Zittau–Löbau Railway
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Zittau–Löbau railway is a line in the German 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 ...
, originally built and operated by the ''Löbau-Zittau Railway Company''. The line opened in 1848 and it was one of the oldest lines in Germany. Only part of the line is still in service. It starts at
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 ...
and originally ran via
Oderwitz Oderwitz (; from Slavic for 'rinse'; , ) is a Saxony, Saxon municipality in the district Görlitz (district), Görlitz in Upper Lusatia, Germany. It is located in the southeast of the Free State of Saxony near the border with the Czech Republic. ...
and
Herrnhut Herrnhut (; ; ; Upper Lusatian: ''Harrnhutt'', ''Harrnutt'') is a town of around 6,000 inhabitants in Upper Lusatia, in the district of Görlitz, in eastern Saxony, Germany. The town is mainly known as the place of origin of the community of t ...
to
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 ...
.


History

The ''Löbau-Zittau Railway Company'' () received a concession on 25 June 1845 to build a line from Löbau to Zittau. The line was opened on 10 June 1848. The line was initially also operated by the ''Löbau-Zittau Railway''. On 1 January 1871 the line was acquired by the Royal Saxon State Railways. At the end of May 1998, passenger services were abandoned between Zittau and Löbau via Herrnhut. As a result, the Oberoderwitz–Herrnhut section lost virtually all of its traffic because local freight traffic ran only from Herrnhut to Löbau. Then, on 31 May 1999, the Oberoderwitz–Herrnhut section closed. Until the end of 2001, freight trains still served Obercunnersdorf (scrap trade) and Herrnhut (coal and timber). Afterwards only Niedercunnersdorf (gas, agricultural traffic) was served. At the end of February 2002, an application was made to close the Herrnhut–Niedercunnersdorf section, but final closure only occurred on 28 February 2003. At the December 2002 timetable change, passenger services between Ebersbach and Löbau were finally abandoned. Thus there are no any regular passenger services on the northern section of the Zittau–Löbau line. The remaining section from Zittau to Oberoderwitz connects with the Oberoderwitz–Wilthen line and is served by passenger services between Zittau and
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
. Since 2007 the Oberoderwitz–Löbau section has been leased to ''Deutsche Regionaleisenbahn'' (DRE).


Route

The line leaves Löbau station through a cutting to the south. Beyond
Großschweidnitz Großschweidnitz () is a municipality in the district Görlitz, in Saxony, 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 A ...
station is the first deep cutting on the line, which then crosses the valley of the Großschweidnitzer Wasser on a seven span viaduct. Immediately after the viaduct, the line to Ebersbach turns off to the south, while the Löbau–Zittau line turns to the southeast towards Herrnhut and Zittau. After Niedercunnersdorf station the line runs parallel with Niedercunnersdorf village. Just before Obercunnersdorf station the line crosses Obercunnersdorf viaduct. After Herrnhut station the line turns south again and runs over a viaduct over the Petersbach. The next viaduct follows in the village of Ruppersdorf, just before the station. Further on, within sight of
Kottmar The Kottmar () is a mountain in Saxony, southeastern Germany. It is part of the Upper Lusatian Highlands (''Oberlausitzer Bergland''). Its elevation is 583m. The Kottmar is an extinct Volcano from the Tertiary and made up of Phonolite. At the ...
mountain, the line reaches the Landwasser valley and the town of Oderwitz. First another viaduct is crossed before the line reaches Oberoderwitz station. The route now follows the Landwasser valley to the southeast. In Mittelherwigsdorf it crosses the
Mandau The Mandau () is a river in Bohemia (Czech Republic) and Saxony (Germany). It is a left tributary of the Lusatian Neisse, which it joins near Zittau. It originates from multiple springs north of the 580.6m (1902 feet AMSL) Wolf Mountain (Czec ...
and then reaches the village’s station. The line then follows that Mandau valley to Zittau.


References


Footnotes


Sources

* *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zittau-Lobau Railway Railway lines in Saxony Görlitz (district) Zittau Löbau Railway lines opened in 1848 1848 establishments in the Kingdom of Saxony