Amerika, Saxony

Amerika (IPA2|aˈmeːʁika) is a village in the German Free State of Saxony and a district of the city of Penig.

As a small village of 120 residents, it is known merely for its name, the German word for America, which was given to it in the 19th century. In 1836, a spinning factory was built at a pond. The workers were not allowed to use the official road to get there, hence they had to cross the pond using boats. As "going over the pond" at those times was chiefly understood as emigrating to America, the factory was named "Amerika" by the workers. The name became official when in 1876 (incidentally, the centennial of the United States of America) the village's railway station was named "Amerika".

References

* [http://penig.de/default.asp?beitraege_id=439 History of Amerika from the website of the city of Penig] "(in German)"
* Jana Kaulich, Dieter Richter: "Über Amerika ins Tal der Burgen – Das Tal der Zwickauer Mulde um Penig." Bildverlag Böttger, 1994, ISBN 3-9806125-3-8 (in German)

ee also

America, Netherlands