Bad Elster

Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Art = Stadt
image_photo = Bad Elster Kurhaus 1900.jpg
Wappen = Wappen Bad Elster.svg
lat_deg = 50 |lat_min = 16 |lat_sec = 55
lon_deg = 12 |lon_min = 14 |lon_sec = 5
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Sachsen
Regierungsbezirk = Chemnitz
Landkreis = Vogtlandkreis
Höhe = 546
Fläche = 23.42
Einwohner = 4032
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 08645
Vorwahl = 037437
Kfz = V
Gemeindeschlüssel = 14 1 78 050
Straße = Kirchplatz 1
Website = [http://www.badelster.de www.badelster.de]
Bürgermeister = Christoph Flämig

Bad Elster (IPA2|ˌbaːt ˈɛlstɐ) is a spa town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It lies on the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic in the Elster gebirge hills. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, and is protected from extremes of temperature by the surrounding wooded hills. It is 25 km southeast of Plauen, and 25 km northwest of Cheb. The B 92 runs close by.

It is part the "Freunde im Herzen Europas" microregion.

History

Elster before 1900

Two kilometers north west of the town centre lies the remains of a twelfth century walled village, known today as the "Alte Schloss" or "Old Castle". This was first documented in 1324.

1412 a manor was sold to the von Zedtwitz family, who held it until 1800.

1533 the Reformation reaches Adorf and its daughter church in Elster, and the first Protestant pastor was installed in 1540.

The healing properties of the waters from the spring now known as the Moritzquelle were recognised well before, Georg Leisner, physician to the Duke Moritz von Sachsen-Zeitz, wrote in 1669 that inhabitants of both Adorf and Elster come to the spring to take the waters, and he had successfully used them on many different patients.

One famous visitor was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who came in 1795. He mentions the spring at Elster in his work Hermann and Dorothea.

(Bad) Elster in the 19th and 20th century

Elster became an independent parish in 1851. In 1892 the old St. Peter und Paul church was demolished and replaced with the Revival Gothic, St. Trinitatiskirche.

Elster was promoted to be the "Königlich-Sächsischen Staatsbad", official royal spa of Saxony in 1848. With that the visitor numbers rose: 1848: 129; 1850: 378, 1860: 1.750, 1870: 2450, 1890: 5870, 1900: 8900, 1990: 15.600.

Elster prepended the "Bad" meaning "spa" in 1875, "Bad" Elster became its official name in 1935. In 1880, "Bademuseum Bad Elster" opened, it was the first museum in the town and in Vogtland, it was short lived. A new museum opened in 1993.

Geography and Traffic

Places

Places within Bad Elster include Sohl and Mühlhausen.

Demography

Growth of Population "(ab 1964 31. December)":

Business

The main industries are tourism and health. There are seven clinics specialising in recuperation. In 2005 there were 35 establishments offering accommodation with 2400 beds, and receiving 540,000 bednights.

The town lies near the B 92. There are two open border crossings into the Czech Republic; open for pedestrians and bicycles but not cars, though post Schengen even the barrier has been removed. The station is 2.5km from the town centre at Mühlhausen on the Plauen Eger line where there is a two hourly service.

Politics

Town Council

For the term 2004-09 there is no overall control, the independents being the largest group. The Mayor is an independent.
* Freie Wähler (independents): 6 members (including the Mayor)
* CDU: 3 members
* Linkspartei (the left): 1 members
* PDS list: 1 members
* FDP: 2 members
* SPD: 1 members

Coat of Arms

Field gold (or), with a naturalistic Magpie standing on three green hills (vert). From centre hill, a spring (argent) with water flowing to pool (argent).

Attractions

The most important buildings in Bad Elster are from the last quarter of the 19th century.
* Das "Königliche Kurhaus" is an important example of turn of the 20th century neo classicism, demonstrating the importance of Spa building to the state.
* "Albert Bad" was built in the Jugenstil.
* The "König Albert Theater", formerly called the Kurtheater, opened in 1914 and has been recently modernised. Alexander Prinz von Sachsen is the theatres patron. It is also an important conference venue for Saxony and the Euroregion.
* The "NaturTheater" lies in a woodland setting. It is the oldest open-air theatre in Saxony. In 2007 it was adapted to meet modern standards and reopened, offering a six month season of Opera, theatre, concerts and cinema.
* The 1892 Lutheran church "St.-Trinitatis-Kirche" was built in the revival gothic style. It contains artifacts from the previous building such as the gothic statues of St Peter and Paul from ca. 1490.
* The former luxury hotel building, the "Wettiner Hof" is listed for protection; it awaits renovation.
* There are also smaller monuments such as the "Postmeilensäule" (1724) and the "Schillerdenkmal".

Partner Town

* Bad Waldsee, from 1990

External links

* [http://www.badelster.de/ Bad Elster town's homepage]
* [http://www.badelster-info.de/ Information around Bad Elster]
* [http://www.saechsische-staatsbaeder.de Sächsische Staats Spas: Bad Elster Bad Brambach]
* [http://wiki.genealogy.net/wiki/Bad_Elster GenWiki-Artikel on Bad Elster]
* [http://www.statistik.sachsen.de/Index/21gemstat/unterseite21.htm Statistical Information from 1999]