Wolkenstein is a town in the district

Erzgebirgskreis Erzgebirgskreis is a district ('' Kreis'') in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the Ore Mountains (German: ''Erzgebirge''), a mountain range in the southern part of the district which forms part of the Germany–Czech Republi ...

, in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is situated in the

Ore Mountains The Ore Mountains (, or ; ) lie along the Czech–German border, separating the historical regions of Bohemia in the Czech Republic and Saxony in Germany. The highest peaks are the Klínovec in the Czech Republic (German: ''Keilberg'') at ab ...

, on the river

Zschopau Zschopau (), is a town in the Erzgebirgskreis district of Saxony, Germany. The town grew around the castle, which was built in the mid-12th century to protect the Salt Road, which crossed the Zschopau River here. Mining was also practiced from ...

, 22 km southeast of

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

. The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of the Zschopau and

Preßnitz The Preßnitz () is a right-hand tributary of the Zschopau River in the state of Saxony in eastern Germany and in the Czech Republic. It rises in the Bohemian part of the Ore Mountains near Horní Halže. Course The upper section of the Pre� ...

rivers. Its name is derived from the eponymous castle which is situated ca. 70 m above the river, and whose name signifies a rock that rises into the clouds. Aside from the town itself, Wolkenstein consists of the following subdivisions: Warmbad is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

known for its

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

with a variety of medicinal uses.

History

Herrschaft The German term ''Herrschaft'' (plural: ''Herrschaften'') covers a broad semantic field and only the context will tell whether it means, "rule", "power", "dominion", "authority", "territory" or "lordship". In its most abstract sense, it refers ...

Wolkenstein is mentioned in 1262. The town itself was first mentioned in 1293, and was originally called an "oppidum" in 1323. A school was first recorded in 1385. From 1378, Wolkenstein was the seat of the noble family of Waldenburg. After they died out in 1473, it reverted to the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

. At the same time, mining started again in the area. The

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

was introduced in 1536/1537, and Wolkenstein became an independent parish of its own. A wooden

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

across the Zschopau river was built in 1573.

Witch-hunt A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or Incantation, incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the ...

s occurred between 1614 and 1680. 67 mines were in operation around 1622. A great fire occurred in 1687, necessitating the rebuilding of the church which was consecrated again in 1689. The wooden bridge was replaced in 1769 by a stone bridge according to plans by

Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1662–1736) was a German master builder and architect who helped to rebuild Dresden after the fire of 1685. His most famous work is the Zwinger (Dresden), Zwinger Palace. Life Pöppelmann was born in Herford ...

. A spinning mill was built in 1835 in Floßplatz, which was transformed into a paper mill in 1880. The Zschopay valley railway reached Wolkenstein in 1866. The local

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respo ...

was established in 1876. A new school was built in 1885. The sanitary sewers were completed in 1890, and a high pressure water supply in 1908. The narrow-gauge

Pressnitz valley railway The Pressnitz Valley Railway (German: ''Preßnitztalbahn'') was a narrow gauge railway line in Saxony, Germany. It used to climb from Wolkenstein on the standard gauge Annaberg-Buchholz–Flöha railway through the valley of river Preßnitz (Cz ...

opened in 1892. Mining ended in 1904. The first cinema opened in 1919. In 1926, the town took over operation of the health spa in Warmbad. In 1929, Wolkenstein was connected to the gas supply from Annaberg, and the local gas works were closed. In the same year, the new town hall was opened. From 1929 to 1931 a bypass road was built, which necessitated a new bridge across the Zschopau river and the railway. An aerial night attack from 14 to 15 February 1945 killed six people, and destroyed or damaged more than 200 buildings. Passenger services on the Pressnitz valley railway ended in 1984, freight services in 1986. The line was subsequently lifted. On 1 January 1999, the hitherto separate municipalities of Falkenbach, Gehringswalde, Hilmersdorf und Schönbrunn joined Wolkenstein.Gebietsänderungen vom 01.01. bis 31.12.1999

Statistisches Bundesamt The Federal Statistical Office (, shortened ''Destatis'') is a federal authority of Germany. It reports to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Office is responsible for collecting, processing, presenting and analysing statistical informati ...

The area of the former paper mill was sold in summer 2003, and a supplier for the automotive, medical, and electrical industry started production of turned parts from there.

Number of inhabitants

: Source: Statistical Office of Saxony

People who are connected to the place

Kaspar Eberhard Kaspar Eberhard (21 March 1523 – 20 October 1575) was a German Lutheran theologian and teacher. He was born at Schneeberg (Erzgebirge), Schneeberg, and died at Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Wittenberg. Life Bibliography

* Walter Friedensbur ...

(1523-1575), Lutheran theologian and pedagogue

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control