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36-558: Weißwasser is the third largest town in the Görlitz district after Görlitz and Zittau . The town's landmark is its water tower . The town is part of the recognized Sorbian settlement area in Saxony. Upper Sorbian has an official status next to German, all villages bear names in both languages. Weißwasser was mentioned for the first time on 8 June 1552, when it was part of the Lands of

72-748: A district, but take on district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities . These are known as "urban districts" (German: kreisfreie Städte or Stadtkreise )—cities which constitute a district in their own right—and there are 106 of them, bringing the total number of districts to 400. As of 2016 , approximately 26 million people live in these 107 urban districts. In North Rhine-Westphalia , there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, these being Recklinghausen , Gütersloh , Siegen , Paderborn , Bergisch Gladbach , Neuss and Moers . Nevertheless, these cities take over many district responsibilities themselves, although they are still part of

108-697: A fusion of a district-free town with its adjacent rural district: besides the Regionalverband Saarbrücken ( Saarbrücken regional association ), from 1974 until 2007 called "Stadtverband Saarbrücken" ( Saarbrücken town association ), there is the Hanover Region since 2001 and the Städteregion Aachen ( Aachen region of towns ) since 2009. Aachen, Hanover and Göttingen retain certain rights of an urban district ( Kreisfreie Stadt ); Saarbrücken has not explicitly determined

144-468: A high percentage of unemployment . Consequently, many have left the area in the hope of finding a new job elsewhere in a reunited Germany. In September 2005, Weißwasser hosted the " Tag der Sachsen ." The event was a success with more than 300,000 visitors, which left some believing that the town could reinvent itself as a tourist attraction. There are bilingual street signs in German and Upper Sorbian in

180-693: A large number of Protestant refugees from Bohemia came to Zittau, where the Protestant Saxon rulers took them in. Many of them went on to find refuge in surrounding villages, in Dresden, and in Berlin in Brandenburg. Primarily as a result of the near-complete destruction of the city during the Seven Years' War , Zittau's then prosperity is reflected today in only a few exceptional buildings and

216-423: A larger rural district. Midsize towns can perform particular administrative functions of the district as well, especially to provide common services to the local citizens. The classification as "midsize" town is usually based on a town's registered population, but varies from state to state. A special type of rural districts includes the three Kommunalverbände besonderer Art ( Municipal unions of special kind ),

252-604: A mayor, in most greater cities usually by the Lord Mayor . Rural districts in some German states have an additional administrative committee called Kreisausschuss . This committee is generally led by the Landrat and includes a number of additional voluntary members. It takes over certain administrative functions for the district, following decisions of the district council. However, the exact role and regulations of this panel vary greatly between different states. The city where

288-612: A number of river bridges remain closed as international crossing-points between Germany and Poland even though both countries are in the Schengen Area. Zittau is twinned with: Districts of Germany In 13 German states , the primary administrative subdivision higher than a Gemeinde (municipality) is the Landkreis or Kreis . Most major cities in Germany are not part of any Kreis , but instead combine

324-498: A similar provision in its legislation. According to common federal and state laws, the districts are responsible for the following tasks: Districts can perform additional functions, based on varying local laws in each region: All these tasks are carried out by local (municipal) authorities operating together. Urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities. The district council (German: Kreistag , pronounced [ˈkʁaɪ̯sˌtaːk] )

360-578: Is 883 mm. All twelve months are humid. The climate classification according to Köppen and Geiger is Cfb. The history of the city dates back to a 12th-century Slavic settlement. The area belonged to the Czech (Bohemian) Duchy (and later Kingdom ) from the 11th century. It was first mentioned under the Latinized name Sitavia in 1238. It was granted town rights in 1255 by King Ottokar II of Bohemia , who also built defensive walls. In 1319 it passed to

396-419: Is an officer known as Landrat or Landrätin , who is responsible for the district's day-to-day administration and acts as its representative for official purposes. In parts of northern Germany, Landrat is also the name of the entire district administration, which in southern Germany is known as Kreisverwaltung or Landratsamt . In urban districts similar administrative functions are performed by

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432-786: Is located in Upper Lusatia , the southern part of Lusatia , on the Mandau and Lusatian Neisse rivers, in the foreland of the Zittau Mountains . The city has a population of around 25,000 and is located directly on the western edge of the Turów Coal Mine , one of the largest artificial holes visible from space , on the other side of the Lusatian Neisse. The inner city of Zittau still shows its original beauty with many houses from several architectural periods:

468-717: Is located in the southeast of the city. Further south is a tripoint of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic , and the incorporated village of Hartau lies where the Lusatian Neisse forms the German/Czech border for a short distance. Zittau lies in the Zittau Basin, just north of the Zittau Mountains (part of the Sudetes ). The climate is cool temperate with cool winters and warm summers with an average annual temperature of 8.6 °C. The annual precipitation total

504-513: Is located on the Zittau–Löbau railway which was originally opened in 1848, making it one of the oldest railways in Germany . The Zittau–Kurort Oybin/Kurort Jonsdorf railway with all together four stations within Zittau's limits is a heritage narrow-gauge railway taking passengers from Zittau to the mountain spa resort towns of Oybin and Jonsdorf in the Zittau Mountains . It is operated by

540-481: Is the highest institution of a rural district and is responsible for all fundamental guidelines of regional self-administration. This council is elected directly every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years. Usually the administrative seat of a rural district is located in one of its largest towns. However, district council and administrative seat of some rural districts are not situated within

576-763: The North German Confederation Treaty the Kingdom of Saxony entered the North German Confederation in 1866. This continued after the founding of the German Empire on 18 January 1871. Following this Saxony participated in Reichstag elections from February 1867. Zittau returned a series of Reichstag Deputies until 1919 when the existing constituencies were scrapped. There are roughly 3,500 students studying at

612-719: The Piast -ruled Duchy of Jawor of then-fragmented Poland, and after the death of Duke Henry I of Jawor in 1346, it became part of the Czech (Bohemian) Crown again. The city's coat of arms still shows a Czech Lion and a Silesian Piast Eagle . In 1346 the city became one of the members of the Six-City League of Upper Lusatia . At that time the city was granted a special title—it was called "Die Reiche" ("the Rich") because of its high proportion of well-to-do citizens. In 1359 and 1422 it suffered great fires. In 1469, together with

648-683: The Saxon-Upper Lusatian Railway Company . Zittau is located close to the point where the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland meet and there are several international border crossings in the vicinity. Permanent immigration and customs controls were, however, removed on 21 December 2007, when all three countries became part of the Schengen Area . Zittau is the only city along the Oder–Neisse line where

684-544: The VIII Corps of Prince Józef Poniatowski . During World War II , a Nazi prison and a labour camp was located in the city. The camp provided forced labour for Phänomen Werke Gustav Hiller, a truck-manufacturing company (which became VEB Kraftfahrzeugwerk Phänomen after the war, renamed VEB Robur -Werke Zittau in 1957). The local council has 26 members, the results of the elections in August 2014 are: Following

720-938: The Bohemian Crown in the Holy Roman Empire . The town's name means "white water". In 1635 it passed to the Electorate of Saxony , and following the Napoleonic Wars , in 1815 it fell to the Kingdom of Prussia and was included within the Province of Silesia . In the 19th and 20th centuries, Weißwasser was the European centre of glass production. It became part of the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia in 1919. Weißwasser received its town charter on 28 August 1935. During World War II ,

756-636: The Liberec–Zittau line to Liberec , the Zittau–Löbau line to Dresden via Oderwitz and to Löbau via Herrnhut , and the Zittau–Kurort Oybin narrow gauge railway line to Oybin and Jonsdorf in the Zittau Mountains . The Großes Zittauer Fastentuch (Great Zittau Lenten Cloth) is, along with the Bayeux Tapestry , one of the most impressive textile works in Western tradition. It is

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792-609: The Lusatian League, the city recognized Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus as rightful ruler, thus passing to Hungary , and after his death in 1490 the city returned to the Bohemian Crown, then under the rule of Polish prince Vladislaus II . It remained part of it until 1635 when it passed to the Electorate of Saxony . During the Counter-Reformation , especially following the Battle of White Mountain in 1620,

828-762: The Nazis established and operated the FAL Weisswasser subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp , whose prisoners were mainly Jewish women. In the Second World War, 40% of the town was destroyed. With the dissolution of Prussia resulting from the war, the town became part of Saxony from 1945–52. It was then part of communist East Germany from 1952–90 and administered within Bezirk Cottbus . Many enterprises had to close during

864-481: The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and at the independent International Graduate School, Germany's smallest university; it caters to students from nearby Poland and the Czech Republic. The city lacks connections to good infrastructure in Germany, but a direct link is planned to the nearest motorway between Bautzen and Görlitz . The town is relatively well-connected to Liberec and

900-509: The cemeteries where the well-to-do were buried. One of the most important trading goods of this early age in the 16th century was beer. Later in the 18th and 19th century textiles became important too, a tradition common in the region of Upper Lusatia . In 1813, two Polish military units were established in the city, that is the 1st Horse Artillery Company of the Jan Henryk Dąbrowski Division and 2nd Horse Artillery Company of

936-418: The city. Development of the population figure since 31 December 1960 Source from 1998 on: Statistics office Saxony A new city council was elected on the 13 June 2004. Out of 18,653 eligible voters, 29.36% participated in the vote. The results were as following: The local ice hockey club Dynamo Weißwasser , known presently as Lausitzer Füchse and also known as "The Foxes", was the most successful club in

972-471: The communist regime. After the fall of the Berlin Wall , only a few enterprises were left. It was included within a restored Saxony after German reunification . Weißwasser now struggles with the after-effects of German reunification, as the fall of the Berlin Wall has had a devastating effect on the local economy. Many people have since lost their jobs and the town's population continues to suffers from

1008-412: The district proper, but in an adjacent district-free city. Most of those rural districts are named after this central city as well (e.g. Bamberg and Karlsruhe ). Moers is the biggest city in Germany (and at present time the only one with more than 100,000 inhabitants) that is neither an urban district, nor the district seat of its rural district. The highest administrative position of a rural district

1044-462: The famous town hall built in an Italian style, the church of St John and the stables ( Salzhaus ) with its medieval heritage. This multi-storied building is one of the oldest of its kind in Germany. Zittau is the birthplace of the German composer Heinrich Marschner . Zittau station is an important railway junction, where four railway lines meet: the Zittau–Hagenwerder line to Görlitz ,

1080-473: The functions of a municipality and a Kreis ; such a city is referred to as a kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis . (Land-)Kreise stand at an intermediate level of administration between each state ( Länder ) and the municipalities ( Gemeinden ) within it. These correspond to level-3 administrative units in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 3). Previously,

1116-492: The ice hockey Premier League of former East Germany , winning 25 championships. Zittau Zittau ( Upper Sorbian : Žitawa [ˈʒitawa] ; Lower Sorbian : Žytawa [ˈʒɨtawa] ; Polish : Żytawa ; Czech : Žitava ; Upper Lusatian dialect : Sitte ) is the southeasternmost city in the German state of Saxony , and belongs to the district of Görlitz , Germany's easternmost district . Zittau

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1152-423: The office of the district's administration is located is called Kreisstadt ("district city"), or Kreishauptort ("district main community") if it is not a city. Often the district is named after its district city. Linguistically, any city within a district could be called a "Kreisstadt", especially those that aren't district-free to distinguish them from district-free cities. This term has to be distinguished from

1188-515: The rest of the Czech Republic through dual-carriageway 35 just south of the town. Zittau railway station is located north of the town's centre. Passenger services are operated by three railway companies. The first being Vogtlandbahn , which provides a services from Dresden to Zittau and then directly through to Liberec in the Czech Republic. The second is Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn (ODEG), which links Zittau to Görlitz , with connections to Poland, and Cottbus , where connections to Berlin exist. Zittau

1224-526: The similar title Imperial Circle ( Reichskreis ) referred to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire . The related term Landeskommissariat was used for similar administrative divisions in some German territories until the 19th century. The majority of German districts are "rural districts" (German: Landkreise , pronounced [ˈlantˌkʁaɪ̯zə] ), of which there are 294 as of 2017 . Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (and smaller towns in some states) do not usually belong to

1260-622: The third-largest existing Lenten veil . It was made in Zittau in 1472 and is now exhibited in the secularized Kirche zum Heiligen Kreuz , that belongs to the Zittau Municipal Museums, where it is kept in the largest museum display case in the world. Zittau sits on the Mandau River, while the Lusatian Neisse , which forms the border with Poland , touches the city in the east. The confluence of both rivers

1296-402: The town. The coat of arms was allotted on 31 January 1927. The two green glasses symbolise the glass industry of the town, which was one of the largest in former East Germany. The tools are a reference to coal mining, which is carried out close to the city. Blue and yellow are the traditional colours of Upper Lusatia and the white waves in the bottom part of the coat of arms symbolise the name of

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