Tharandt () is a municipality 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 ...

, situated on the

Weißeritz The Weißeritz (also: ''Vereinigte Weißeritz'' in German i.e. United Weißeritz, ''Bystrica'' in Sorbian) is a river of Saxony, Germany. It is long and a left tributary of the Elbe. The river is formed by the confluence of the Wild Weißeritz ...

, 9 miles southwest 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 ...

. It has a

Protestant Church 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 ...

and the oldest academy of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

in Germany, founded as the

Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry The Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry (German: ''Königliche-Sächsische Forstakademie'') in Tharandt, Saxony, near Dresden, was founded by silviculturist Heinrich Cotta in 1811. Established in conjunction with the school, and later integrated wit ...

Heinrich Cotta Johann Heinrich Cotta, also Heinrich von Cotta, (30 October 1763 – 25 October 1844) was a German silviculturist who was a native of Kleine Zillbach, near Wasungen, Thuringia. He was founder of the Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry, in Tharandt, ...

in 1811, together with its arboretum, the

Forstbotanischer Garten Tharandt The Forstbotanischer Garten Tharandt (; 33.4 hectares), also known as the Sächsisches Landesarboretum (‘Saxony State Arboretum’), is an arboretum maintained by the Dresden University of Technology. It is among the oldest arboreta in the wor ...

. In 2002, a severe flood destroyed many of the academy buildings and the library, including some of its more-than-500-year old books. The academy was rebuilt and today has about 650 students and is famous for its long traditions of educating students from all over the world in (tropical) forestry, resource management and sustainable land use. In the early 20th century, Tharandt was a favorite summer

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

of the people of Dresden, one of its principal charms being the magnificent

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

woods which surround it.

Personalities connected to the town

Sidonie of Poděbrady Sidonie of Poděbrady ( cs, Zdenka z Poděbrad; 11 November 1449 – 1 February 1510) was a duchess consort of Saxony. She was a daughter of George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia, and his first wife Kunigunde of Sternberg. She was the twin sis ...

(died 1510 in Tharandt), Duchess of Saxony, wife of the Duke Albrecht the Boldheart *

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

(1749–1832), poet, theater director, naturalist, art theorist and statesman; he visited Heinrich Cotta several times from 1811 *

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

(1759–1805) was in the town in 1787 *

(1763–1844), forestry scholar, lived in Tharandt since 1811, where he was director of the Royal Saxon Forestry Academy. *

Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink (1 December 186421 April 1934) was an Anglo-Norwegian polar explorer and a pioneer of Antarctic travel. He inspired Sir Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and others associated with the He ...

(1864 – 1934), Anglo-Norwegian polar explorer and a pioneer of modern Antarctic travel, attended the Royal Saxon Forestry Academy (1885–88)

References

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