Zwenkau
Encyclopedia
Zwenkau is a city in the district of Leipzig
, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany
. Situated between the rivers Weiße Elster
and Pleiße
it unfolds to Leipzig lowlands and includes parts of the conservation area Elsteraue and Central Germany's Street of Lignite
.
/ Lippendorf with its landmark, Lippendorf Power Station
. A former open-cast mine extending from the northeast of Zwenkau to its northwest was set on September 30, 1999 and is currently being rehabilitated and converted
to Lake Zwenkau. Several smaller towns and hamlets belong to Zwenkau, being
The rural areas of the historic town Eythra and parts of Bösdorf, both abandoned in favor of lignite deposits in the 1980s, are also administered by the city of Zwenkau and bordered in the west.
Zwenkau is one of the oldest cities in what is now Saxony
. As a Slavic
settlement, the earliest documentary mention known is in 974 where it is described as Civitas
in Gau Chutizi.
[...]
In 1929 the towns Imnitz and Kotzschbar which immediately connected to the south of Zwenkau's urban area were amalgamated.
the city experienced a commercial boom and the population increased fivefold in less than one-hundred years. So before industrialization in Europe started, 2419 residents were counted in 1834. In the first half of the 20th century Zwenkau developed quickly due to the lignite mining industry and dependent business. From 1950 to 1990 the city lost forty percent of its residents. Since then the population increased mainly as a result of amalgamation of nearby rural towns and hamlets.
Leipzig (district)
Leipzig is a district in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the city Leipzig, which is surrounded by the district, but not part of it...
, 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...
. Situated between the rivers Weiße Elster
Weiße Elster
The White Elster or Weisse Elster is a long river in central Europe, right tributary of the Saale. Its source is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, near Aš. After a few kilometres, it flows into eastern Germany...
and Pleiße
Pleiße
The Pleiße is a right tributary of the Weiße Elster in Saxony, Germany. It has its source southwest of Zwickau at Ebersbrunn, then flows through Werdau, Crimmitschau, Altenburg, and other cities in Saxony and Thuringia, before meeting the Weiße Elster in Leipzig.The river naturally had a length of...
it unfolds to Leipzig lowlands and includes parts of the conservation area Elsteraue and Central Germany's Street of Lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
.
Geography
The city lies about 15 km south of Leipzig and 3 km northwest of the industrial site BöhlenBöhlen
Böhlen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, south of Leipzig. Its main features are a small airport and a power-plant. It is located in the newly built Neuseenland, the lakes created in the former open-pit mining areas.- References :...
/ Lippendorf with its landmark, Lippendorf Power Station
Lippendorf Power Station
Lippendorf Power Station is a lignite-fired power station in Lippendorf, which is located in the municipality of Neukieritzsch, near Leipzig in Saxony, Germany. The power plant is owned and operated by Vattenfall.-Old power station:...
. A former open-cast mine extending from the northeast of Zwenkau to its northwest was set on September 30, 1999 and is currently being rehabilitated and converted
Land rehabilitation
Land rehabilitation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process has resulted in its damage...
to Lake Zwenkau. Several smaller towns and hamlets belong to Zwenkau, being
- the suburbs Kötzschbar, Imnitz and Löbschütz
- the rural towns Großdalzig, Mausitz, Kleindalzig, Tellschütz, and Zitzschen (since October 1, 1993)
- the town Rüssen-Kleinstorkwitz and its hamlet Döhlen (since October 1, 1996)
The rural areas of the historic town Eythra and parts of Bösdorf, both abandoned in favor of lignite deposits in the 1980s, are also administered by the city of Zwenkau and bordered in the west.
Pre-industrial period
Prehistoric colonization in the area of Zwenkau was affirmed by archaeological finds dated around 6000 BC.Zwenkau is one of the oldest cities in what is now Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. As 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...
settlement, the earliest documentary mention known is in 974 where it is described as Civitas
Civitas
In the history of Rome, the Latin term civitas , according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the cives, or citizens, united by law . It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities on the one hand and rights of citizenship on the other...
in Gau Chutizi.
[...]
In 1929 the towns Imnitz and Kotzschbar which immediately connected to the south of Zwenkau's urban area were amalgamated.
Demography
In the shadow of Leipzig's development Zwenkau grew slowly. In 1748 almost 90 households were counted, this is equivalent to 450 to 500 inhabitants. After the Seven Years' WarSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
the city experienced a commercial boom and the population increased fivefold in less than one-hundred years. So before industrialization in Europe started, 2419 residents were counted in 1834. In the first half of the 20th century Zwenkau developed quickly due to the lignite mining industry and dependent business. From 1950 to 1990 the city lost forty percent of its residents. Since then the population increased mainly as a result of amalgamation of nearby rural towns and hamlets.
| Year | 1871 | 1890 | 1910 | 1925 | 1939 | 1946 | 1964 | 1990 | 2000 | 2007 |
| Residents | 3058 | 3628 | 4661 | 5283 | 9513 | 11821 | 9800 | 7351 | 8932 | 8859 |