Marienberg is a town in

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 was the district capital of the Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis (Central Ore Mountains district) in the southern part 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 ...

, and since August 2008 it has been part of the new district of

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

. As of 2020, the town had 16,716 inhabitants.

Location and design

The town is situated on a plateau north of the Ore Mountain ridge, at an elevation between 460 and 891 metres above sea level. It is approximately 31 kilometres south of Chemnitz, to which it is connected via the Flöha Valley Railway. The historical town centre follows a rectangular plan, imitating Italian renaissance. The centre is the market square, a square of 1.7 hectares in area. Marienberg and

Pobershau Pobershau is a former municipality in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. With effect from 1 January 2012, it has been incorporated into the town of Marienberg.

were merged into the administrative unit (''

Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Municipal associations (german: Verwaltungsgemeinschaften) are statutory corporations or public bodies created by statute in the German federal states of Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, and Schleswig-Holstein. In Baden-Württemberg the term ''stipu ...

'') of Marienberg, Pobershau has been incorporated into Marienberg with effect from 1 January 2012.

Town districts

Marienberg's districts are: *Marienberg *Ansprung *Gebirge *Gelobtland *Grundau *Kühnhaide *

Lauta Lauta ( Sorbian: ''Łuty'') is a town in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 10 km west of Hoyerswerda, and 10 km southeast of Senftenberg. History From 1815 to 1945, within the Prussian Province of Brandenbur ...

*Lauterbach *

Niederlauterstein Niederlauterstein is a village in Saxony which has been incorporated into the town of Marienberg in the district Erzgebirgskreis since 1996. Geography Niederlauterstein is a dispersed settlement (''Streusiedlung''), situated about north-east ...

Pobershau Pobershau is a former municipality in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. With effect from 1 January 2012, it has been incorporated into the town of Marienberg.

* Reitzenhain (Marienberg), Reitzenhain *Rittersberg *Rübenau * Satzung *Sorgau * Zöblitz

History

Villages of Gebirge, Gelobtland and Hüttengrund

The first documented evidence relating to Marienberg is a mention of the village of Wüstenschletta as ''Sletyn'' in 1323. But by 1481 it was being referred as ''wüste Schlette'' ("abandoned Schlette"). The owner of the eponymous glassworks in 1486 was Barthol Preußler. On 17 July 1519, silver was first discovered as the entrance to the Hüttengrund by Clemens Schiffel and, on 11 May 1520, the first ore mine (''Fundgrube''), St. Fabian Sebastian, was leased to Schiffel. The town was founded on 27 April 1521 by Henry the Pious, Duke of Saxony. The town plan was designed by

Ulrich Rülein von Calw Ulrich Rülein von Calw (1465–1523) was a physician, doctor, mathematician and well-known mining engineer. He was also active as a surveying, surveyor, Urban planner, town planner and astrologer and was the mayor () of the mining town of Freiberg ...

. Marienberg was granted

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1523 and was given its own mining office (''Bergamt'') in 1525. A grammar school (''Lateinschule'') was first mentioned in 1530. The village of Wüstenschletta was subordinated to the jurisdiction of the town in 1533. With the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

reaching the town in 1536/37, Marienberg became an independent

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

. Mining reached its peak in 1540. From 1541 to 1566, the town walls were erected. In 1555, there were more than a thousand pits in the Marienberg mining area. The Late Gothic

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

of St. Mary's was built from 1558 to 1564. On 31 August 1610, the town suffered in a devastating fire in which almost all its 550 houses were destroyed. Following the end of silver mining, the extraction of copper and tin began in 1612. In 1696 troops were first quartered in the town, and from 1753 to 1858, it was a garrison town for the cavalry. Around 1755, Gelobtland (literally: "Promised Land") was mentioned for the first time in the records (''"... in the Gelobten Land ..."''). In the wake of a fever ( ''Faulfieber'') epidemic, an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

was founded in 1772, which was expanded into a school (''Freischule'') in 1805. To improve the food situation of the mining employees a miner's grain store (''Bergmagazin'') was built from 1806 to 1809 on the recommendation of mining director Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich von Trebra. In 1810, a school was built in the village of Gebirge. In 1813 Marienberg became a staging post for the allied armies facing Napoleon. In 1821, the village of Gelobtland was created as a settlement for forest workers. In 1835, the dilapidated town wall was taken down, with the exception of the Zschopau Gate (''Zschopauer Tor'') and the Red Tower (''Roter Turm''). In 1842, Marienberg became the seat of the church parish. In 1847, the mining office was closed; that same year a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

was opened in the presence of

Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel Friedrich may refer to: Names * Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' * Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other * Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...

. From 1858 to 1873 Marienberg served as a garrison town for the infantry. The volunteer fire service was founded in 1862. From 1873 to 1920, there was an NCO school and preschool in Marienberg; in 1874 work on the construction of the barracks was begun. In the same year construction started on a gas works and the installation of gas lanterns. In 1875 Marienberg was given a connection to the railway network with the construction of the Flöha Valley Railway with stations in Marienberg itself, Gebirge, and Gelobtland. In 1882, volunteer fire services were established in Gelobtland and Gebirge. In 1889 the town hospital opened. A water works was built in 1891/1892 and the Central School (''Zentralschule'', now the gymnasium) was inaugurated in 1893. In 1899 the Rudolf shaft mine closed and, with that, the last mine was gone. In 1910, a power station was built and, in 1913, Marienberg connected to the main electricity supply. In 1914, the church, the Red Tower and the Zschopau Gate were placed under protection by a local by-law. In 1917, work began on the building of the district court. At Gallows Hill (''Galgenberg'') in 1927 a ski jump was opened. A junior high school and ''Progymnasium'' was founded in 1918 and was housed until 1940 within the barracks. With the construction of twelve semi-detached houses from 1933 to 1937, the district of Moosheide was formed. Between 1924 and 1937, the Marienberg Triangle Race (''Marienberger Dreieckrennen'') took place ten times. The 17 km route ran from Marienberg, via the Heinzebank and

Wolkenstein Wolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the river Zschopau, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz. The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of Zschopau and ...

and back to Marienberg. At that time it was the fastest motorcycle road racing circuit in Germany and has hosted rounds of the German motorcycle road championship. Towards the end 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 opposing ...

, 154

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

prisoners from the

subcamp Subcamps (german: KZ-Außenlager), also translated as satellite camps, were outlying detention centres (''Haftstätten'') that came under the command of a main concentration camp run by the SS in Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Nazi ...

of Wille in

Tröglitz Elsteraue is a municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated near the White Elster river, about southwest of Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Sa ...

/ Rehmsdorf were murdered during a

death march A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war or other captives or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinguished in this way from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Conven ...

by members of the SS. They had escaped from transport trains at Gelobtland and Reitzenhain stations during enemy strafing attacks between 15 and 17 April 1945 into the surrounding forests, but were recaptured. From 1874 to 1939, Marienberg was the seat of the eponymous ''Amtshauptmannschaft'' which became the county of Marienberg in 1939. The latter was absorbed into the county of Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis in 1994 and, in 2008, the county of

at which point the town lost its status as the county town. Since 2013, there are no more scheduled passenger trains to Marienberg, while the section of the railway line to Reitzenhain was already closed in 1998. From 1994 to 2012, several surrounding municipalities were merged with Marienberg. These were in chronological order

(1 January 1994),

(1 January 1996), Lauterbach (1 January 1998), Hirtstein (1 January 2003),

Pobershau Pobershau is a former municipality in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. With effect from 1 January 2012, it has been incorporated into the town of Marienberg.

(1 January 2012), and the town of Zöblitz (31 December 2012).

Culture and sights

The historic old town (''Altstadt'') of Marienberg and the mining country near Lauta is the

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

as a part of the

Ore Mountain Mining Region The Ore Mountain Mining Region (officially Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region; german: Montanregion Erzgebirge, cs, Montanregion Krušné hory) is an industrial heritage landscape, over 800 years old, in the border region of the Ore Mountai ...

('' Montanregion Erzgebirge'').

Structures

* St. Mary's – a Late Gothic

* Town hall built in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

style * Red Tower (''Roter Turm'') – the last of originally 4 corner towers in the town wall * Zschopau Gate (''Zschopauer Tor'') – last of originally 5 town gates * Old Mining Store ('' Bergmagazin'') – built 1806-1809 * Rectangular town plan with a square market place (the ''Marktplatz'') *

Saxon post milestone A Saxon milepost (german: kursächsische Postmeilensäule, colloquially ''sächsische Postmeilensäule'' or ''Postsäule'') was a milepost in the former Electorate of Saxony that gave distances expressed as journey times to the nearest eighth o ...

(''Kursächsische Postmeilensäule'') from the Zschopau Gate; part of the coat of arms of a Saxon post milestone from the Annaberg Gate in the museum, electoral Saxon full milestone from the High Bridge (''Hohe Brücke'') as a monument at the ''Bergmagazin'', parts of a Saxon half-milestone walled into the archway of ''Haus Reiter'' and two quarter-milestones on the original post road near Reitzenhain and, as the Wettin Oak monument (''Wettin Eiche''), on ''Eisenstraße'' in the Marienberg Forest (''Marienberger Forst'') * Royal Saxon

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

s as sentinel stones from the Wolkenstein Gate on '' Wolkensteiner Straße'' and converted in 1900 to kilometre stones at the old

Freiberg Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage c ...

Gate and at the Lauterbach junction on the B 171 federal road.

Museums

* Museum of the Saxon-Bohemian Ore Mountains (''Museum sächsisch-böhmisches Erzgebirge'') in the ''Bergmagazin''

Memorials

* Memorial site created in 1952 at Marienberg-Gelobtland station in memory of the murdered concentration camp prisoners * Memorial plaque for 23 French and 34 Soviet prisoners of the Flöha

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flo ...

, who were also murdered by the SS in spring 1945 * Memorial site created in 1950 on the B 174 in a wood near Reitzenhain for 218 prisoners executed by SS guards * Gravesite dug in 1945 at the cemetery for Italian military internees * Memorial plaque on the staircase of the town hall to the

social democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

, Walter Mehnert, who was murdered on 18 October 1943 in the gaol at Brandenburg-Görden (not in Moabit as stated on the plaque)

Major events

* 26 to 29 July 2001: German

Christian Endeavour The Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor was founded in Portland, Maine, in 1881 by Francis Edward Clark, as an interdenominational Christian youth society encouraging them to "work together to know God in Jesus Christ". Operating intern ...

(''Entschieden für Christus'') conference (Christian youth conference) * 1 to 3 September 2006: 15th Day of Saxony in Marienberg

Culinary specialities

* Lauterbacher Tropfen

Economy and infrastructure

Marienberg is developing its

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

offer; one aspect of that being the

Silver Road The 140-kilometre-long road, the Silver Road (german: Silberstraße) is the first and longest holiday route in the German Free State of Saxony. Against the background of the importance of mining in the history of Saxony, the road links those sigh ...

which runs through the town. A German

armoured infantry Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is disti ...

unit, the ''Panzergrenadierbataillon 371'', is based in the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

barracks called ''Erzgebirgskaserne''. The barracks lies on the edge of the old town. In 1996 the unit was given the honorary title the "Marienberg Rifles" (''Marienberger Jäger'') by the town council.

Transport

The Flöha Valley Railway, opened in 1875 and now operated by the DB Erzgebirgsbahn, provided a connection to Chemnitz (via Pockau-Lengefeld and Flöha) until 2013. The section between Pockau-Lengefeld and Marienberg is still in use for freight trains, the section between Marienberg and Reitzenhain was closed in 1998 and has been lifted in 2013. It is to be converted into a cycling and hiking path. The B 174 federal highway from Chemnitz runs through the town towards Reitzenhain (border of

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 ...

), and crosses B 171 from

Dippoldiswalde Dippoldiswalde ( Saxon: ''Dipps'') is a town in Saxony, Germany, part of the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district. It is situated 23 km east of Freiberg, and 18 km south of Dresden. The town is situated on the Weisseritz railway, ...

near Hüttengrund. The Reitzenhain Pass is the lowest pass in the Ore Mountains and was therefore one of the most important communication links between central Germany and Bohemia in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. State roads connect Marienberg with

Annaberg-Buchholz Annaberg-Buchholz () is a town in Saxony, Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis. Geography The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the ''Pöhlberg'' ( above sea level). ...

Pockau Pockau is a village and a former municipality in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony, Germany. On 1 January 2014 it was merged with the town Lengefeld to form the town Pockau-Lengefeld. Pockau is on the Silver Road (''Silberstraße''). Geor ...

, and

Lengefeld Lengefeld is a town and a former municipality in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, 23 km southeast of Chemnitz. On 1 January 2014 it was merged with the municipality Pock ...

. The construction of the ring road, planned for many years, which routes the B 174 east of Marienberg, was started in 2005. It was opened on 29 November 2007 in the presence of Federal Transport Minister,

Wolfgang Tiefensee Wolfgang Tiefensee (born 4 January 1955) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was the Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development in the grand coalition cabinet led by Angela Merkel between 2005 and ...

. Public transport is provided by VMS with scheduled cross-country buses to Annaberg-Buchholz,

Brand-Erbisdorf Brand-Erbisdorf () is a small town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 5 km south of Freiberg. As of 2020, the town has a population of 9,145. History The town is first mentioned in 1209 as ''Erlwinesberc' ...

, Chemnitz,

, Niederschmiedeberg, Olbernhau,

, and

Zschopau Zschopau (), is a town in the Erzgebirgskreis district of Saxony, Germany. Geography The town is located on the northwestern slopes of the Ore Mountains, on both banks of the Zschopau River, about south-east from Chemnitz. The highest point ...

as well as local buses connecting the various parts of the town.

Media

MEF (Mittel-Erzgebirgs-Fernsehen), a TV station, has been operating since 1989 and aims to provide a broadcasting platform for the community of the county of Mittlerer Erzgebirgkreis.

Twin towns – sister cities

Marienberg is twinned with: * Bad Marienberg, Germany *

Dorog Dorog (german: Drostdorf) is a small town in Komárom-Esztergom County, Hungary. It lies north-west from the center of Budapest. Etymology The name comes from Slavic ''drugъ'' (drug) - a partner, comrade, "brother". History The valley betw ...

, Hungary *

Lingen Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2008, its population was 52,353, and in addition there were about 5,000 people who registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is ...

, Germany *

Most Most or Möst or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria * Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic ** Most District, a district surrounding the city ** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city ** A ...

, Czech Republic

Gallery

BlickDurchsZschopauerTorAufStMarien.jpg, View through the Zschopau Gate to the Church of St. Marien

References

External links

City and tourist information

Official website
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1521 Towns in the Ore Mountains Erzgebirgskreis 1521 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire