Mittweida is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, in the Mittelsachsen

Mittelsachsen

Mittelsachsen is a district in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.- History :The district was established by merging the former districts of Döbeln, Freiberg and Mittweida as part of the district reform of August 2008.- Geography :...

 district. It is situated on the Zschopau River

Zschopau River

The Zschopau is a river in Saxony, Germany, left tributary of the Freiberger Mulde. Its source is in the Erzgebirge, on the slopes of the Fichtelberg, near the border with the Czech Republic. It flows north through the towns Schlettau, Wolkenstein, Zschopau, Flöha, Frankenberg, Mittweida and...

, 18 km north of Chemnitz

Chemnitz

Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...

, and 54 km west of Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

.

Since its founding in the 13th century, the town has continually grown into one of the major textile-producing centers in Saxony of the 20th century.

Embedded within the steep hills and valleys of the river and two smaller creeks, the town is green and picturesque. Of interest are the Gothic church from the 15/16th century, the old town, the historic and technical museums and the nearby Kriebstein

Kriebstein

Kriebstein is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany....

 castle.

Mittweida is home to a university with about 5000 students. Founded in the late 19th century, it is known far beyond the Saxon borders. Among its students were August Horch

August Horch

August Horch was a German engineer and automobile pioneer, the founder of the manufacturing giant which would eventually become Audi.-Beginnings:...

, Walter Bruch

Walter Bruch

Walter Bruch was a German engineer who invented the PAL color television system at Telefunken in the early 1960s. In Addition to his research activities Professor Bruch taught at Hannover Technical University. He was awarded the Werner-von-Siemens-Ring in 1975.-Biography:He was born at Neustadt an...

, Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen

Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen

Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen was an engineer and industrialist of Danish origin. He moved to Germany and established several automobile and motorcycle manufacturing companies, including DKW and Framo. Rasmussen acquired a majority interest in Audi in 1928, which four years later became Auto Union...

, and Gerhard Neumann

Gerhard Neumann

Gerhard Neumann was a German-American aviation engineer and executive for General Electric's aircraft engine division .-Childhood and education:...

. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, a subcamp of Flossenburg concentration camp

Flossenbürg concentration camp

Konzentrationslager Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the Schutzstaffel Economic-Administrative Main Office at Flossenbürg, in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria, Germany, near the border with Czechoslovakia. Until its liberation in April 1945, more than 96,000 prisoners...

was located there.

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