Kamenz

Kamenz/Kamjenc
Town
Old town
Coat of arms
Location of Kamenz/Kamjenc within Bautzen district
Kamenz/Kamjenc Show map of Germany Kamenz/Kamjenc Show map of Saxony
Coordinates: 51°16′N 14°6′E / 51.267°N 14.100°E / 51.267; 14.100
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Bautzen
Government
• Mayor (2018–25)	Roland Dantz[1] (Ind.)
Area
• Total	98.30 km2 (37.95 sq mi)
Elevation	173 m (568 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	17,015
• Density	170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	01917, 01920
Dialling codes	03578
Vehicle registration	BZ, BIW, HY, KM
Website	www.kamenz.de

Kamenz (German:

.

Geography

This small town is located in the west of the

. The Hutberg hill west of the town centre, at an elevation of 293 m (961 ft), is the site of an extended landscape park laid out in 1893. It is known for its major rhododendron and azalea collections flowering at Pentecost. In 1864 the Lessing Tower was erected on the hilltop, offering a panoramic view over the West Lusatian lands and the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape in the north. About 32% of the nature in former Kamenz District is under protection, including a network of routes for riding by bicycle and hiking.

Divisions

The town Kamenz consists of Thale Kamenz and the following Ortschaften or municipal divisions:^[3]

History

The settlement arose in the late 12th century, when a fortress was erected at the location of today's old town, in order to secure the junction of the medieval Via Regia trade route with the Black Elster river. From here, the Via Regia offered important transport links from the Low Countries up to Silesia.

In 1225, written records first mentioned the town; Kamenz became an independent city in 1319, when Holy Roman Emperor

in 1512.

Kamenz citizens officially turned

against the Protestant princes and were penalised with the loss of numerous privileges. The Franciscan convent finally dissolved in 1564.

With the 1635 Peace of Prague, the Lusatias passed from the Bohemian Crown to the Electorate of Saxony. Several witch-hunts are documented in the 17th century. In 1707 a fire destroyed large parts of the old town. A second major fire on 4 and 5 August 1842 destroyed much of the city.

In 1896, Kamenz became garrison town of the Königlich Sächsisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 242, part of the German

units.

After the war, the town became part of the

was merged into Kamenz in January 2019.

Politics

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (July 2021)

Seats in the city council (Stadtrat) as of 2014 local elections:

• Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU): 7
• The Left: 7
• Wählervereinigung Kamenz und Ortsteile (Independent): 3
• Wir für Kamenz (Independent): 2
• National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD): 1
• Free Democratic Party: 1
• Alliance '90/The Greens
  : 1

Twin towns — sister cities

Kamenz is

with:

• Alzey, Germany
• Kolín, Czech Republic
• Karpacz, Poland

Sights

Theatre

• The municipal theatre (Stadttheater) was re-opened in 1999; it is also used for Kabarett and concert performances
• Within the Hutberg landscape park, an open-air stage for up to 10,000 visitors was built in 1934/35 as a Thingplatz; it is today used for music events.

Museums

• Lessing Museum, opened in 1931, memorial site and library
• St Anna abbey church and sacred museum (Klosterkirche und Sakralmuseum St. Annen), part of the former Franciscan convent, exhibits sacred art of the Kamenz churches - a collection of 16th century carved timber painted altarpieces
• Museum of West Lusatia (Museum der Westlausitz): various collections on cultural history, archaeology, geology, zoology, and botany of the region.

Buildings

• Town hall, built in 1848/49, in an Italian Neo-Renaissance style
• Marketplace with Mannerist Andreas Fountain, erected in 1570
• Roter Turm (red tower), Mönchsmauer (monk wall), and Pichschuppen, all remnants of the medieval town fortification
• The Protestant main church of St Mary was built from 1275 to 1479, in a Late Gothic hall church style; it is the only church built from granite rocks north of the Alps
• The nearby Catechism Church at the town wall was first mentioned in 1358; it was later used for religious services held in the Sorbian language
• The St Anne Abbey Church was finished in 1510, now a museum whose collections include five 16th century carved wood altarpieces
• The St Just Church on the historic Via Regia road, first mentioned in 1377, contains several mural paintings from about 1400
• The Lessing memorial marks the place of the poet's birth house.

Events

• Blütenlauf auf dem Hutberg (Run on the Hutberg)
• Lessing Days (every year, January and February)
• Fête de la Musique every year on June 21
• Forstfest (Forest Festival), every year in the week of August 24 on
  St Bartholomew's Day
• Kamenzer Nasenfest (Nose Festival), Festival with the so-called nose market every year on October 3
• Carnival
• Popular German band Silbermond, originally from the nearby town of Bautzen, have made it a personal tradition to play the final concert of their album tours at Kamenz's Hutbergbühne stadium.

Notable people

• Andreas Dressler (1530-1604), a highly skilled local artist
• Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781), philosopher and poet.^[6]
• Gottfried von Erdmannsdorff (1893–1946), German Nazi officer executed for war crimes
• Richard Hauptmann (1899–1936), convicted kidnapper of the Lindbergh baby
• Hans Thamm (1921–2007), choral conductor
• Georg Baselitz (born 1938), painter, born in Deutschbaselitz
• Wolfgang Mager (born 1952), rower, two-time Olympic gold medalist

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kamenz.

• Municipal site (in German)
• Kamenz at oberlausitz.com
• "Kamenz" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 646.
• Museum of West Lusatia (in German)
• Lessing Museum (in German)