Upper Sorbian ( endonym : hornjoserbšćina ), occasionally referred to as Wendish , is a minority language spoken by Sorbs , in the historical province of Upper Lusatia , which is today part of Saxony , Germany . It is grouped in the West Slavic language branch, together with Lower Sorbian , Czech , Polish , Silesian , Slovak , and Kashubian .
25-585: Bischofswerda ( German: [bɪʃɔfsˈvɛʁda] ; Upper Sorbian : Biskopicy ) is a small town in eastern Germany at the western edge of Upper Lusatia in Saxony . The town is located 33 km to the east of Dresden at the edge of the Upper Lusatian mountain country. The town is known as the "Gateway to Upper Lusatia" – "Tor zur Oberlausitz" in German. Located in the district of Bautzen ,
50-567: A fire broke out within the town walls on 12 May 1813, destroying most of the medieval town. However the town was rebuilt on an order of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony in a manner closely following the earlier layout, and this remains to this day. During the increased tensions of the 1980s between the Western democracies and the Eastern Communist Bloc, Bischofswerda became a base for Soviet SS-12 nuclear missiles . A depot for
75-564: A new 17 km highway section near Kerpen. The abandonment of the old route was due to the expansion of coal mining in the Hambach open-pit mine. Reconstruction of the last section in Thuringia between Eisenach and Gotha near the former Inner German Border began in 2007 and required building 25 km (16 mi) of new road. The " Wiehltalbrücke " is a bridge that carries the A4 across
100-669: A slow but steady decline in use of the Sorbian language. In addition, in the Saxony region, the Sorbian language was legally subordinated to the German language. Language prohibitions were later added: In 1293, the Sorbian language was forbidden in Berne castle before the courts; in 1327 it was forbidden in Zwickau and Leipzig , and from 1424 on it was forbidden in Meissen . Further, there was
125-463: Is a suitable route past the gap of A4. In 1927, the first ideas planned connections between Aachen and Cologne, and additional connections between Erfurt and Breslau ( Silesia ). The first sections were built from 1934 to 1937 (between Chemnitz and Dresden). Just west of Eisenach was the Wartha - Herleshausen border checkpoint between East and West Germany . Eight kilometers down the road, after
150-525: Is an autobahn in two discontinuous segments that crosses Germany in a west–east direction. The western segment has a length of 156 km (97 mi), while the part in the east is 429 km (267 mi) long. The western A 4 starts north-west of Aachen , where the Dutch A76 enters Germany. Initially it is 2 lanes each way with no speed limit. From Kreuz Aachen to Düren and from Kerpen to Refrath (between Refrath and Köln-Merheim) westbound
175-480: Is in a document dating from 1361. The town remained under the authority of the Bishops of Meissen until 1559 when power was transferred to Augustus, Elector of Saxony , who introduced Protestantism . The city arms are based on a 14th-century seal and consist of two crossed bishop's croziers and four stars. The significance of the stars is not known. One of two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through
200-539: Is situated on the Bundesstraße 6 , which connects Dresden and Görlitz at the Polish border. The Bundesautobahn 4 bypasses the town 6 km north, enabling easy access to Dresden Airport . The road traffic bypasses the town in the west. Via Bischofswerda railway station , direct access by rail is possible to Dresden, Görlitz, Zittau as well as to Czech Liberec . The little town became known nationally when
225-476: Is the Burger Eydt Wendisch document, which was discovered in the city of Bautzen and dates to the year 1532. There are an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 speakers of Upper Sorbian. Almost all of these live in the state of Saxony , chiefly in the district of Bautzen (Budyšin). The stronghold of the language is the village of Crostwitz (Chrósćicy) and the surrounding municipalities, especially to
250-553: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Upper Sorbian: (All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.) Bundesautobahn 4 Bundesautobahn 4 (translates from German as Federal Motorway 4 , short form Autobahn 4 , abbreviated as BAB 4 or A 4 )
275-635: The Altmarkt, the centre of the town. The entrance to the Christuskirche is decorated by a mosaic by Josef Goller . In the interior one can find a painting by Osmar Schindler , who grew up in the town. The Catholic church is named after Saint Benno of Meissen , who is said to have founded Bischofswerda in the 11th century. Before the reunification of Germany in 1990, Bischofswerda was a significant industrial location. The company Fortschritt produced agricultural machines. This manufacture as well as
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#1732800862656300-715: The Kirchheim intersection (with the A ;7 ) and goes through Eisenach , Gotha , Erfurt , Weimar , Jena , Gera , Chemnitz , Dresden and Bautzen to Görlitz , where it crosses to Poland and continues as A4 . The westernmost 11 kilometers of the A4 form the most easterly stretch of the European route E314 : continuing east from the Aachen interchange (Kreuz Aachen), the A4 is part of European route E40 . European routes don't have gaps and E 40 follows A 45 and A 5 , which
325-509: The Wommen interchange, the road crosses back into the former East Germany into Gerstungen (today in Thuringia ) for seven kilometers before crossing back to the former West Germany at Wildeck . Because of that, the section between Wommen and Wildeck-Obersuhl interchanges was closed and fell into decay during the Cold War . It was bypassed by B 400. Ironically, that section, built in 1943, was
350-521: The condition in many guilds of the cities of the area to accept only members of German-language origin. However, the central areas of the Milzener and Lusitzer , in the area of today's Lusatia , were relatively unaffected by the new German language settlements and legal restrictions. The language therefore flourished there. By the 17th century, the number of Sorbian speakers in that area grew to over 300,000. The oldest evidence of written Upper Sorbian
375-650: The disabled in Bischofswerda and Eggenfelden . Upper Sorbian language The history of the Upper Sorbian language in Germany began with the Slavic migrations during the 6th century AD. Beginning in the 12th century, there was a massive influx of rural Germanic settlers from Flanders , Saxony , Thuringia and Franconia . This so-called " Ostsiedlung " (eastern settlement or expansion) led to
400-400: The glass fabrication has closed. The textile industry had a centuries-long tradition in the town, but also ended in 2012. New industries began to settle in Bischofswerda in recent years. Roth Industries , a German enterprise from the environmental technology sector, has a subsidiary here. The Canadian producer of solar cells, ARISE Technologies , came to the town, but has closed. The town
425-503: The hard shoulder becomes the third lane at peak times. Between Kreuz Köln-West and Kreuz Heumar it forms the southern part of the Cologne Beltway ( Kölner Autobahnring). The rest of the section between Kreuz Aachen and Kreuz Köln-West has a variable speed limit. Between Merzenich and Elsdorf, the speed limit is 130 km/h. Between Kreuz Köln-West and Kreuz Heumar the speed limit is 120 km/h. From Kreuz Köln-Ost to Refrath
450-521: The last Reichsautobahn section built before the end of World War II. The Wildeck-Obersuhl interchange was built only after the war, due to the Gerstungen interchange being exactly on the border. Repairs of those parts were scheduled to be completed in 2007. In 1999, the new tunnel at Königshain Hills (near Görlitz) was opened. In 2014, the section of A 4 between Cologne and Aachen was rerouted on
475-548: The local football club BSG Fortschritt Bischofswerda , sponsored by Fortschritt , twice reached the DDR-Oberliga , the highest football league in East Germany. Today, a modern open air bath and Saxony's littlest zoo can be noted. Regularly, the local festival Schiebocker Tage and a Karl May festival are organized. Bischofswerda is twin town of: Moreover, a long-term partnership exists between organizations for
500-434: The maximum speed is 100 km/h. The westbound section between Köln-Merheim and Kreuz Köln-Ost is restricted to 80 km/h. The section between Refrath and the terminus at Krombach has no speed limit. Between Untereschbach and Refrath westbound the limit is 100 km/h weekdays. It is mostly 2 lanes each way, but between Untereschbach and Wiehl, several climbing lanes operate in both directions. The eastern part starts at
525-482: The missiles and their launchers was built just outside town. The missiles were withdrawn in 1988. The following table indicates Bischofwerda's population at different times: Among the most impressive buildings are the town hall and the Christuskirche . Both are examples of neo-classical architecture and were designed by Gottlob Friedrich Thormeyer . The town hall (Rathaus) was constructed in 1818, just off
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#1732800862656550-579: The town in the 18th century and Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often traveled that route. Like many late medieval towns, Bischofswerda suffered from periodic fires that damaged the town. Fires are recorded in 1429, 1469, 1528, 1583, 1596, 1641, 1671 and 1813. The last fire was the worst. During the War of the Sixth Coalition , Napoleonic forces had occupied Bischofswerda when
575-403: The town is 18 km west of Bautzen itself. Großdrebnitz is among its quarters. The river Wesenitz flows through the town. The first documentary evidence of the existence of Bischofswerda dates from 1227. Nominally the town was founded by the Bishops of Meissen , though it may have existed before that point. In 1288 city walls were constructed. The first mention of Bischofswerda as a city
600-497: The valley of the river Wiehl . The A4 near Gummersbach , North Rhine-Westphalia was the site of the then-most expensive traffic accident in German history: On 26 August 2004, a BMW M3 , whose driver had no driving license and was later found to be driving under the influence , collided with a truck carrying 33,000 litres of gasoline . The truck crashed through a guardrail, fell off the Wiehltalbrücke and exploded, killing
625-572: The west of it. In this core area, Upper Sorbian remains the predominant vernacular. The vowel inventory of Upper Sorbian is exactly the same as that of Lower Sorbian . Upper Sorbian has both final devoicing and regressive voicing assimilation , both word-internal and across word boundaries. In the latter context, /x/ is voiced to [ ɣ ] . Regressive voicing assimilation does not occur before sonorants and /h/ . The Lord's Prayer in Upper Sorbian: Article 1 of
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