Eilenburg
This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2019) |
Eilenburg | |
---|---|
Location of Eilenburg within Nordsachsen district | |
Nordsachsen | |
Subdivisions | 3 Stadtteile 6 Ortsteile |
Government | |
• Mayor (2022–29) | Ralf Scheler[1] (Ind.) |
Area | |
• Total | 46.84 km2 (18.09 sq mi) |
Elevation | 106 m (348 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 16,031 |
• Density | 340/km2 (890/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 04838 |
Dialling codes | 03423 |
Vehicle registration | TDO, DZ, EB, OZ, TG, TO |
Website | www.eilenburg.de |
Eilenburg (German pronunciation: [ˈaɪ̯lənˌbʊʁk] ⓘ; Upper Sorbian: Jiłow, pronounced [ˈjiwɔf]) is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Nordsachsen in Saxony, approximately 20 km northeast of the city of Leipzig.
Geography
Eilenburg lies at the banks of the river Mulde at the southwestern edge of the Düben Heath wildlife park. The town is subdivided into three urban districts: Berg, Mitte and Ost and six rural districts named Behlitz, Hainichen, Kospa, Pressen, Wedelwitz and Zschettgau.
Neighbouring towns and cities are Leipzig (20 kilometres distant), Delitzsch (21), Bad Düben (16), Torgau (25) and Wurzen (12).
History
Eilenburg Castle was first mentioned on 29 July 961 in a document by
In the 16th century Eilenburg was central to several events of the
The
The slow onset of economic recovery came to a sudden end with the start of the Seven Years' War. Virtually each male in Eilenburg had to serve in the armed forces. The city was occupied alternately by the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. In the following years Eilenburg turned into an impoverished and dirty old town. At the end of the 18th century the economy stagnated and Eilenburg became an even more insignificant town.
In 1813 during the War of the Sixth Coalition shortly before the Battle of Leipzig, Napoleon took a last view of his and his allies' Saxon troops in eastern Eilenburg. After Napoleon's defeat, Saxony had to cede large territory to Prussia under the provisions of the Congress of Vienna. Eilenburg was part of the Province of Saxony within the progressive Prussian state. Thereby the transition of Eilenburg to an industrial city was advanced significantly.
Because of the founding of numerous textile factories, Eilenburg, with its proximity to the Prussian capital Berlin, became an important centre of Prussian textile production. The ascent to an important industrial city came mainly from the nearby Kingdom of Saxony. Saxon industrialists settled in Eilenburg for having duty-free access to the Prussian market. The onset of urbanization caused a rapid increase in population. The social tensions resulting from the industrialization and the huge growth of population triggered a strong labour movement. In 1849 the Health Insurance Support Association ("Krankenkassenunterstützungsverein") was founded. In 1850 the Food Association of Eilenburg ("Eilenburger Lebensmittelassociation") as the first food cooperative of Germany and "Darlehnskassenverein" as the first credit union in Germany were founded. Carl Degenkolb, owner of a factory in Eilenburg and member of the Frankfurt Parliament, voluntarily instituted the first German works councils at his factory.
On 30 June 1872 Eilenburg station was opened with the Halle-Eilenburg-Falkenberg route. Two years later, transport services started on the newly built Leipzig–Eilenburg railway. Industrial development continued rapidly with development of the chemical, wood and metal processing industries. The German Celluloid Factory ("Deutsche Celluliod-Fabrik") founded in 1887 characterized the city's business for more than a hundred years.
During
About two weeks before the end of the World War II the city was almost completely destroyed. On 17 April 1945 American troops reached Eilenburg, which German defenses were ordered to hold. For three days and three nights the town was under heavy artillery fire, which destroyed most of the buildings of the city. Two hundred people were killed and 90 percent of the town centre and 65 percent of the buildings of the whole town were destroyed; the American army had nearly no losses. Eilenburg was one of the most heavily damaged cities in Germany.
The town centre was rebuilt in the 1950s. In 1952 the city became the seat of the
In 2002 Eilenburg was hit hard by flood of the river Mulde. The damages amounted to €135 million. The construction of flood protection facilities was intensified after the flood. In 2008 the construction measures ended after investments amounting to €35 million. Eilenburg was the first city in Saxony completely protected against flood. Since 1 August 2008 Eilenburg lies roughly in the middle of the then newly formed Nordsachsen (northern Saxony) District.
Twinned cities
- Butzbach, Hesse, Germany
- Jihlava, Czech Republic
- Rawicz, Poland
- Anjalankoski, Finland
- Abchasia / Georgia
Notable residents
- Franz Abt (1819–1885), composer and choral conductor
- Ulrike Gräßler (born 1987), ski jumper
- Wilfried Gröbner (born 1949), football player, member of the gold winning team at the 1976 olympics
- Harald Heinke (born 1955), judoka
- Gustav Höcker (1832–1911), writer
- Alexander König (born 1966), pair skater and skating coach
- Ute Kostrzewa (born 1961), volleyball player
- Karina Kraushaar (1971–2015), actress
- Friedrich Ludwig Kreysig (1770–1839), physician and botanist
- zoologist
- Karl Neumann (1916–1985), youth book author
- Carl Ludwig Nietzsche (1813–1849), Lutheran pastor, father of Friedrich Nietzsche
- hymnist
- Marco Thomas (born 1972), clarinetist, professor of clarinet at the University of the Arts Bremen
- General Officerand cartographer
References
- ^ Gewählte Bürgermeisterinnen und Bürgermeister im Freistaat Sachsen, Stand: 17. Juli 2022, Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen.
- Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen. 2024.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 134.
External links
- Official website (in German)