Werdau () 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 betwee ...

, part of the

Landkreis In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

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: ' ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, 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 ...

. It is situated on the river

Pleiße The Pleiße is a river of Saxony and Thuringia, Germany. The Pleiße has its source southwest of Zwickau at Ebersbrunn, then flows through Werdau, Crimmitschau, Altenburg, and other towns and villages in Saxony and Thuringia, before flowing fr ...

, 8 km from

. The town was mentioned as early as 1304, and in 1398 it was purchased by Frederick, then margrave of Meissen, who afterwards became

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

. The textile industry was the dominant industry in Werdau since the 14th century. The industrial character of the town further increased in the 20th century with the large-scale truck production by the

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Ac ...

conglomerate. Both industries were not competitive after the

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990, leading to a sharp deindustrialisation. The character of the town changed dramatically over the last 20 years after almost all factories were demolished and the characteristic East-German residential

Plattenbauten (plural: , german: Platte + Bau, lit=panel/slab' + 'building/ construction) is a building constructed of large, prefabrication, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of (in this context: panel) and (building). Such buildings ...

were scaled back. In 1905, the city held a contest for the design of a new town hall, as the old one built in 1727 had become too small. The tower and floorplan of one design was combined with the façade of another, and ground was broken for construction on August 1, 1908. It was inaugurated on April 26, 1911, with Frederick Augustus III of Saxony in attendance.

Werdau station Werdau station is a station on the Leipzig–Hof railway in Werdau in the German state of Saxony. Until 2000, the Werdau–Mehltheuer railway branched off here, but this section of the line is now closed. History The station was opened in 1845. ...

is located on the

Leipzig–Hof railway The Leipzig–Hof railway is a two-track main line in the German states of Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria, originally built and operated by the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company. It runs from Leipzig through Altenburg, the Werdau wye junction, Reich ...

. File:Marienkirche Werdau.jpg, Marien-Church File:Stadtmuseum Werdau.JPG, City Museum File:Werdau - Cemetery chapel (aka).jpg, Cemetery chapel File:Werdau advertising clock (aka).jpg, Advertising clock File:Katholische Kirche Werdau.jpg, Catholic Church

References

External links

* Zwickau (district) {{Zwickau-geo-stub