Pirna
Encyclopedia
Pirna is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany
, capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge
. The town's population is over 40,000. Pirna is located near Dresden
and is an important district town as well as a Große Kreisstadt
. It is also known for the gassing of about 15,000 disabled people in Sonnenstein Castle
between June 1940 and August 1941, killings which ceased after pressure was exerted on the authorities by the local population. Today, a small plaque at the base of Sonnenstein Castle and the Sonnenstein Memorial remembers the dead.
in the Elbe valley
, where the nearby rivers Wesenitz
, in the north, and Gottleuba
to the south, flow into the Elbe
. Pirna is also called the "gate to the Saxon Switzerland
" (Ger:
Tor zur Sächsischen Schweiz). The Saxon wine region
(Sächsische Weinstrasse), stretches from Pirna over Pillnitz
, Dresden
, and Meissen
to Diesbar-Seußlitz, was dedicated in 1992. In August 2002, the town suffered great damage in the widespread flooding
in Europe
at the time. This was particularly unfortunate as it undid many well-executed restoration schemes carried out post 1990 re-unification.
. Neighbouring municipalities
are Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel
(town), Bahretal
, Dohma
, Dohna
(town),
Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach
, Heidenau
(town), Königstein
(town), Lohmen
,
Stadt Wehlen
(towm), and Struppen
.
from the late Paleolithic
(about 12,000-8000 BC), at the end of the last ice age
, are evidence for the earliest human settlement in the area. Later on, people belonging to the Linear Pottery culture
, who farmed grain and cattle, lived here during the Neolithic
(5500-4000 BC) because of a good climate and Loess
. Around 600 AD a Slavic
group called the Sorbs
, who were fishermen and farmers, succeeded the Germanic tribes in the Elbe Valley, who had lived in the area for a couple of centuries from the 4th century BC on. The name Pirna derives from the Sorbian
phrase, na pernem, meaning on the hard (stone). The representation of a pear tree in the coat of arms was a later, fanciful, German-language notion about the town's name ("pear" is Birne in German
, which sounds rather like "Pirna").
_032.jpg)
in 929), settlement in the Pirna area is again verifiable. The castle in Pirna, which was mentioned for the first time in 1269, probably already existed in the 11th century. In the context of the second Eastern German colonization the town was founded by Henry III, Margrave of Meissen
.
The streets are aligned from east to west and from north to south forming a chessboardlike system. Only the streets east of the church are not in this shape because of the nearby Burgberg. In 1233, Pirna was mentioned for the first time in a document. In 1293, the king of Bohemia
bought the town and the castle from the Bishop of Meissen. Thus Pirna belonged to Bohemia until 1405.
With the introduction of the Reformation
into Saxony in 1539, Anton Lauterbach, a friend of Martin Luther
's, became pastor and superintendent. In 1544 the strategically important castle was upgraded to a fortress by Maurice, Elector of Saxony
. Three years later it withstood the siege by elector John Frederick, Elector of Saxony
in the Schmalkaldic War
.
On April 23, 1639, the town was invaded by Swedish
troops under the commander in chief of the Swedish army
, Johan Banér
. During the futile five-month siege of the fortress the town was greatly devastated. About 600 people were murdered (Pirnarisches Elend, lit. "Misery of Pirna"). In around 1670, the Sonnenstein fortress was built with modern military insights. Only the powerful stonework still exists today. In 1707, Pirna had debts that related to the Great Northern War
of more than 100,000 Thaler
s.
, who had invaded without declaring war, to the levels between Königstein Fortress
and Sonnenstein Castle
and capitulated there on October 16, two days after Sonnenstein surrendered
. In 1758, Austrian troops and the Imperial Army besieged the fortress.
troops occupied Sonnenstein
, forcing the evacuation of 275 patients, seizing supplies and tearing the roof trusses out to remove the threat of fire. In September 1813, emperor Napoleon temporarily lived at the Marienhaus at the market. Until Dresden
's surrender on November 11 the French defended the fortress. Only in February did the hospital for the mentally ill open again.
See also: Sonnenstein Castle
, Margraviate of Meissen, Kings of Saxony, History of Bohemia, History of Saxony
, History of Germany
travel began on the upper Elbe. A few years later, a railway line connecting Dresden and Pirna opened. Pirna became an industrial town in 1862 with the building of factories. Mechanical engineering, glass, cellulose and rayon production also expanded. In 1875, the sandstone Elbbrücke (bridge on the Elbe) was completed. During the First World War Pirna became a garrison and the engineer battalions 12 and 5 of the Royal Saxon field artillery regiment No. 64 were billeted on Rottwerndorfer Straße. In 1922/23, the town absorbed several municipalities including Posta, Niedervogelgesang
, Obervogelgesang, Copitz
, Hinterjessen, Neundorf
, Zuschendorf
, Rottwerndorf
and Zehista
. The population then totalled 30,000 inhabitants.
killing centre: the Sonnenstein Nazi Death Institute
. This was the first use of techniques later rolled out and refined for use within the Final Solution
. A gas chamber and crematorium were installed in the cellar of the former men's sanitary (building C 16). A high brick-wall on two sides of the complex shielded it from outside while a high hoarding was erected on the other sides. Four buildings were located inside the shielding. They were used for offices, living rooms for the personnel etc. Sleeping quarters for the "burners" (men who burned the bodies) were provided for in the attic of building C 16. It is possible that other sections of the buildings were also used by T4
.
From end of June 1940 until September 1942, approximately 15,000 persons were killed in the scope of the euthanasia programme and the Sonderbehandlung
14f13
. The staff consisted of about 100 persons. One third of them were ordered to the extermination camps in occupied Poland, because of their experiences in deception, killing, gassing and burning innocent people.
There they were trained by the killing groups who mounted the killing machinery in the later camps like Treblinka from TishBeAv 1942 and the others.
During August and September 1942, the Sonnenstein killing centre was closed and incriminating installations such as gas chamber installations and crematorium ovens dismantled. After October 1942, the buildings were used as a military hospital.
This part of the history of Pirna went largely unrecognized in Germany until 1989, but after that efforts to remember that catastrophe started. In June 2000 the permanent exhibition opened .
Two factors greatly worsened the effect. Firstly, the large earth structure supporting the railway line acted as a dam, retaining the waters for longer and deeper on the town side. Secondly the many shop-fronts which had been renewed post-unification were all sealed in terms of water-tightness: the floodwaters rose outside whilst the units inside stayed dry, but at certain critical points the weight of the water suddenly destroyed the shopfronts. Ironically the older "leaky" shopfronts did not suffer this fate as the water built up equally on each side.
1 October 29
2 August 31
, Finland
- since 1961 - Děčín
, the Czech Republic
- since 1975 - Longuyon
, France
- since 1980 - Bolesławiec, Poland
- since 1980 - Remscheid
(North Rhine-Westphalia) - since 1990.
Pirna is bound with Baienfurt
and Reutlingen
, both in Baden-Württemberg
, in town friendships.
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...
, capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge
Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge
Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge is a district in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the mountain ranges Saxon Switzerland and Erzgebirge.- History :...
. The town's population is over 40,000. Pirna is located near 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....
and is an important district town as well as a Große Kreisstadt
Große Kreisstadt
Große Kreisstadt is a term in the German municipal law. In some German federal states the term is used as a special legal status for district-affiliated cities or towns with additional competences in comparison with other municipalities or towns of the district. The title is based on souvereign...
. It is also known for the gassing of about 15,000 disabled people in Sonnenstein Castle
Sonnenstein Nazi Death Institute
The Sonnenstein Euthanasia Clinic was a Nazi killing centre located in the former fortress of Sonnenstein Castle near Pirna in East Germany, where a hospital had been established in 1811....
between June 1940 and August 1941, killings which ceased after pressure was exerted on the authorities by the local population. Today, a small plaque at the base of Sonnenstein Castle and the Sonnenstein Memorial remembers the dead.
Geographical location
Pirna is located near the Sandstone MountainsElbe Sandstone Mountains
The Elbe Sandstone Mountains, also called the Elbe sandstone highlands is a mountain range straddling the border between the state of Saxony in southeastern Germany and the North Bohemian region of the Czech Republic, with about three-quarters of the area lying on the German side...
in the Elbe valley
Elbe valley
The Elbe Valley is most often used as a term for that section of the river valley in which most of the quarters of Dresden are located. The Dresden Elbe Valley was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005 and has lost the title June 25, 2009 due to a dispute between UNESCO and the City of...
, where the nearby rivers Wesenitz
Wesenitz
The Wesenitz is a river in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, right tributary of the Elbe. Its total length is 83 km. The Wesenitz runs through the tourist regions of the Lusatian Highlands and Saxon Switzerland...
, in the north, and Gottleuba
Gottleuba
The Gottleuba is a small river in the Czech Republic and Germany, left tributary of the Elbe. It source is in the eastern part of the Ore Mountains, north of Ústí nad Labem. After a few km it crosses the Czech-German border, and flows the rest of its 34 km in Saxony. It passes the Gottleuba Dam and...
to the south, flow into the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
. Pirna is also called the "gate to the Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sandstone Mountains....
" (Ger:
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Tor zur Sächsischen Schweiz). The Saxon wine region
Saxony (wine region)
Saxony is a region for quality wine in Germany located in the German federal state of Saxony. The region is sometimes referred to colloquially as the Elbtal . The wine region covers , which makes it Germany's third smallest region, just ahead of Mittelrhein and Hessische Bergstraße in size...
(Sächsische Weinstrasse), stretches from Pirna over Pillnitz
Pillnitz
Pillnitz is a city quarter in the east of Dresden, Germany. The quarter is situated in the east of Dresden. It can be reached by bus, ship, walking along the river or by bicycle...
, 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....
, and Meissen
Meissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
to Diesbar-Seußlitz, was dedicated in 1992. In August 2002, the town suffered great damage in the widespread flooding
2002 European floods
In August 2002 a 100-year flood caused by over a week of continuous heavy rains ravaged Europe, killing dozens, dispossessing thousands, and causing damage of billions of euros in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia....
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
at the time. This was particularly unfortunate as it undid many well-executed restoration schemes carried out post 1990 re-unification.
Neighbouring municipalities
Pirna is located southeast of DresdenDresden
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....
. Neighbouring municipalities
are Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel
Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel
Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel is a spa town in the district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. The municipality borders the Czech Republic in the south....
(town), Bahretal
Bahretal
Bahretal is a place in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is not to be confused with Bahratal which is in Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel which is located SW of Pirna. It is located between the rivers Gottleuba and Dohna.Bahretal is shaped with a...
, Dohma
Dohma
Dohma is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.- References :...
, Dohna
Dohna
Dohna is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, Saxony, Germany. It is located south of Heidenau. It is located in the Müglitz valley and lies west of the Eastern Ore Mountains. It was known as Donin in 1107, 1160 and until 1206. Donyn in from 1288 to 1408. Doneyn unwil 1454...
(town),
Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach
Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach
Dürrröhrsdorf-Dittersbach is a Saxon municipality in the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. It is located near Dresden, Pirna and Stolpen. Its nearest river is the Wesenitz.-Main sights:...
, Heidenau
Heidenau
Heidenau is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. During World War II, a subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was located here. The town is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, 13 km southeast of Dresden .-References:...
(town), Königstein
Königstein
The term Königstein can refer to several places in Germany and Namibia:Germany:* Königstein im Taunus, town in Hesse* Königstein, Saxony** Festung Königstein, castle near Königstein in Saxony* Königstein, Bavaria...
(town), Lohmen
Lohmen
Lohmen is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.- History :Lohmen was first officially recognized as a village in 1292. The village name comes from the Slovak term lom or "fissure". There were quarries in the area as early as 1200, and were the first...
,
Stadt Wehlen
Stadt Wehlen
Stadt Wehlen is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western edge of Saxon Switzerland, on the right bank of the Elbe, 6 km east of Pirna, and 23 km southeast of Dresden .-Municipality subdivisions:Wehlen includes the...
(towm), and Struppen
Struppen
Struppen is a municipality in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in Saxony, Germany.- References :...
.
Stone Age
Tools made of flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
from the late Paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
(about 12,000-8000 BC), at the end of the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, are evidence for the earliest human settlement in the area. Later on, people belonging to the Linear Pottery culture
Linear Pottery culture
The Linear Pottery culture is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic, flourishing ca. 5500–4500 BC.It is abbreviated as LBK , is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Incised Ware culture, and falls within the Danubian I culture of V...
, who farmed grain and cattle, lived here during the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
(5500-4000 BC) because of a good climate and Loess
Loess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
. Around 600 AD a Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
group called the Sorbs
Sorbs
Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
, who were fishermen and farmers, succeeded the Germanic tribes in the Elbe Valley, who had lived in the area for a couple of centuries from the 4th century BC on. The name Pirna derives from the Sorbian
Sorbian languages
The Sorbian languages are classified under the Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. They are the native languages of the Sorbs, a Slavic minority in the Lusatia region of eastern Germany. Historically the language has also been known as Wendish or Lusatian. Their collective ISO 639-2 code...
phrase, na pernem, meaning on the hard (stone). The representation of a pear tree in the coat of arms was a later, fanciful, German-language notion about the town's name ("pear" is Birne in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, which sounds rather like "Pirna").
Middle Ages
With the conquest of the Slavic communities and the founding of the Mark by the Germans (Henry the Fowler founded the castle of MeissenMeissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
in 929), settlement in the Pirna area is again verifiable. The castle in Pirna, which was mentioned for the first time in 1269, probably already existed in the 11th century. In the context of the second Eastern German colonization the town was founded by Henry III, Margrave of Meissen
Henry III, Margrave of Meissen
Henry III, called Henry the Illustrious from the House of Wettin was Margrave of Meissen and last Margrave of Lusatia from 1221 until his death; from 1242 also Landgrave of Thuringia.-Life:Born probably at the Albrechtsburg residence in Meissen, Henry was the youngest son of Margrave Theodoric I...
.
The streets are aligned from east to west and from north to south forming a chessboardlike system. Only the streets east of the church are not in this shape because of the nearby Burgberg. In 1233, Pirna was mentioned for the first time in a document. In 1293, the king of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
bought the town and the castle from the Bishop of Meissen. Thus Pirna belonged to Bohemia until 1405.
Early Modern times
In 1502, the construction of the new church was begun under Meister Peter Ulrich von Pirna.With the introduction of the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
into Saxony in 1539, Anton Lauterbach, a friend of Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
's, became pastor and superintendent. In 1544 the strategically important castle was upgraded to a fortress by Maurice, Elector of Saxony
Maurice, Elector of Saxony
Maurice was Duke and later Elector of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity....
. Three years later it withstood the siege by elector John Frederick, Elector of Saxony
John Frederick, Elector of Saxony
John Frederick I of Saxony , called John the Magnanimous, was Elector of Saxony and Head of the Protestant Confederation of Germany , "Champion of the Reformation".-Early years:...
in the Schmalkaldic War
Schmalkaldic War
The Schmalkaldic War refers to the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire, commanded by Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, and the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League within the domains of the Holy Roman...
.
On April 23, 1639, the town was invaded by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
troops under the commander in chief of the Swedish army
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army is one of the oldest standing armies in the world and a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces; it is in charge of land operations. General Sverker Göranson is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Army.- Organization :...
, Johan Banér
Johan Banér
Johan Banér was a Swedish Field Marshal in the Thirty Years' War.-Biography:Johan Banér was born at Djursholm Castle in Uppland. As a four year old he was forced to witness how his father, the Privy Councillour Gustaf Banér, and uncle, Sten Axelsson Banér , were executed at the Linköping Bloodbath...
. During the futile five-month siege of the fortress the town was greatly devastated. About 600 people were murdered (Pirnarisches Elend, lit. "Misery of Pirna"). In around 1670, the Sonnenstein fortress was built with modern military insights. Only the powerful stonework still exists today. In 1707, Pirna had debts that related to the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
of more than 100,000 Thaler
Thaler
The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
s.
Prussian Pirna
On August 29, 1756, the small Saxon army fled before the PrussiansKingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, who had invaded without declaring war, to the levels between Königstein Fortress
Königstein Fortress
Königstein Fortress , the "Saxon Bastille", is a hilltop fortress near Dresden, in Saxon Switzerland, Germany, above the town of Königstein on the left bank of the River Elbe...
and Sonnenstein Castle
Sonnenstein castle
The Sonnenstein castle is a castle in Pirna, near Dresden, Germany. It housed a mental hospital, which operated from 1811 to the end of World War II in 1945. During the War, it functioned as an extermination centre for the Third Reich Action T4 program...
and capitulated there on October 16, two days after Sonnenstein surrendered
Surrender (military)
Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
. In 1758, Austrian troops and the Imperial Army besieged the fortress.
Napoleonic Pirna
Manufacturing plants opened in 1774 in Pirna. In 1811 the physician Ernst Gottlob Pienitz opened a very large mental hospital in Castle Sonnenstein. But on September 14, 1813, FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
troops occupied Sonnenstein
Sonnenstein castle
The Sonnenstein castle is a castle in Pirna, near Dresden, Germany. It housed a mental hospital, which operated from 1811 to the end of World War II in 1945. During the War, it functioned as an extermination centre for the Third Reich Action T4 program...
, forcing the evacuation of 275 patients, seizing supplies and tearing the roof trusses out to remove the threat of fire. In September 1813, emperor Napoleon temporarily lived at the Marienhaus at the market. Until 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....
's surrender on November 11 the French defended the fortress. Only in February did the hospital for the mentally ill open again.
See also: Sonnenstein Castle
Sonnenstein castle
The Sonnenstein castle is a castle in Pirna, near Dresden, Germany. It housed a mental hospital, which operated from 1811 to the end of World War II in 1945. During the War, it functioned as an extermination centre for the Third Reich Action T4 program...
, Margraviate of Meissen, Kings of Saxony, History of Bohemia, History of Saxony
History of Saxony
The Saxons were originally a small tribe living on the North Sea between the Elbe and Eider Rivers in the present Holstein. Their name, derived from their weapon called Seax, a knife, is first mentioned by the Roman author Ptolemy ....
, History of Germany
History of Germany
The concept of Germany as a distinct region in central Europe can be traced to Roman commander Julius Caesar, who referred to the unconquered area east of the Rhine as Germania, thus distinguishing it from Gaul , which he had conquered. The victory of the Germanic tribes in the Battle of the...
Industrial revolution, Imperial Germany and the Weimar Republic
In 1837, steamshipSteamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
travel began on the upper Elbe. A few years later, a railway line connecting Dresden and Pirna opened. Pirna became an industrial town in 1862 with the building of factories. Mechanical engineering, glass, cellulose and rayon production also expanded. In 1875, the sandstone Elbbrücke (bridge on the Elbe) was completed. During the First World War Pirna became a garrison and the engineer battalions 12 and 5 of the Royal Saxon field artillery regiment No. 64 were billeted on Rottwerndorfer Straße. In 1922/23, the town absorbed several municipalities including Posta, Niedervogelgesang
Niedervogelgesang
Niedervogelgesang, a settlement in Germany, has been part of the city of Pirna since 1922. It was founded in the 16th century in the form of a Vorwerk on the left bank of the Elbe river. Its name translates as "Lower-Birdsinging."...
, Obervogelgesang, Copitz
Copitz
Copitz is a subdivision of Pirna, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1922.The place was mentioned in 1417 mentioned for the first time. The name originates from the Slavic language....
, Hinterjessen, Neundorf
Neundorf (Pirna)
Neundorf is a subdivision of Pirna, Germany. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1922.It was mentioned in 1408.- People :Lydia Hörenz, artist...
, Zuschendorf
Zuschendorf
Zuschendorf is a village that has been part of Pirna since 1922. It lies in the Seidewitz valley in the Sächsische Schweiz district of the Free State of Saxony, Germany....
, Rottwerndorf
Rottwerndorf
Rottwerndorf is a subdivision of the city of Pirna in the district of Sächsische Schweiz in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.The settlement was first noted in 1337 and possesses a fortress with a Renaissance-era portal from the 16th century. The area was mainly involved in agriculture and...
and Zehista
Zehista
Zehista is a subdivision of the German municipality of Pirna. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1922.Zehista was founded in 1355. The name originates from the Slavic language....
. The population then totalled 30,000 inhabitants.
Holocaust
World War II - From early 1940 until end of June 1942, a part of the huge mental asylum within Sonnenstein Castle overlooking Pirna was converted into a euthanasiaEuthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
killing centre: the Sonnenstein Nazi Death Institute
Sonnenstein Nazi Death Institute
The Sonnenstein Euthanasia Clinic was a Nazi killing centre located in the former fortress of Sonnenstein Castle near Pirna in East Germany, where a hospital had been established in 1811....
. This was the first use of techniques later rolled out and refined for use within the Final Solution
Final Solution
The Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
. A gas chamber and crematorium were installed in the cellar of the former men's sanitary (building C 16). A high brick-wall on two sides of the complex shielded it from outside while a high hoarding was erected on the other sides. Four buildings were located inside the shielding. They were used for offices, living rooms for the personnel etc. Sleeping quarters for the "burners" (men who burned the bodies) were provided for in the attic of building C 16. It is possible that other sections of the buildings were also used by T4
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
.
From end of June 1940 until September 1942, approximately 15,000 persons were killed in the scope of the euthanasia programme and the Sonderbehandlung
Sonderbehandlung
Sonderbehandlung is a German noun meaning special treatment in English, also existing as a verb: sonderbehandeln . While it can refer to any sort of preferential treatment, it is known primarily as a euphemism used by Nazi functionaries and the SS for murder...
14f13
Action 14f13
Action 14f13, also called "Sonderbehandlung 14f13", was a campaign of the Third Reich to murder Nazi concentration camp prisoners. Also called "invalid" or "prisoner euthanasia", the campaign culled the sick, elderly and those deemed no longer fit for work from the rest of the prisoners in a...
. The staff consisted of about 100 persons. One third of them were ordered to the extermination camps in occupied Poland, because of their experiences in deception, killing, gassing and burning innocent people.
There they were trained by the killing groups who mounted the killing machinery in the later camps like Treblinka from TishBeAv 1942 and the others.
During August and September 1942, the Sonnenstein killing centre was closed and incriminating installations such as gas chamber installations and crematorium ovens dismantled. After October 1942, the buildings were used as a military hospital.
This part of the history of Pirna went largely unrecognized in Germany until 1989, but after that efforts to remember that catastrophe started. In June 2000 the permanent exhibition opened .
Floods of 2002
Pirna was particularly badly hit by the flooding of the Elbe in 2002.Two factors greatly worsened the effect. Firstly, the large earth structure supporting the railway line acted as a dam, retaining the waters for longer and deeper on the town side. Secondly the many shop-fronts which had been renewed post-unification were all sealed in terms of water-tightness: the floodwaters rose outside whilst the units inside stayed dry, but at certain critical points the weight of the water suddenly destroyed the shopfronts. Ironically the older "leaky" shopfronts did not suffer this fate as the water built up equally on each side.
Amalgamations
The cities that were amalgamated with Pirna are:- 1850: Hausberggemeinde
- 1922/23: Posta, NiedervogelgesangNiedervogelgesangNiedervogelgesang, a settlement in Germany, has been part of the city of Pirna since 1922. It was founded in the 16th century in the form of a Vorwerk on the left bank of the Elbe river. Its name translates as "Lower-Birdsinging."...
, ZuschendorfZuschendorfZuschendorf is a village that has been part of Pirna since 1922. It lies in the Seidewitz valley in the Sächsische Schweiz district of the Free State of Saxony, Germany....
, NeundorfNeundorf (Pirna)Neundorf is a subdivision of Pirna, Germany. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1922.It was mentioned in 1408.- People :Lydia Hörenz, artist...
, RottwerndorfRottwerndorfRottwerndorf is a subdivision of the city of Pirna in the district of Sächsische Schweiz in the Free State of Saxony, Germany.The settlement was first noted in 1337 and possesses a fortress with a Renaissance-era portal from the 16th century. The area was mainly involved in agriculture and...
, Hinter-Jessen und CopitzCopitzCopitz is a subdivision of Pirna, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1922.The place was mentioned in 1417 mentioned for the first time. The name originates from the Slavic language.... - 1930: ZehistaZehistaZehista is a subdivision of the German municipality of Pirna. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1922.Zehista was founded in 1355. The name originates from the Slavic language....
- 1950: Cunnersdorf, Mockethal, Zatzschkepp
- 1971: Liebethal
- 1974: KrietzschwitzKrietzschwitzKrietzschwitz is a subdivision of Pirna, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It was incorporated into Pirna in 1922.The place was mentioned for the first time in 1359. The name originates from the Slavic language.Krietzschwitz has a farmer's market....
, Obervogelgesang - 1998: Birkwitz-Pratzschwitz, Graupa
Population
Change of Population (from 1960, all figures for December 31):1834 until 1946
|
1950 until 1997
|
1998 until 2003
|
1 October 29
2 August 31
Dialect
The main dialect spoken in Pirna is the Saxon dialect group called the Südostmeißnische, which is one of the five Meißenisch group of dialects.Twinned towns
- VarkausVarkaus
Varkaus is a Middle-Savonian industrial town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .The municipality is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
- since 1961 - Děčín
Decín
Děčín is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region in the north of the Czech Republic. It is the largest town and administrative seat of the Děčín District.-Geography:...
, the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
- since 1975 - Longuyon
Longuyon
Longuyon is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.The apartment blocks on the southwestern edge of town, still called "La Cité Canadienne", were home to Royal Canadian Air Force staff and their families in the 1950s and 1960s, when the RCAF had an airbase at nearby...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- since 1980 - Bolesławiec, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
- since 1980 - Remscheid
Remscheid
Remscheid is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is, after Wuppertal and Solingen, the third largest municipality in Bergisches Land, being located on the northern edge of the region, on south side of the Ruhr area....
(North Rhine-Westphalia) - since 1990.
Pirna is bound with Baienfurt
Baienfurt
Baienfurt is a municipality in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Sister cities: Brest, Belarus...
and Reutlingen
Reutlingen
Reutlingen is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of April 2008, it has a population of 109,828....
, both in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, in town friendships.
Museums
- Pirna museum = Stadtmuseum Pirna, located at 2 Klosterhof
- Botanical collections and Landschloss Pirna - Zuschendorf
- DDR Museum - museum devoted to East Germany memorabilia
- Richard Wagner Museum Graupa
Music
- Neue Elbland Philharmonie with 60 musicians and about 160 concerts every year.
- Pirnaer JazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
nacht, which in 2004 took place for the fifth time.
Persons
- Johann TetzelJohann TetzelJohann Tetzel was a German Dominican preacher known for selling indulgences.-Life:Tetzel was born in Pirna, Saxony, and studied theology and philosophy at the university of his native city...
(1465–1519) - Ioannes SommerusIoannes SommerusJohann Sommer or in Latin Ioannes Sommerus was a Transylvanian Saxon Protestant theologian, poet and Despot Vodă's biographer.In 1562 he enrolled at University of Frankfurt, but did not graduate...
(1542–1574) - Transylvanian theologian and chronicler - Theophilus Jacobäer (1591–1659) - pharmacist, "rescuer" in the Thirty Years' WarThirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
(de) - Johann Siegmund von Liebenau (1607–1671) - captain and Commander-in-Chief of fortresses in Saxony (de)
- Dr. Ernst Gottlob Pienitz (1777–1853) - Psychatric reformer (de)
- Carl Wilhelm Häcker, aka Carl William Häcker (1819–1886) - pioneer of photography
- William Adolph Haußner (1819–1849) - physician and town delegate, revolutionist from 1848-49
- Friedrich August Greif (1830–1905) - founder of the Greif endowment
- Anna Marie Geibelt (1838–1923) (de)
- Gertrud Eysoldt (1870–1955) - actress and director (de)
- Hugo Küttner (1880–1945) - entrepreneur (de)
- Siegfried RädelSiegfried RädelSiegfried Rädel was a German politician, a member of the Communist Party of Germany and a resistance fighter against the Nazi régime. -Biography:Rädel was born in Pirna-Copitz, Saxony....
(1893–1943) - communist town delegate - Eva Schulze-KnabeEva Schulze-KnabeEva Schulze-Knabe was a German painter and graphic artist, as well as a resistance fighter against the Third Reich....
(1907–1976) - painter - Oskar Speck (1855–1922), founder of the town scientific historiography in Pirna (de)
- Hermann RosaHermann RosaHermann Rosa was a German sculptor and architect.- Biography : Born as the son of a stonemason Hermann Rosa in Pirna, he grew up with six siblings on the castle Oberpolitz. He visited a Stone Mason's College in Saubsdorf...
(1911, Pirna - 1981, Munich), a sculptor and architect
