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Döbeln (; , ) is a town in
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, part of the
Mittelsachsen Mittelsachsen (, ) is a district ('' Kreis'') in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. History The district was established by merging the former districts of Döbeln, Freiberg and Mittweida as part of the district reform of August 2008. Geog ...
district. It sits on the banks of the Freiberger Mulde river.


Location and geography

Döbeln is situated in the Central Saxon Hill country in the wide basin of the Freiberger Mulde, roughly in the middle of the triangle between Chemnitz (40 km away), Dresden (50 km away) and Leipzig (70 km away). The surrounding area is characterized by the Mulde valley, the lower
Zschopau Zschopau (), is a town in the Erzgebirgskreis district of Saxony, Germany. The town grew around the castle, which was built in the mid-12th century to protect the Salt Road, which crossed the Zschopau River here. Mining was also practiced from ...
valley and the surrounding hilly landscape. The Zschopau flows into the Mulde near the village of Schweta. Döbeln has a traditional
old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...
, whose central part is located on the Mulde Island and is surrounded by two branches of the Freiberger Mulde river. Districts of the town are Döbeln-Ost, Döbeln-Nord, Gärtitz, Großbauchlitz, Keuern, Kleinbauchlitz, Masten, Pommlitz, Sörmitz, and Zschackwitz. Döbeln has two highway exits on the
Bundesautobahn 14 is an autobahn in eastern Germany. The route comprises two disconnected sections: * The old A 241. A North–south route in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern which runs from Wismar to Schwerin. * The original A 14. A West–east route whi ...
, Döbeln Nord and Döbeln Ost.


History

* 981: First written mention of Döbeln (
Margravate of Meissen The Margravate or Margraviate of Meissen () was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' ( Saxon Eastern March ...
). * Around 1220: Döbeln is described as a town ("''civitas''"). * 1293: First mention of * 1296: Castle and town are occupied by Adolf of Nassau. * 1330: Monastery buildings are completed. * 1333: A serious fire incinerates the entire town. * 1360: Knight Ulmann of Staupitz builds castle Reichenstein. * 1429: Looting of the town and destruction of the castle by the
Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...
. * 1450: Döbeln is raided by Bohemians in the service of duke Wilhelm of Wettin, severely damaging the castle (see
Saxon Fratricidal War The Saxon Fratricidal WarThis translation is employed by the Museum Leuchtenburg in thei ( German: ''Sächsischer Bruderkrieg'') was a war fought between the two brothers Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and Duke William III over Wettin ruled a ...
). After that, the castle declined in its importance. * 1567: Döbeln was mentioned as "deserted palace" and afterwards only used as a quarry. * 1637: Plundered by the Swedes * 1730: Another serious fire hit Döbeln. As a result, the remains of the castle were used as building material for rebuilding. In this fire, 266 homeowners and 400 renters lost their homes. * 12 May 1762 (during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
): between the Prussians and the Austrians. The troops of Prince Henry of Prussia defeated the Austrian troops and took prisoners including the commander . * 1754–1810: Döbeln is a
garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...
of the infantry regiment Lubomirsky. * 1847: Döbeln was connected to the railway from Riesa. * 1857: The railway was extended to Chemnitz. * 1868: The Dresden-Döbeln-Leipzig railway line was opened. * 1945: Döbeln was occupied by the Soviet Army without a shot being fired. In June, 1945, the city issued two postage stamps of its own, consisting of Hitler's face blacked out. Döbeln is known as the "boot town" (''Stiefelstadt'') because of the world's largest historical giant boots. The first stood around 4.60 metres tall and was made by Döbeln shoemakers in 1925 for the 600th anniversary of their guild. In 1937, it became the property of the town of Döbeln and stood in the town hall and the town museum Wappenhenschstift. A bigger model boot, the , was made in 1996 and is 4.90 metres tall. Its size earned it an entry in the
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
in 1997 as the largest top boot in the world.


Population history

From 31 December 1960 unless otherwise noted: Note that the village of Ebersbach, with its population of approximately 1,000 was merged into Döbeln in 2011. On 1 January 2016, the former municipality Mochau became part of Döbeln.


Memorials

* Memorial in front of the ''Crematorium'' in the graveyard for 21 Polish and Soviet men and women who were transported to Germany during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and died as slave laborers. * Memorial at ''Wettinplatz'' for all victims of fascism. * Memorial in front of the Lessing School for the victims of war and dictatorship between the years 1933 and 1989.


Transport

Döbeln Central Station is on the Borsdorf–Coswig and Riesa–Chemnitz lines. It has two connections to the A14 motorway (Autobahn). Döbeln has the last remaining
horse-drawn tram A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is a tram or streetcar pulled by a horse. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, which developed ou ...
line in Germany, in the form of the Döbeln Tramway. This line originally ran from 1892 to 1926, and was reopened in 2007.


Notable people

* Felix Friedrich (born 1945), musicologist * Rainer Kirsch (1934–2015), writer and poet * Helmut Rosenbaum (1913–1944), Nazi commander


Twin towns – sister cities

Döbeln is twinned with: *
Givors Givors (; ) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Location It lies at the confluence of the Rhone and the Gier about south of Lyon and on the main road between that city and Saint-Étienne. ...
, France *
Heidenheim an der Brenz Heidenheim an der Brenz, or just Heidenheim (; Swabian language, Swabian: ''Hoidna'' or ''Hoirna''), is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located near the border with Bavaria, approximately 17 km south of Aalen and 33&n ...
, Germany *
Unna Unna () is a city of around 59,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the seat of the Unna (district), Unna district. The newly refurbished Unna station has trains to all major cities in North Rhine Westphalia including Dortmund, Köln H ...
, Germany *
Vyškov Vyškov (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 21,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zone. Administrative division Vyškov consists of 13 mun ...
, Czech Republic


References


Notes


Sources

* * *


External links


Döbeln-Wiki
(German) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobeln Mittelsachsen