Mylau is a town and a former municipality in the

Vogtlandkreis The Vogtlandkreis () is a ''Landkreis'' (rural district) in the southwest of Saxony, Germany, at the borders to Thuringia, Bavaria, and the Czech Republic. Neighboring districts are (from south clockwise) Hof, Saale-Orla, Greiz, Zwickau and Erzg ...

district, in the

Free State of Saxony Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procure ...

, Germany with about 2600 citizens. Since 1 January 2016 it is part of the town

Reichenbach im Vogtland Reichenbach im Vogtland is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district of Saxony in eastern Germany. With a population of 20,108, it is the second-largest town in the Vogtlandkreis after Plauen. It is located close to the A72 between Plauen (at c. 18&n ...

. It is situated in the valleys of the river

Göltzsch The Göltzsch is a river of Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the White Elster, which it joins near Greiz Greiz () is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in east ...

and the Raumbach, a stream flowing from Reichenbach im Vogtland that is locally known as the Soap Stream (German: ''Seifenbach'') because of the

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

painting factories that had been built by its banks. The town lies 6 km southeast of Greiz, and 20 km southwest 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: ' ...

. Mylau has the smallest area of any town ("Stadt") in what was formerly

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 ...

, although there are 10 towns in what was formerly

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

that are even smaller in area. Mylau panorama (aka)

History

In the 14th century, a settlement was built at the foot of Mylau Castle (1180). Emperor Charles IV granted

town privileges 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 1376. Until late in the 17th century, the town was reasonably insignificant; in 1650 it was composed of only 24 houses. It then grew rapidly because of a rise of manual

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

craftsmanship in the area, which facilitated the rapid development of the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

in the 19th century. Population growth ''(as of 1960, the poll date is December 31)'': :Data before 1998: Digitales Historisches Ortsverzeichnis von Sachsen
Data since 1998: Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen

Sites of interest

Mylau Castle was built in 1180 at the place where the Raumbach flows into the Göltzsch river, and is still intact. One kilometer to the northwest of the town the world-famous

Göltzsch Viaduct The Göltzsch Viaduct (German: ''Göltzschtalbrücke'') is a railway bridge in Germany. It is the largest brick-built bridge in the world, and for a time it was the tallest railway bridge in the world. It spans the valley of the Göltzsch River b ...

crosses the Göltzsch valley. Also worth visiting is the city church ''St. Wenzel'' established in 1890, which includes a

Gottfried Silbermann Gottfried Silbermann (January 14, 1683 – August 4, 1753) was a German builder of keyboard instruments. He built harpsichords, clavichords, organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests mainly on the latter two. Life Very little is know ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

built in 1730/1731). File:Castle Mylau (aka).jpg, Mylau Castle File:Castle Mylau - inner courtyard (aka).jpg, Mylau Castle inner courtyard File:Church Mylau - back (aka).jpg, City church (rear view)

References

Towns in Saxony Vogtlandkreis Former municipalities in Saxony {{Vogtlandkreis-geo-stub

History

Sites of interest

See also

References