Bautzen ( German pronunciation: [ˈbaʊ̯t͡sn̩] ) or Budyšin ( Upper Sorbian pronunciation: [ˈbudɨʃin] ), until 1868 Budissin in German, is a town in eastern Saxony , Germany , and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen . It is located on the Spree river , is the eighth most populous town in Saxony , and is the seat of Saxony's largest district . Bautzen lies in the bilingual Sorbian settlement area ( Serbski sydlenski rum ) of Lusatia , and is Lusatia's third-largest town after Cottbus and Görlitz , as well as the second-largest town in Upper Lusatia .
41-677: The town lies in the hilly Upper Lusatian Gefilde ( Hornjołužiske hona ), a part of the northwesternmost foothills of the Sudetes , just north of the Lusatian Highlands . Bautzen is the first larger town on the Spree River ( Spree → Havel → Elbe → North Sea ), and the Bautzen Reservoir ( Budyska rěčna zawěra ) lies in the north of the town. In 2021, Bautzen had a population of around 38,000. Although Görlitz
82-667: A city wall on the steep embankment to the river Spree , with one of the oldest preserved waterworks in central Europe (built 1558). Sites of interest include: There are six museums in Bautzen, including the Stadtmuseum Bautzen ("Bautzen city Museum"), the Sorbisches Museum ("Sorbian Museum", Sorbian: Serbski muzej ) and the Senfmuseum ( Mustard Museum ). Bautzen is the seat of several institutions of
123-602: A migration background. (as of December 31 unless otherwise stated) The Bautzen City Council consists of 34 members. It meets either in the Town Hall [ de ; hsb ] or in the Gewandhaus [ de ] . There are also four local councils (Niederkaina, Stiebitz, Kleinwelka, and Salzenforst-Bolbritz), whose honorary members are elected for five years. Bautzen has a very compact and well-preserved medieval town centre with numerous churches and towers and
164-521: Is "Germany's oldest Christmas market mentioned in a chronicle". Asteroid 11580 Bautzen is named in honour of the city. Like other cities and places in Lusatia , Bautzen has several different names across languages. Its German name was also officially changed in 1868. Besides Bautzen (German) and Budyšin ( Upper Sorbian ), the town has had the following names: The town on the River Spree
205-1406: Is bordered by Radibor , Großdubrau and Malschwitz in the North, Kubschütz in the East, Großpostwitz , Obergurig and Doberschau-Gaußig in the South, as well as Göda in the West. All of these belong to the Bautzen district . The 15 city districts are: Duchy of Poland 1002-1025 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Poland 1025–1032 [REDACTED] Margraviate of Meissen 1032-1075 [REDACTED] Duchy of Bohemia 1075–1198 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Bohemia 1198–1253 [REDACTED] Margraviate of Brandenburg 1253-1319 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Bohemia 1319-1469 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Hungary 1469-1490 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Bohemia 1490-1635 [REDACTED] Electorate of Saxony 1635–1806 [REDACTED] Kingdom of Saxony 1806-1871 [REDACTED] German Empire 1871-1918 [REDACTED] Weimar Republic 1918-1933 [REDACTED] Nazi Germany 1933-1945 [REDACTED] Allied-occupied Germany 1945-1949 [REDACTED] East Germany 1949–1990 [REDACTED] Germany 1990– present In
246-562: Is considered part of the Saxon Loess Fields and the Western Sudetes range. Gefilde is German for "fields" or "country". This Saxony location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Margraviate of Meissen The Margravate or Margraviate of Meissen ( German : Markgrafschaft Meißen ) was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony . It originally
287-565: Is larger, it is Bautzen that is regarded as the historical capital of Upper Lusatia . Bautzen is the political and cultural center of the entirety of the Slavic minority of the Sorbs (Upper and Lower), although Lower Lusatia and the Lower Sorbian -speaking Sorbs have an own, second center, which is Cottbus . About 10 percent of Bautzen's population is Upper Sorbian -speaking. The use of
328-613: Is marked by the Ortenburg [ de ] castle. It is bordered by the city walls. The later-built more recent quarters in the east were enclosed by the city ramparts. After their removal, the city expanded further east and to the left bank of the river. However, there has only been a small urban area west of the Spree until today. In the 1970s, the development areas of "Gesundbrunnen" and "Allendeviertel" were erected. After 1990, several neighbouring villages were incorporated. The city
369-593: Is produced in Bautzen. It is the market leader in the new states of Germany with a market share of 65 percent. Bautzen is twinned with: Upper Lusatian Gefilde The Upper Lusatian Gefilde ( German : Oberlausitzer Gefilde or sometimes Bautzener Gefilde , Upper Sorbian : Hornjołužiska pahórčina ) is a natural region in Saxony near the German tripoint with the Czech Republic and Poland . It
410-464: Is situated about 50 km (31 mi) east of Dresden between the Lusatian highland and the lowlands in the north, amidst the region of Upper Lusatia . To the north stretches the Bautzen Reservoir , which was flooded in 1974. This is the former location of the villages of Malsitz ( Małšecy ) and Nimschütz ( Hněwsecy ). The old part of Bautzen is located on the plateau above the Spree, whose top
451-806: The Great Slav Rising . The newly established bishoprics of Havelberg and Brandenburg as well as the March of Zeitz were overrun by Lutici tribes. Margrave Rikdag joined forces with the Margraves of Lusatia and the Northern March , the Bishop of Halberstadt , and the Archbishop of Magdeburg and defeated the Slavs in the gau of Balsamgau near Stendal . Nevertheless, large territories of
SECTION 10
#1732765024350492-550: The Groß-Rosen concentration camp operated in Bautzen. At least 600 men, mostly Poles, but also of other nationalities, were imprisoned there, about 310 of whom died. Ernst Thälmann was imprisoned there before being deported to Buchenwald . In April 1945, the Germans evacuated many prisoners on foot to Nixdorf , where they were liberated by Polish troops on May 8, 1945, while the remaining prisoners were liberated in Bautzen by
533-726: The Investiture Controversy in 1089. Emperor Henry IV then granted Meissen to Count Henry of Eilenburg of the Wettin dynasty. The margravate would remain under Wettin rule for the rest of its existence. Under Wiprecht von Groitzsch in the 1120s, Meissen underwent a process of Germanisation. He was succeeded by Conrad the Great (1123–56), Otto the Rich (1156–91), and Dietrich the Hard-Pressed (1191–1221), under whom
574-779: The Jahna river was destroyed and their lands up to the Dresden Basin incorporated into the Marca Geronis . In 928 and 929, during the final campaign against the Glomacze tribes, Henry the Fowler, East Frankish king since 919, chose a rock above the confluence of the Elbe and Triebisch rivers to erect a new fortress, called Misni ( Meissen ) Castle after the nearby Meisa stream. The fortifications were renamed Albrechtsburg in
615-739: The Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933, many political prisoners were held in the Bautzen I and Bautzen II prisons, built in 1904 and 1906, respectively. During the Kristallnacht in 1938, local Jews were persecuted and Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed. During World War II , in 1942–1943, the Nazis conducted three trials of members of the Polish resistance at the local court, sentencing thirteen to death. The AL Bautzen subcamp of
656-686: The Saale river. In 849, a margrave named Thachulf was documented in the Annales Fuldenses . His title is rendered as dux Sorabici limitis , "duke of the Sorbian frontier", but he and his East Frankish successors were commonly known as duces Thuringorum , "dukes of the Thuringians", as they set about establishing their power over the older Duchy of Thuringia in the west. The Sorbian march had already lost its importance around 900 AD;
697-403: The 15th century. A town soon developed around the castle. King Henry, however, made no attempts to Germanise the Slavs or to create a chain of burgwards around his fortress. Sat alone, like Brandenburg , with few defenses or towns around it; Meissen probably was temporarily occupied by Bohemian forces from 936 onwards. The town beneath the fortress grew, however, eventually becoming one of
738-459: The 3rd century AD an eastern Germanic settlement existed here, but excavations have proved that the region was already inhabited as early as the late Stone Age . Sorbs arrived in the area during the migration period in the 6th century AD. The first written evidence of the city is from 1002 under the name Budusin ( Upper Sorbian : Budyšin , Polish: Budziszyn ). In 1018 the Peace of Bautzen
779-537: The GDR's Ministry for State Security , has served as an open memorial since 1993, operated by the Saxon Memorials Foundation. It is accessible to the public. Guided tours are provided and occasionally, films are screened. A permanent exhibition depicts the misery suffered by occupants; visitors may tour detention cells, the isolation area and the yards where prisoners were allowed to exercise. In 2002
820-604: The Northern March were lost, and the German forces were pushed back west of the Elbe. Margrave Eckard I from Thuringia succeeded Rikdag as Margrave of Meissen in 985. His descendants of the Ekkeharding noble family would keep the margravial title until 1046. Upon his appointment, Eckard allied with Duke Mieszko I of Poland in order to reconquer Meissen Castle from Duke Boleslaus II of Bohemia whose forces occupied it
861-480: The Peaceful Revolution of 1990, however, the city’s population declined significantly, dropping from 52,000 in 1989 to around 38,000, largely due to emigration and low birth rates. Since the early 2000s, this decline has slowed considerably. Today, Bautzen ranks as the 10th largest city in Saxony by population. As of December 31, 2011, 98.3% of Bautzen's residents were of German origin, with 6.1% having
SECTION 20
#1732765024350902-682: The Saxon electorate , in which they ultimately merged their margravial lands abandoning Meissen's status as an independent principality; though they retained the margravial title. In the late 15th century, the dynasty held a large contiguous territory between the Werra and Oder rivers. By the 1485 Treaty of Leipzig , however, the Upper Saxon lands were again divided between Frederick's grandsons Ernest ruling in Wittenberg and Albert , who took
943-598: The Soviets on April 20, 1945. Between 21 April and 30 April 1945, the Battle of Bautzen was fought which resulted in the town being recaptured by the German army. This meant Bautzen and its surroundings stayed in German hands until Germany's capitulation . From 1952 to 1990, Bautzen was part of the Bezirk Dresden of East Germany . Bautzen was infamous throughout East Germany for its two penitentiaries. "Bautzen I"
984-532: The city commemorated its 1000th birthday. In 2010 it was hit by a flood. During the Early Middle Ages, Bautzen was one of the largest cities in Central Germany. However, from around the 15th century, its population growth began to stagnate. The relatively late onset of industrialization in Bautzen brought new momentum, leading to population growth even during the era of East Germany. Following
1025-488: The cultural self-administration of the Sorbian people : Alstom Transportation operates a large factory on Fabrikstraße making railway locomotives, carriages and trams. It was built by the former VEB Waggonbau Bautzen, which was acquired by Bombardier Transportation in 1998 via Deutsche Waggonbau and acquired by Alstom when Bombardier Transportation was sold by parent Bombardier Inc. in 2021. The mustard Bautz'ner Senf
1066-589: The death of Margrave Gero , Meissen became the center of a new march with the goal of controlling the local Slavic population. The first Meissen margrave, Wigbert , is mentioned in a 968 charter of the Archdiocese of Magdeburg . That same year, the Meissen fortress also became the see of the newly created Bishopric of Meissen . In 978, the Saxon count Rikdag became the Margrave of Meissen , and incorporated
1107-546: The division of the march, however it would reunite soon after each time. Meissen was often enlarged by marriage, purchase, or conquest, which is how it gained the rights to the burgraviate in 1426. In 1423, Margrave Frederick IV was assigned the heirless Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg , formerly held by the House of Ascania , by Emperor Sigismund in turn for his support against the Hussites . The Wettin rulers thereby entered into
1148-562: The intermediate Pleisseland around Altenburg in pawn. In 1307, the attempt by the Luxembourg king Henry VII to once again subdue the Margraves of Meissen failed with his defeat at the Battle of Lucka . By that time the margravate was de facto independent of any sovereign authority. In the following years, there would be joint rule of Meissen by multiple members of the Wettin dynasty at any given time. In 1382 and 1445, this even led to
1189-686: The language is more widespread in the countryside surrounding the town than in the town itself. Bautzen is the seat of several Sorbian institutions like the Domowina , the German-Sorbian People's Theater ( Němsko-Serbske ludowe dźiwadło ), and Sorbian Broadcasting ( Sorbischer Rundfunk , Serbski rozhłós ). From 1346 until 1815, the town was a member of the Lusatian League . The Bautzen Wenceslaus' Market ( Bautzener Wenzelsmarkt , Upper Sorbian: Budyske Wjacławske wiki )
1230-536: The last known margrave Poppo was deposed by King Arnulf in 892 and replaced with Conrad who continued to appear as a "Duke of Thuringia". Conrad himself was replaced by Burchard , whose title in 903 was marchio Thuringionum , "margrave of the Thuringians". Due to scarce sources, the geographical extent of the Frankish march east of the Saale is a matter of ongoing debate among historians; it may have reached up to
1271-694: The march would expand and develop. By then, Meissen had become a stronghold of the Wettin dynasty, suspiciously eyed by the Hohenstaufen emperors who nevertheless were not able to deprive the margraves of their power. In 1264, during the War of the Thuringian Succession , Margrave Henry III asserted himself in the Landgraviate of Thuringia, where his uncle Henry Raspe had died childless. Between 1243 and 1255, Henry III had also acquired
Bautzen - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-635: The marches of Merseburg and Zeitz into Meissen. By 982, the territory of the march had extended as far as the Kwisa river to the east and as far as the slopes of the Ore Mountains to the south, where it shared a border with the Přemyslid duchy of Bohemia. In 983, following the defeat of Emperor Otto II at the Battle of Stilo , the Slavic Lutici tribes bordering eastern Saxony rebelled in
1353-608: The most important cities in the vast Marca Geronis , covering the Slavic lands east of the Saxon stem duchy . King Henry, and later on his son and successor Otto I , continued the Slavic campaigns into the lands of the Polabian Milceni tribes around Bautzen ( Budissin ), with their gained territory being gradually incorporated into the Saxon Eastern March. When the Marca Geronis was divided in 965 upon
1394-410: The name was officially changed from Budissin to the more Germanized form Bautzen . In 1839, the Sorbian student organization Societas Slavica Budissenensis was founded in the city. In 1845, the Sorbian national anthem was publicly performed for the first time in the city. The Sorbian House (Upper Sorbian: Serbski Dom ), a Sorbian cultural centre, was opened in the city in 1904. After
1435-817: The settlement area of the Slavic Glomacze ( Talaminzi ) tribes beyond the Mulde river, identified as eastern neighbours of the Sorbs by the Bavarian Geographer about 850. These territories were under constant attacks by the East Frankish rulers; in 908 they were first campaigned by the Saxon prince Henry the Fowler , son of Duke Otto the Illustrious . By 928/29, the main Glomacze fortress on
1476-437: The town at that time. From 1346 to 1815, it was a member of the Six Cities' Alliance of the Upper Lusatian cities of Görlitz , Zittau , Löbau , Kamenz , Lubań , and Bautzen. In 1429 and 1431 the town was unsuccessfully besieged by the Hussites . In 1634, it was destroyed by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War . It was the site of one of the battlefields of the Napoleonic War Battle of Bautzen in 1813. In 1868,
1517-425: The year before. When Eckard was assassinated in 1002, however, Mieszko's son, the Polish king Bolesław I Chrobry , took the occasion to conquer the margravial lands east of the Elbe and demanded the surrender of Meissen. The following German–Polish War ended with the 1018 Peace of Bautzen , whereby Meissen had to cede the Milceni region (later Upper Lusatia ) to Poland. In 1031 however, King Conrad II of Germany
1558-501: Was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire , created out of the vast Marca Geronis ( Saxon Eastern March ) in 965. Under the rule of the Wettin dynasty , the margravate finally merged with the former Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg into the Saxon Electorate by 1423. In the mid 9th century, the area of the later margravate was part of an eastern frontier zone of the Carolingian Empire called Sorbian March ( Limes Sorabicus ), after Sorbian tribes of Polabian Slavs settling beyond
1599-402: Was able to reconquer the Milceni lands, which were returned to Meissen. In 1046, Count Otto of Weimar-Orlamünde became margrave, followed by Egbert II of the Brunonids upon his death in 1067. Egbert II entered into a longstanding conflict with Emperor Henry IV , because of which he had to renounce the Milceni lands to Duke Vratislaus II of Bohemia in 1076, and was finally deposed during
1640-515: Was signed between the German king Henry II and the Polish ruler Bolesław I the Brave . The treaty left the town under Polish rule. In 1032 it passed to the Margraviate of Meissen within the Holy Roman Empire , in 1075 to the Duchy of Bohemia , elevated to a kingdom in 1198 (with short periods of Brandenburgian and Hungarian rule), in 1635 to Saxony , whose electors were also Polish kings in personal union from 1697 to 1763. One of two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through
1681-407: Was used as an official prison, soon to be nicknamed Gelbes Elend ("Yellow Misery") due to its outer colour, whereas the more secretive " Bautzen II " was used as a facility to hold political prisoners, dissidents and prisoners of conscience. Today, Bautzen I is known as the Bautzen Correctional Institution and is used to hold prisoners who are awaiting trial. Bautzen II which was also operated by