Bad Muskau
| Bad Muskau | ||
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Muskau Castle | ||
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  Bad Muskau | ||
Location of Bad Muskau within Görlitz district 
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| Coordinates: 51°33′0″N 14°43′0″E / 51.55000°N 14.71667°ECoordinates: 51°33′0″N 14°43′0″E / 51.55000°N 14.71667°E | ||
| Country | Germany | |
| State | Saxony | |
| District | Görlitz | |
| Municipal assoc. | Bad Muskau | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Andreas Bänder (CDU) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 15.35 km2 (5.93 sq mi) | |
| Population (2015-12-31)[1] | ||
| • Total | 3,646 | |
| • Density | 240/km2 (620/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
| Postal codes | 02953 | |
| Dialling codes | 035771 | |
| Vehicle registration | GR | |
| Website | www.badmuskau.de | |
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Bad Muskau (German pronunciation: [ˌbaːt ˈmʊskaʊ]; formerly Muskau, Upper Sorbian: Mužakow, Polish: Mużaków) is a spa town in the historic Upper Lusatia region in Germany at the border with Poland. It is part of the Görlitz district in the State of Saxony.
It is located on the Lusatian Neisse, which since 1945 has formed the German-Polish border, directly opposite the town of Łęknica (formerly Lugknitz). The municipality comprises the western half of the famous Muskau Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History
Muskau was founded in the 13th century and was first mentioned in 1249. The state country (Standesherrschaft) of Muskau was the largest of the Holy Roman Empire. It belonged to the Margraviate of Upper Lusatia, a Bohemian crown land which by the 1635 Peace of Prague passed to the Saxon Electorate, elevated to the Kingdom of Saxony in 1806. Part of Upper Lusatia was annexed by Prussia according to the 1815 Congress of Vienna and was administered as part of the Province of Silesia.
Up to the beginning of the 19th century Muskau's direct rulers were the Counts of Callenberg, succeeded up to 1845 by Count (later Prince) Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, later on by Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Karl von Oranien-Nassau, and after him by the Counts von Arnim, right up to their flight in April 1945. After World War II it was divided along the Neisse River between East Germany and the Republic of Poland. About two thirds of the park came under Polish administration.
In 1962 Muskau was renamed "Bad Muskau" after a therapeutic bath (spa) was built there.
Twin towns
People
- Nathaniel Gottfried Leske (1751–1786), natural scientist and geologist
- Leopold Schefer (1784–1862), writer and composer
- Hermann von Pückler-Muskau (1785–1871), famous landscape gardener and writer, founder of the Park von Muskau
- Gustav Fechner (1801–1887), experimental psychologist
- Eduard Petzold (1815–1891), landscape gardener
- Alwin Schultz (1838-1909), art and cultural historian
- Paul Kraske (1851–1930), surgeon
- Bruno von Mudra (1851-1931), General of Infantry and freeman of Muskau
- Werner Richter (1888-1969), writer
- Karl Peglau (1927-2009), traffic psychologist, inventor of the East German Ampelmännchen for traffic lights
- Olaf Zinke (1966), skater, Olympic gold medalist
In Bad Muskau was up to the nineties the hospital of district Weißwasser. In connection with the Hockey sport, a number of professional hockey players was born in Bad Muskau:
- Ronny Arendt (born 1980)
- Frank Hördler (born 1985)
- Ivonne Schröder (born 1988)
- Elia Ostwald (born 1988)
- Toni Ritter (born 1990)
References
External links
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Bad Muskau. |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bad Muskau. |
