Weißenberg (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

) or Wóspork (

Upper Sorbian Upper Sorbian (), occasionally referred to as Wendish (), is a minority language spoken by Sorbs in the historical province of Upper Lusatia, today part of Saxony, Germany. It is a West Slavic language, along with Lower Sorbian, Czech, Poli ...

, ) is a town in the district of Bautzen, 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 ...

, in eastern

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 ...

. The

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 ...

n town has approximately 3,100 inhabitants and is part of the recognized

Sorbian settlement area The Sorbian settlement area ( , , ; in Brandenburg officially ''Siedlungsgebiet der Sorben/Wenden'') commonly makes reference to the area in the east of Saxony and the South of Brandenburg in which the West Slavs, West Slavic people of the Sorbs ...

Geography

Weißenberg is located 16 km east of Bautzen/Budyšin in the region of

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

. The town borders Malschwitz/Malešecy and

Hohendubrau Hohendubrau (German) or (Upper Sorbian, ) is a municipality in the district of Görlitz in eastern Saxony, Germany. The larger part of the municipality belongs to the recognized Sorbian settlement area in Saxony. Upper Sorbian has an official s ...

in the north,

Vierkirchen Vierkirchen is a municipality in the district of Dachau in Bavaria in Germany. Meaning of town name The name () is a misnomer. There were never four churches in the village, only one (St. Jakobus). The name is most-likey a variation of the ol ...

and

Löbau Löbau (; , ) is a city in the east of Saxony, Germany, in the traditional region of Upper Lusatia. 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 volca ...

in the south, and

Hochkirch Hochkirch (German) or Bukecy (Upper Sorbian, ) is a municipality in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. It is known for the 1758 Battle of Hochkirch, part of the Seven Years' War. The municipality (except Breitendorf) is part of the reco ...

and

Kubschütz Kubschütz (German language, German) or Kubšicy (Upper Sorbian language, Upper Sorbian, ) is a municipality in the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. The municipality is part of the recognized Sorbian settlement area in ...

in the west. It also borders the district of

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 ...

. It's near to the border to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

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 ...

Subdivisions

* Belgern (Sorbian ''Běła Hora'', which means "white mountain") with Neubelgern ''(Nowa Běła Hora)'', 88 inhabitants * Cortnitz ''(Chortnica)'', 42 inhabitants * Drehsa ''(Droždźij)'', 234 inhabitants *

Gröditz Gröditz () is a town in the district Meißen (district), Meißen, in Saxony, Germany. The town is located 12 km northeast of Riesa, and 7 km southwest of Elsterwerda. Geography Gröditz is located on a 100 meter high plains that o ...

''(Hrodźišćo)'', 246 inhabitants *

Grube Grube is a municipality in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the Baltic Sea coast, approx. 15 km south of Heiligenhafen, and 45 km northeast of Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), of ...

''(Jama)'', 27 inhabitants * Kotitz ''(Kotecy)'', 193 inhabitants * Lauske ''(Łusk)'', 139 inhabitants * Maltitz ''(Malećicy)'' with Wasserkretscham ''(Wodowa korčma)'', 265 inhabitants * Nechern '(Njechorń)'', 123 inhabitants * Nostitz ''(Nosaćicy)'', 174 inhabitants * Särka ''(Žarki)'', 166 inhabitants * Spittel ''(Špikały)'', 53 inhabitants * Weicha ''(Wichowy)'', 98 inhabitants * Wuischke ''(Wuježk)'', 53 inhabitants * Wurschen ''(Worcyn)'', 312 inhabitants The actual town of Weißenberg has 977 inhabitants.

History

Weißenberg was founded in 1228 at the

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the Historic roads, historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History ...

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I (; 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (as hereditary) from ...

and it used to be called Wizenburg, referring to the city's white castle. Along with Upper Lusatia, it 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 ...

in 1469, then returned to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

in 1490, in 1635 it passed to

Electorate 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 ...

. In 1625, the town was able to buy its freedom from its noble masters for 8,500 thalers, but Weißenberg still had to accept a knightly patron. Today's district of Wurschen is engraved on the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often called simply the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Plac ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, since the

Battle of Bautzen (1813) In the Battle of Bautzen (20–21 May 1813), a combined Prusso-Russian army, retreating after their defeat at Battle of Lützen (1813), Lützen and massively outnumbered, was pushed back by Napoleon but escaped destruction. Some sources cla ...

on May 20 and 21. In the 18th century, Weißenberg was still mentioned as a largely Sorbian-inhabited market town, with all residents also speaking

. In the 1880s

Arnošt Muka Arnošt Muka (German: ''Ernst Mucke''; 10 March 1854 – 10 October 1932) was a German and Sorbian writer, linguist and man of science. Muka was born in Großhänchen which is now in the municipality of Burkau, and studied theology, classical ...

determined a population of 1242, including 300

Sorbs Sorbs (; ; ; ; ; also known as Lusatians, Lusatian Serbs and Wends) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting the parts of Lusatia located in the German states of Germany, states of Saxony and Brandenburg. Sorbs tradi ...

(24%). In 1893 the regular Sorbian services in the Weißenberg church were abolished. 1956, Ernst Tschernik counted a Sorbian-speaking population of only 5.8%, a total of 81 speakers. Today, the Sorbian community in Weißenberg is a big minority. On April 17, 1945, the battlefield of

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 ...

came to Weißenberg for the first time, when Soviet artillery shelled the town's train station. The following day Weißenberg was occupied by Soviet troops. From 1952 to 1990, Weißenberg was part of the

Bezirk Dresden The Bezirk Dresden was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany that lasted from 1952 to 1990. Dresden would be reabsorbed back into Saxony after the reunification of Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Dresden. History The di ...

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 ...

Sights

* Castle of Gröditz * Kotitz: Evangelical church with Jan-Kilian-monument * Riegelmühle in Nechern * Church of Nostitz * The museum ''Alte Pfefferküchlerei'' shows how the traditional

Pfefferkuchen (), or () are honey-sweetened German cakes, moulded cookies or bar cookies that have become part of Germany's Christmas traditions. They are similar to gingerbread. Etymology The etymology of ''Leb-'' in the term is uncertain. Propose ...

are made * Castle of Wurschen

Education

There are two schools in Weißenberg; a 'Grundschule' and a 'Mittelschule'.

Notable people

* Pawoł Nedo (1908–1984), educator and anthropologist Sorbian, Chairman of the Domowina * Benno von Heynitz (1924–2010), resistance fighter and lawyer, founder of Bautzen Committee e. V. and the Bautzen Memorial * Wolfgang Beyer, city historian and former director of the outpatient clinic

In fiction

In James P. Hogan's science fiction novel ''

The Proteus Operation ''The Proteus Operation'' is a science fiction alternate history novel written by James P. Hogan. The plot focuses on an Anglo-American team of soldiers and civilians sent back in time from the Nazi-dominated world of 1975 to prevent an Axis ...

'', Weißenberg was the location of a time machine in Nazi Germany.

Twin towns

Deckenpfronn Deckenpfronn is a municipality in the district of Böblingen in Baden-Württemberg in 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 nor ...

(1990)

External links

*
Website of Weißenberg

Interactive 360° panorama of Weißenbergs, Marktplatz

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weissenberg Towns in Saxony Populated places in Bautzen (district)