Riesa is a town in the district of

Meißen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrech ...

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 ...

. It is located on the river

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

, approximately northwest of

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

History

The name ''Riesa'' is derived from Slavic ''Riezowe''. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears first in October 1119 in a document from Pope Callixtus II. The world's first 110 kV power line was installed between Riesa and

Lauchhammer Lauchhammer ( dsb, Łuchow) is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the Black Elster river, approx. 17 km west of Senftenberg, and 50 km north of Dresden. History From 1815 to ...

in 1912. Between 1952 and 1994, Riesa was the seat of a district. During the 1980s, Riesa was the headquarters of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupat ...

's 9th Tank Division.

Population history

The town grew from the start of the 20th century due to industrialisation. The population declined after German Reunification in 1989. The local steel works shut and the population fell from 52,000 to 31,000.

Sights

Riesa Elbe Trinitatis church 1897 profile of entrance side district Meißen Saxony photo 2008 Wolfgang Pehlemann Wiesbaden Germany IMG 0022

Riesa has a 25 m tall, 234 tonne,

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

(GGG 40) sculpture of an oak trunk, named ''Elbquelle'', which means

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

of the

, by Jörg Immendorff, erected in 1999. Local folk call the sculpture by many other names, most notably "Rostige Eiche", which means "Rusty Oak". In Riesa there are two notable churches. The minster St. Marien was built in 1261 as an addition to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Abbey. The

Trinitatis Church The Trinitatis Church (''Trinitatis Kirke'') is located in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the 17th century Trinitatis Complex, which includes the Rundetårn astronomical observatory tower and the Copenhagen University Library, in ad ...

was completed in 1897.

Culture

Riesa is well known locally for its pasta, which is produced at ''Teigwaren Riesa GmbH''. Another symbol of Riesa are the ''Riesaer Zündhölzer'', the

match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

es which were traditionally manufactured there. The steel production in Riesa is also well known.

Sport

Riesa has a football club,

BSG Stahl Riesa BSG Stahl Riesa is a German association football club from Riesa in Saxony. History The club was founded as ''SC Riesa'' in 1903 in the cellar of the local pub "Bodega" and was renamed ''Riesaer SV'' two years later. In 1917, they fused with ' ...

. The club's crest is blue and white, as are the club colours. They play now in the Landesliga Sachsen (6th tier). Riesa is known locally for the '' SACHSENarena'', a large hall which hosted the European

Sumo Wrestling is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

Championship in October 2003 and the World Sumo Wrestling Championship in October 2004.

Twin towns – sister cities

Riesa is twinned with: *

Głogów Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

, Poland * Lonato del Garda, Italy *

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

, Germany *

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, England, United Kingdom * Sandy, United States * Villerupt, France * Wuzhong (Suzhou), China

Transport

Empfangshalle, Bahnhof Riesa Bahnhofstraße 50

Riesa railway station is located north of the town's centre, it offers both regional and long-distance services. Riesa is located on Bundesstraße 169, which ensures access to federal motorways A 14 (close to Döbeln, approx. 25 km) and A 13 (close to

Ruhland ( Sorbian: ''Rólany'') is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in Upper Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, 12 km southwest of Senftenberg. Ruhland station is a major railway junction, fo ...

, approx. 50 km).

Notable people

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-E0119-0011-002, Dieter Noll

* Adolph von Carlowitz (1858–1928), Saxon officer, general of the infantry and war minister * Johannes Müller (1864–1949), theologian * Rolf Moebius (1915–2004), actor * Dieter Noll (1927–2008), writer * Jürgen Schmieder (born 1952), politician * Monika Zehrt (born 1952), athlete *

Heiko Peschke Heiko Peschke (born 18 September 1963) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He appeared in 288 top-flight matches in Germany - 221 in the Oberliga and 67 in the Bundesliga. He won five caps for East Germany ...

(born 1963), footballer *

Ulf Kirsten Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''Der Schwatte'' (dialect for ''Der Schwarze'', 'The Black One'), he is the first player in history to reach a total 100 caps play ...

(born 1965), footballer * Rüdiger Heinze (born 1971), film producer and screenwriter *

Maximilian Arnold Maximilian Arnold (born 27 May 1994) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Germany national team. An academy graduate of Wolfsburg, Arnold became the club's youngest ever debutan ...

(born 1994), footballer

Associated with the town

Walter Fritzsch Walter Fritzsch (21 November 1920 – 15 October 1997) was a German football player and manager. Beginning He began his career as a player in 1927 with SC Planitz. In 1940, he transferred to VfL Leisnig and played there until 1943 after which he ...

(1920–1997), football coach * Wolfgang Lischke (born 1947), footballer * Peter Kotte (born 1954), footballer * Harald Czudaj (born 1963), bobsledder * Ralf Hauptmann (born 1968), footballer

References

External links

Official websiteRiesa tourism siteOfficial Web site of Stahl Riesa Footballclub
* {{Authority control Meissen (district) Populated riverside places in Germany Populated places on the Elbe