Weißenberg (

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 Wóspork (

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 ...

. The Upper Lusatian town has approximately 3100 inhabitants and is part of the recognized

Sorbian settlement area hsb, Serbski sydlenski rum, dsb, Serbski sedleński rum, image_map=File:Sorbisches Siedlungsgebiet.png, subdivision_type1=Country, subdivision_name1=Germany, subdivision_type2=State, subdivision_name2=Saxony, subdivision_type3=State, subdivision ...

in Saxony.

Geography

Weißenberg is located 16 km east of Bautzen/Budyšin in the region of

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

. The town borders Malschwitz/Malešecy and Hohendubrau in the north, Vierkirchen and

Löbau Löbau ( Upper Sorbian: Lubij) is a city in the east of Saxony, Germany, in the traditional region of Upper Lusatia. It is situated between the slopes of the Löbauer Berg and the fertile hilly area of the Upper Lusatian Mountains. It is the ga ...

in the south, and Hochkirch and Kubschütz in the west. It also borders the district of

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

. It's near to the border to 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 ...

Subdivisions

* Belgern (Sorbian ''Běła Hora'', which means "white mountain") with Neubelgern ''(Nowa Běła Hora)'', 88 inhabitants * Cortnitz ''(Chortnica)'', 42 inhabitants * Drehsa ''(Droždźij)'', 234 inhabitants * Gröditz ''(Hrodźišćo)'', 246 inhabitants * Grube ''(Jama)'', 27 inhabitants * Kotitz ''(Kotecy)'', 193 inhabitants * Lauske ''(Łusk)'', 139 inhabitants * Maltitz ''(Malećicy)'' with Wasserkretscham ''(Wodowa korčma)'', 265 inhabitants * Nechern '(Njechorń)'', 123 inhabitants * Nostitz ''(Nosaćicy)'', 174 inhabitants * Särka ''(Žarki)'', 166 inhabitants * Spittel ''(Špikały)'', 53 inhabitants * Weicha ''(Wichowy)'', 98 inhabitants * Wuischke ''(Wuježk)'', 53 inhabitants * Wurschen ''(Worcyn)'', 312 inhabitants The actual town of Weißenberg has 977 inhabitants. Weißenberg_Zentrum

History

Weißenberg was founded in 1228 at the

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History Origins The ...

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (a ...

and it used to be called Wizenburg, referring to the city's white castle. In 1625, the town was able to buy its freedom from its noble masters for 8,500 thalers, but Weißenberg still had to accept a knightly patron. Today's district of Wurschen is engraved on the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, since the

Battle of Bautzen (1813) In the Battle of Bautzen (20–21 May 1813), a combined Prusso–Russian army, that was massively outnumbered, was pushed back by Napoleon but escaped destruction, with some sources claiming that Marshal Michel Ney failed to block their ret ...

on May 20th and 21st. In the 18th century, Weißenberg was still mentioned as a largely Sorbian-inhabited market town, with all residents also speaking

. In the 1880s Arnošt Muka determined a population of 1242, including 300

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 ...

(24%). In 1893 the regular Sorbian services in the Weißenberg church were abolished. 1956, Ernst Tschernik counted a Sorbian-speaking population of only 5.8%, a total of 81 speakers. Today, the Sorbian community in Weißenberg is a big minority. On April 17, 1945, the battlefield of

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 ...

came to Weißenberg for the first time, when Soviet artillery shelled the town's train station. The following day Weißenberg was occupied by Soviet troops. From 1952 to 1990, Weißenberg was part of the

Bezirk Dresden The Bezirk Dresden was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany that lasted from 1952 to 1990. Dresden would be reabsorbed back into Saxony after the reunification of Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Dresden. History The dis ...

East Germany 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 ...

Sights

* Castle of Gröditz * Kotitz: Evangelical church with Jan-Kilian-monument * Riegelmühle in Nechern * Church of Nostitz * The museum ''Alte Pfefferküchlerei'' shows how the traditional

Pfefferkuchen (), or , are a honey-sweetened German cake molded cookie or bar cookie that has become part of Germany's Christmas traditions. It is similar to gingerbread. Etymology The etymology of ''Leb-'' in the term ''Lebkuchen'' is uncertain. Prop ...

are made * Castle of Wurschen

Education

There are two schools in Weißenberg; a 'Grundschule' and a 'Mittelschule'.

Notable people

* Pawoł Nedo (1908–1984), educator and anthropologist Sorbian, Chairman of the Domowina * Benno von Heynitz (1924–2010), resistance fighter and lawyer, founder of Bautzen Committee e. V. and the Bautzen Memorial * Wolfgang Beyer, city historian and former director of the outpatient clinic

In fiction

In James P. Hogan's science fiction novel ''

The Proteus Operation ''The Proteus Operation'' is a science fiction alternate history novel written by James P. Hogan. The plot focuses on an Anglo-American team of soldiers and civilians sent back in time from the Nazi-dominated world of 1975 to prevent an Axis ...

'', Weißenberg was the location of a time machine in Nazi Germany.

Twin towns

Deckenpfronn Deckenpfronn is a municipality in the district of Böblingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe af ...

(1990) https://www.deckenpfronn.de/de/gemeinde-daten/partnergemeinde

Weblinks

*
Website of Weißenberg

Interactive 360° panorama of Weißenbergs, Marktplatz

References

Towns in Saxony Populated places in Bautzen (district) {{Bautzen-geo-stub