Bischofswerda

Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Art = Stadt
image_photo =
Wappen = Wappen bischofswerda.pnglat_deg = 51 | lat_min = 7 | lat_sec = 39
lon_deg = 14 | lon_min = 10 | lon_sec = 47
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Sachsen
Regierungsbezirk = Dresden
Landkreis = Bautzen
Verwaltungsgemeinschaft = Bischofswerda
Höhe = 304
Fläche = 46.26
Einwohner = 12732
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 01877
Vorwahl = 03594
Kfz = BZ
Gemeindeschlüssel = 14 2 72 020
Adresse-Verband = Altmarkt 1
Website = [http://www.bischofswerda.de/ www.bischofswerda.de]
Bürgermeister = Andreas Erler

Bischofswerda (IPA2|ˌbɪʃɔfsˈveːɐ̯da; Sorbian: Biskupicy) is a small town in Germany at the western edge of Upper Lusatia in Saxony.

Geography

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. It is located in the district of Bautzen. The town is 18km west of Bautzen itself. The river Wesenitz flows through Bischofswerda.

History

The first documentary evidence of the existence of Bischofswerda dates from 1227. [Unfug, von Regina, Hantzsch; Stadtbilder aus Bischofswerda, Leiziger Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig, 1994] 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 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 the princes of Saxony. 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. [Bensing, et al; Lexicon Städte und Wappen der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, Leipzig, 1985.]

Like many late medieval towns, Biscofswerda 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. [Unfug, von Regina, Hantzsch; Stadtbilder aus Bischofswerda, Leiziger Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig, 1994.] On the 12th of May 1813 during the occupation of the town by Napoleonic French forces a fire broke out within the town walls, destroying most of the medieval town. However the town was rebuilt in a manner closely following the earlier layout, and this remains to this day. The town hall (Rathaus) was constructed soon after in 1818, just off the Altmarkt, the centre of the town.

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 the missiles and their launchers was built just outside of town. The missiles were withdrawn in 1988. [Soviet Missiles Withdrawn from East Germany, New York Times, February 26th 1988 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0DF113AF935A15751C0A96E948260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss]

The following table indicates Bischofwerda's population at different times:: Source from 2000: Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen (Saxony Office of Statistics)

Births

Bischofswerda was the birthplace of:
* Karl Friedrich Bahrdt (1741-1792), Theologian
* Walther Hesse (1846-1911), Microbiologist
* Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941), Writer

Notes

External links

* [http://www.bischofswerda.de/frame.htm Bischofswerda Official Website (German)]
* [http://www.statistik.sachsen.de/appsl1/servlet/GemeindeDaten?Daten=Gemeinde&Jahr=2001&Ags=14272020 Statistics of Bischofswerda, Germany (German)]