Löbau (; , ) is a city in the east of

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 ...

, in the traditional region of

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...

. It is situated between the slopes of the Löbauer Berg and the fertile hilly area of the Upper Lusatian Mountains. It is the gateway to this volcanic mountainous area and is situated halfway between the cities of

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

and

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

History

Löbau was first mentioned in 1221 as "

Oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

Lubaw". From 1319, the city was part of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown. In 1346 the city was a founding member of the

Lusatian League The Lusatian League () was a historical alliance of six towns in the region of Upper Lusatia from 1346 until 1815, when the region was controlled first by Bohemia (1346–1635) and later by the Electorate of Saxony (1635–1815). The member towns ...

, consisting of the six cities

Kamenz Kamenz () or Kamjenc ( Sorbian, ) is a town (''Große Kreisstadt'') in the district of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany. Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District. The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotth ...

Lubań Lubań (; ), sometimes called Lubań Śląski (; , ); is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in southwest Poland. It is the administrative seat of Lubań County and also of the smaller Gmina Lubań (although it is not part of the territory ...

, Löbau and

, which was disbanded in 1815. In 1469, along with the Lusatian League, the town recognized the rule of King

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

and passed to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and in 1490 it returned to the Czech Crown, then under the rule of Polish Prince Vladislaus II. From 1635, it was ruled by the

Electors of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

, from 1697 also Kings of Poland, and from 1871 it was part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. After Germany's defeat in

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 ...

, the town was part of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

until 1990. The league was revived in 1991, though it no longer holds political power and mostly acts as a tourism promotion board. The town is widely known for the piano manufacturing company

August Förster August Förster is a German piano manufacturing company (also rendered "Foerster," occasionally "Forster," officially "August Förster GmbH Kunsthandwerklicher Flügel-und-Pianobau") that currently has a staff of 40 employees and produces around ...

Main sights

Koenig-Friedrich-August-Turm Loebauer Berg

The town hall of the city is a noteworthy mixture of several architectural styles. Another famous building is the Schminke House by German architect

Hans Scharoun Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun (; 20 September 1893 – 25 November 1972) was a German architect best known for designing the (home to the Berlin Philharmonic) and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important exponent of Organic arc ...

, one of the most important exponents of organic and expressionist architecture. The building dates from the 1930s, anticipating the architecture of the 1950s. It is regarded as one of Scharoun's greatest works. The

King Frederick Augustus Tower The King Frederick Augustus Tower () is the only preserved observation tower of cast iron in Europe and perhaps the oldest tower built of iron. It is located on the ''Löbauer Berg'' at Löbau in Saxony, offering a panoramic view of the Zittau Hill ...

is Löbau's main landmark; the tower made of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

was built in 1854 on the Löbauer Berg, and is 28 m tall. It is the biggest cast-iron tower in Europe and offers magnificent views of the

Lusatian Highlands The Lusatian Highlands at www.silvaportal.info. Accessed on 10 July 2011. or Lusatian Hills North German Confederation Treaty The North German Confederation Treaty (in German ''Augustbündnis'', or Alliance of August) (also called the North German Federation Treaty and the Treaty of 18 August 1866) was the treaty between the Kingdom of Prussia and other northern and centr ...

the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

entered the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...

in 1866. This continued after the founding of the

on 18 January 1871. Following this Saxony participated in Reichstag elections from February 1867. Löbau returned a series of Reichstag Deputies until 1919 when the existing constituencies were scrapped.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Löbau is twinned with: *

Makó Makó (, , Makowe, or , ) is a town in Csongrád County, in southeastern Hungary, from the Romanian border. It lies on the Maros River. Makó is home to 21,913 people and it has an area of , of which is arable land. Makó is the fourth-larges ...

Ettlingen Ettlingen (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the German-French border, border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin, ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

People

(1829-1897), piano maker *

Marie Wackwitz Marie Wackwitz (born ''Johanna Marie Louise Zinske'': 11 January 1865 – 23 November 1930) was a German socialist politician, women's rights activist and journalist. Biography Provenance and early years Marie Louise Zinske was born slightly more ...

(1865-1930), women's rights activist *

Georg Scholze __NOTOC__ Georg Scholze (21 August 1897 – 23 April 1945) was a German general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Scholze committed suicide on 23 April 1945 in Berlin. Awards a ...

(1897-1945), general during

Konrad Kujau Konrad Paul Kujau (27 June 1938 – 12 September 2000) was a German illustrator and forger. He became famous in 1983 as the creator of the so-called Hitler Diaries, for which he received DM 2.5 million (€2,421,020 in 2020 terms, adjusted for ...

(1938-2000), forger *

Bernd Böhlich Bernd Böhlich (born 25 April 1957) is a German film director. He has directed more than thirty films since 1983. Selected filmography *' (1992, TV film) *''Deadly Silence'' (1996, TV film) *' (1997, TV film) *' (2001, TV film) *'' Du bist nicht ...

(*1957), director * Uwe Proske (*1961), Olympic gold medalist (

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, fencing) * Anne-Kathrin Schade (*1968), volleyball player *

Jana Henke Jana Henke (born 1 October 1973 in Löbau, Saxony) is a former freestyle swimmer from Germany, becoming two times European champion in 800 m freestyle. Career She also won the bronze medal in the 800 m freestyle at the 1992 Summer Olympics ...

(*1973), swimmer *

Mirko Müller Mirko Müller (born 12 November 1974) is a German pair skating, pair skater. His first partner was Jekatarina Silnitzkaja, and he later teamed up with Emilie Gras for a year. Müller found his greatest success when Peggy Schwarz became his part ...

(*1974), pair skater *

René Münnich René Münnich (born 6 May 1977) is a German auto racing driver, team owner and entrepreneur. He is the owner and team manager of Münnich Motorsport. Münnich is also the owner of Web hosting service ''all-inkl.com''. He made his debut in the Wor ...

(*1977), auto racing driver and team owner *

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( ; ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera and anthrax, he i ...

(*1986), footballer (formerly

Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, is a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...

, 1. FC Nürnberg) *

Christian Reitz Christian Reitz (born 29 April 1987) is a German 25 metre rapid fire pistol shooter, the current world record holder. Career He rose to fame during 2005, the first year with the new equipment rules, but was defeated in that year's European J ...

(*1987), Olympic gold medalist (

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, 25 metre rapid fire pistol) and world record holder

References

External links

Official website of the city of Löbau (German)Homepage of the Schminke HouseHomepage of the modern Lusatian League (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lobau Towns in Görlitz (district)