Wunsiedel

Coordinates: 50°1′N 12°1′E / 50.017°N 12.017°E / 50.017; 12.017
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the district, see Wunsiedel (district).
Wunsiedel
Town
View on the town
View on the town
Coat of arms of Wunsiedel
Coat of arms
Location of Wunsiedel within Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge district
Martinlamitzer Forst-SüdMeierhöfer SeiteWeißenstadter Forst-SüdWeißenstadter Forst-NordTröstauer Forst-WestTröstauer Forst-OstNeubauer Forst-SüdKaiserhammer Forst-OstVordorfer ForstSelbSelbSelbHohenberg an der EgerHohenberg an der EgerMarktleuthenThiersteinSelbSelbWunsiedelWeißenstadtTröstauThiersheimSchönwaldSchirndingRöslauMarktredwitzKirchenlamitzHohenberg an der EgerHöchstädt im FichtelgebirgeArzbergBad AlexandersbadNagelCzech RepublicTirschenreuth (district)Bayreuth (district)Hof (district)Kaiserhammer Forst-Ost
Wunsiedel im Fichtelgebirge
Government
 • Mayor (2020–26) Nicolas Lahovnik[1] (CSU)
Area
 • Total54.91 km2 (21.20 sq mi)
Elevation
525 m (1,722 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total9,243
 • Density170/km2 (440/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
95632
Dialling codes09232
Vehicle registrationWUN
Websitewunsiedel.de Edit this at Wikidata

Wunsiedel (German pronunciation:

Neo-Nazis
until 2005.

Geography

Wunsiedel lies in the Fichtel Mountains in the valley of the Röslau at the foot of the Kösseine Plateau.

History

Museum in Wunsiedel

Wunsiedel was first mentioned in 1163 as the seat of a ministerialis, Adelbertus or Albert. The name probably originates from Wunne ('glades') and Sedel ('noble seat'). In 1285, Burgrave

Emperor Louis the Bavarian. In 1430 Hans of Kotzau defeated the Hussites in the Battle of Katharinenberg, a low mountain immediately south of Wunsiedel, and in 1652 Jobst of Schirnding beat the Bohemians also on the Katharinenberg
.

In the

Thierstein
were all subordinated to the high bailiff (Amtshauptmann) in Wunsiedel.

Wunsiedel was a part of the

Napoleon's troops and, in 1810, became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria
.

Fires in 1476, 1547, 1607, 1636, 1644, 1646, 1657 and 1731 destroyed various parts of the town. After the last major fire in 1834, which razed two-thirds of Wunsiedel, the town was rebuilt in a

classicist
style.

Birthplace of the nationalist student

post traumatic stress syndrome
, as a complicating factor, could probably be made as Karl Sand witnessed, helplessly, the drowning of his good friend just months prior to the murder.

After World War II, Wunsiedel was part of the

American Zone
and a Fluchtlingssuchstelle was installed at the Landratsamt at the Bezirksamtstrasse 8.

Wunsiedel and Rudolf Hess

Neo-Nazis
, Wunsiedel, 2004. The banner Märtyrer sterben nie translates to 'Martyrs never die'.

In the late 1980s, the cemetery of Wunsiedel became rather infamous after

anti-fascist
groups. Neo-Nazi marches were banned in 1991.

Under the impression that the situation had "cooled down", the Bavarian Administrative Court permitted the gatherings again in 2001. The result was unexpected: neo-nazi groups managed to amass more and more people, the peak being reached in 2004, when over 4,500 participants from all over Europe assembled in Wunsiedel. The anti-fascist initiative "Wunsiedel ist bunt, nicht braun" ('Wunsiedel is

brown') organised a counter-demonstration with about 800 participants, decorating the city with rainbow flags and spraying the marchers with confetti. The initiative later received the Bündnispreis for commitment and bravery awarded by the German federal ministers Otto Schily and Brigitte Zypries.[citation needed
]

In 2005, the memorial march was banned for the first time on the basis of article 130 of the German criminal code, which outlaws incitement of the people. A complaint against the ban was

Federal Constitutional Court
. Nevertheless, more than 2,500 people met on August 20, 2005, to celebrate a Day of Democracy in Wunsiedel.

The town decided to have the Hess grave removed in 2011. The family of Rudolf Hess arranged with the cemetery to have Hess’s remains exhumed, cremated and scattered at sea to deter any further pilgrimages to his grave. The gravestone with the words "Ich hab's gewagt" ('I have dared') was removed and destroyed.[3] Smaller neo-Nazi marches continued afterward, leading the human-rights group Rechts gegen Rechts to organise a charity drive whereby a certain sum of money would be donated to the organisation Exit Deutschland, which helps neo-Nazis leave the movement, for each meter marched.[4]

Main sights

Wunsiedel (1911)
Wunsiedel Town hall
Wunsiedel, Jean Paul bust
Wunsiedel Spitalkirche (spital church)
Wunsiedel
Wunsiedel, Church of St. Veit and St. Martin, Ceiling fresco

Government

Town council

Wunsiedel is governed by a mayor (Bürgermeister) and town council (Stadtrat) with 24 seats. Both are elected every four years. In the council, the

Greens
1 seat. The remaining 3 seats went to a free voters' association. Recent results are:

2002 2008
CSU 13 11
SPD 7 5
Greens
 1 1
Free Voters – 3
Active Citizens – 3
Coloured List – 1
Voters Union/Free Citizens 3 –
Total 24 24

Incorporated villages

The town's borough includes the following villages (year of incorporation in brackets):

Bernstein (1978), Breitenbrunn, Furthammer, Göpfersgrün, Göringsreuth, Hauenreuth, Hildenbach (1978), Hildenmühle, Holenbrunn (1978), Johanneszeche, Juliushammer, Klause, Kösseinehaus, Krohenhammer, Luisenburg, Schneckenhammer, Schneckenmühle, Schönbrunn (1975), Sinatengrün, Stemmasgrün, Stollenmühle, Valetsberg, Walkmühle, Wiesenmühle, Wintersberg, Wintersreuth.

Economy

The economy of the town of Wunsiedel is dominated by the chemical (paint works, Dronco), clothing, porcelain, glass, stonemasonry and construction industries. In addition several car dealerships have their headquarters in the town, of which Autowelt König has the most employees. Two breweries and various craft enterprises are based in Wunsiedel. One popular export product is the herb-flavoured spirit Sechsämtertropfen. Unemployment at 7.6% is well above the Bavarian average. Wunsiedel Marble is quarried locally.

Public institutions

State institutions

The state institutions in Wunsiedel are the district administrative office (Landratsamt), the finance office (Finanzamt), the survey office (Vermessungsamt), the magistrate's court (Amtsgericht), the office of agriculture and forests (Amt für Landwirtschaft und Forsten), the health insurance office (AOK-Direktion), the education office (Schulamt) and a police station.

Educational establishments

  • Town singing and music school
  • Jean Paul School (primary and secondary modern school)
  • Luisenburg Grammar School
  • Sigmund Wann Middle School
  • State School of Economics
  • State Technical College for Stonemasonry and German Natural Stone Archive
  • European Training Centre for Masonry and Stone Sculpture
  • Marktredwitz-Wunsiedel State Vocational College
  • State Hunting School of the Bavarian Hunting Conservation and Hunters' Association (BJV)
  • Town Archive
  • Town Library
  • Hous of the Fichtelgebirge Club
  • Wunsiedel i. Fichtelgebirge District Adult Education Centre

Leisure and sports facilities

In addition to the Fichtelgebirge Hall and Fichtelgebirge Stadium there is the town open-air swimming pool and sauna and the indoor pool. On the Katharinenberg there is a youth hostel and a youth centre, recently renovated by the town. For recreation there is the area around the Wunsiedler Eisweiher (mini-golf. ninepins, rowing boats, tennis). As well as the sports facilities belonging to clubs there are also various children's play parks. On 21 December 2009 the largest climbing wall in North Bavaria was opened in the premises of the old sugar factory (Zuckerhut).

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Wunsiedel is

twinned
with:

Culture

Regular events held in Wunsiedel include:

  • Luisenburg Festival from June to August on the oldest open-air and natural stage in Germany
  • Well festival (Wunsiedler Brunnenfest) on Saturday before the 24 June (St. John's)
  • Funfair on the municipal festival square from Friday to Tuesday in the first week of July
  • Wunsiedel Culture Evening on the second Saturday in May
  • Museum Festival in the Fichtelgebirge Museum on the second Sunday in September
  • Wunsiedel Pub Night (Kneipennacht) beginning of November
  • Wunsiedel Wood Days (Holztage; biannual) in September 2011
  • Toyota Meet on the Luisenburg car park. Every first weekend in September

Transport

The

Bad Berneck (the B 303 is the east-west link between the Czech Republic and the A 9). The new A 93
from Hof to Regensburg runs in a north-south direction, with exits at the Wunsiedel junction or state road S 2177 Hof–Wunsiedel

The nearest train station, Wunsiedel–Holenbrunn, is located in the nearby village of Holenbrunn (about three kilometres away). The nearest regional station is in Marktredwitz (on the main line from Munich via Regensburg, Hof and Nuremberg to Prague). There used to be branch lines from Holenbrunn via Wunsiedel and Tröstau to Leupoldsdorf and from Holenbrunn to Selb. These lines have now been closed and the trackbeds used as cycle paths in places.

Bus connections go from Wunsiedel Bus Station in all directions (Hof–Marktredwitz–Selb–Arzberg).

There is a regional airport at Hof-Plauen (ca. 40 km (25 mi) from Wunsiedel).

Notable residents

See also: Category:People from Wunsiedel
Karl Ludwig Sand
Jean Paul

References

  1. Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik
    , 15 July 2021.
  2. ^ Genesis Online-Datenbank des Bayerischen Landesamtes für Statistik Tabelle 12411-003r Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes: Gemeinden, Stichtag (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011) (Hilfe dazu).
  3. ^ Noack, Rick (21 July 2011). "Rudolf Hess's body removed from cemetery to deter Nazi pilgrims". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. ^ Noack, Rick (17 November 2014). "Watch: German town plays prank on neo-Nazis". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  5. ISBN 3-89331-208-0
    , S. 200

Sources

External links

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