Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

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 ...

, on the right bank of the

Mulde The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (with ...

, 7 miles north of

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...

and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the

district.

History

Glauchau was founded by a colony of

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 Branden ...

and

Wends Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...

, and belonged to the lords of Schönburg as early as the 12th century.

Sights

Some portions of the extensive old castle date from the 12th century, and the Gottesacker church contains interesting antiquarian relics.

Notable people

* Johann Pfeffinger (1493–1573), theologian and Protest reformer *

Georg Agricola Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Pawer or Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Emp ...

(1494–1555), scholar and scientist * Samuel von Pufendorf (1632–1694), jurist, economist and historian *

Ernst Friedrich Germar Ernst Friedrich Germar (3 November 1786 – 8 July 1853) was a German professor and director of the Mineralogical Museum at Halle. As well as being a mineralogist he was interested in entomology and particularly in the Coleoptera and Hemiptera. ...

(1786–1853), professor of mineralogy, entomologist and local politician *

Julius Heinrich Petermann Julius Heinrich Petermann (born August 12, 1801 in Glauchau; died June 10, 1876 in Bad Nauheim) was a German Orientalist.Ernst Kals Ernst Kals (2 August 1905 – 2 November 1979) was a '' Kapitän zur See'' with the ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. He commanded the Type IXC U-boat on five patrols. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Career Kals joined ...

(1905–1979), submarine commander *

Walter Schlesinger Walter Schlesinger (April 28, 1908, Glauchau – June 10, 1984, Weimar-Wolfshausen, near Marburg) was a German historian of medieval social and economic institutions, particularly in the context of German regional history ("Landesgeschichte"). Sch ...

(1908–1984), historian *

Joachim, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau Joachim, Count of Schönburg-Glauchau (German: ''Joachim Heinrich Maria Carl Rudolf Franz Xaver Joseph Antonius Christophorus Hubertus Alfons Graf von Schönburg-Glauchau''; 4 February 1929 – 29 September 1998) was the nominal successor head ...

(1929–1998), politician, writer, Bundestag deputy of the CDU 1990–1994 *

Dieter Erler Dieter Erler (28 May 1939 in Glauchau – 10 April 1998 in Chemnitz) was a German footballer. He began his footballing career with BSG Chemie Glauchau in 1953. He was transferred to BSG Wismut Gera for the 1957 season and then after two seasons ...

(1939–1998), footballer *

Christine Spielberg Christine "Christa" Spielberg (born 21 December 1941) is a former German track and field athlete who competed in the women's discus throw. She claimed the gold medal at the 1966 European Championships, and set the world record on 26 May 1968, r ...

(born 1941), discus thrower *

Torsten May Torsten May (born September 10, 1969 in Glauchau, Saxony) is a former German boxer, who won the Light Heavyweight Gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He challenged once for the IBF cruiserweight championship in 2006. Amateur career ...

(born 1969), boxer

Twin towns – sister cities

Glauchau is twinned with: * Grenay, France (1996) *

Iserlohn Iserlohn (; Westphalian: ''Iserlaun'') is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city by population and area within the district and the Sauerland region. Geography Iserlohn is locat ...

, Germany (1991) * Jibou, Romania (2005) * Lynchburg, United States (2007) *

Vermelles Vermelles () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Vermelles is situated southeast of Béthune and southwest of Lille, at the junction of the D39, D75 and D943 roads and by the banks ...

, France (1998) *

Zgierz Zgierz is a city in central Poland, located just to the north of Łódź, and part of the metropolitan area centered on that city. As of 2021 it had a population of 54,974. Zgierz is situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999); previousl ...

, Poland (1996)

Gallery

Schloss Forderglauchau.JPG, Forderglauchau Castle Schloss Hinterglauchau.jpg, Hinterglauchau Castle Glauchau, Leipziger Straße 37-001.jpg, A house in Leipziger street Bismarck tower in Glauchau, Saxony (Barras).JPG, Bismarck tower

References

External links

Glauchau Notgeld
(emergency banknotes) Small currency notes from Glauchau depicting the story of how the ''Buttermilchturm'' (Buttermilk tower) got its name

(emergency banknotes) Small currency notes from Glauchau depicting the story of the Saxon Beer wars of 1731

Zwickau (district) {{Zwickau-geo-stub