1932), US-american politician * Kurt Holzschuher (1873-1945), owner of the oldest factory in Schleiz (Gebr. Holzschuher) and German politician (DVP) * Theodor Piegler (1904-1991), great-grandson of H.G. Piegler, co-owner of the internationally active metal goods factory for hairdressing articles " Gebr. Piegler" in Nuremberg * Joachim Blechschmidt (1912-1943), German pilot and fighter ace in World War II *

Bernhard Klee Bernhard Klee (born 19 April 1936) is a German conductor, originally from Schleiz, in Thuringia. Trained as a member of the Thomanerchor, he has since conducted many of Europe's most prestigious orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic and S ...

(born 1936), conductor * Juergen K. Klimpke (born 1963), mayor of the city of Schleiz from 2012-2018, member of political committees of the city of Schleiz, author ("Schleizer Heimathefte"), founding member and longtime chairman of the "Geschichts- und Heimatverein zu Schleiz e.V." and photographer

References

;Attribution *

External links

* http://www.schleiz.de Official web site for Stadt Schleiz. {{Authority control Saale-Orla-Kreis Principality of Reuss-Gera