Schöneck (also: Schöneck/Vogtl.) is a town in the

Vogtlandkreis The Vogtlandkreis () is a ''Landkreis'' (List of German rural districts, rural district) in the southwest of Saxony, Germany, at the borders of Thuringia, Bavaria, and the Czech Republic. Neighbouring districts are (from south clockwise) Hof (dist ...

district, in the

Free State 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 ...

. It is situated southeast of

Plauen Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest cit ...

, and north of

Cheb Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...

. Schöneck is known as the biggest ski resort in the eastern part of Germany. With more than 700 m (church) it is the highest-located town in the Vogtland district. It is in the 'music corner', a region so-called because of its history of production of musical instruments.

Town structure

The districts of Schöneck are Arnoldsgrün, Eschenbach, Gunzen, Korna, Kottenheide, Schilbach and Zwotental.

History

Schöneck became a town in 1370, but was first mentioned a century before this, when the castle ''castrum Schoennecke'' was mentioned as a mediaeval manor. After some devastating major fires (1632, 1680, 1761 and 1856), Schöneck took part in the industrialization of the 19th century. The town's main business became the cigar manufactory. In 1875, the railroad to

Falkenstein Falkenstein or Falckenstein ("falcons' stone" in German) may refer to: Places Austria * Falkenstein, Lower Austria, a market town in the district of Mistelbach Germany * Falkenstein, Bavaria, a market town in the district of Cham * Falke ...

and

Klingenthal Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtland region, in Saxony, south-eastern Germany. Geography Klingenthal is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice. Klingenthal is 29 km southeast of Plauen, ...

was built. The population grew significantly until World War II, but later the population contracted again.

Historical population

Historical population growth and decline ''(from 1998, as of 31 December)'': : Data source since 1998: the state office of statistics of Saxony

Personalities

Christian Gottlob Steinmüller Christian Gottlob Steinmüller (25 September 1792 – 8 May 1864) was an organ builder in Germany. Life He was born on 25 September 1792, the son of Johann Gottlob Steinmüller in Arnoldsgrün, in the Electorate of Saxony. On 15 January 1806, ...

(1792-1862), organ builder, born in Arnoldsgrün *

Kurt Demmler Kurt Demmler (born ''Kurt Abramowitsch'', 12 September 1943 Posen – 3 February 2009 Berlin) was a German songwriter, who in the earlier part of his life was a dissident East German songwriter. Accused of alleged sexual abuse of underage gir ...

(1943-2009), songwriter and lyricist, completed an internship in the hospital in 1962/63 *

Birgit Klaubert Birgit Klaubert (born 28 September 1954) is a German politician (Die Linke) and former vice president of the Thuringian regional parliament (''"Landtag"''). From 2014 to 2017 Klaubert served as Thuringia's Minister for Education, Youth and Spor ...

(born 1954),

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

in ( The Left), former vice president of the Thuringian parliament, since 2014 Minister of Education, Youth and Sports in Thuringia

References

Vogtlandkreis {{Vogtlandkreis-geo-stub