Oberwiesenthal

Oberwiesenthal

Coat of arms
Oberwiesenthal

Coordinates: 50°25′9″N 12°58′15″E / 50.41917°N 12.97083°E / 50.41917; 12.97083Coordinates: 50°25′9″N 12°58′15″E / 50.41917°N 12.97083°E / 50.41917; 12.97083
Country Germany
State Saxony
District Erzgebirgskreis
Government
  Mayor Mirko Ernst
Area
  Total 39.98 km2 (15.44 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
  Total 2,194
  Density 55/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 09484
Dialling codes 037348
Vehicle registration ERZ
Website www.oberwiesenthal.de

Oberwiesenthal is a town and a ski resort in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony in Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the border with the Czech Republic, 19 km south of Annaberg-Buchholz, and 23 km northeast of Karlovy Vary. At 914 metres (2,999 ft), it is the highest town in Germany.[2] The Olympic and World Championships goldmedalist in ski jumping Jens Weißflog competed for SC Tractor Oberwiesenthal and Oberwiesenthaler SV.

Geography

Oberwiesenthal lies in the county of Erzgebirgskreis, on the border with the Czech Republic that follows the course of the Pöhlbach stream as far as Bärenstein (10 km northeast). The highest elevation in the borough is the Fichtelberg (sometimes called the Großer Fichtelberg or Great Fichtelberg) which, at 1,215 m above NN, is the highest mountain in Saxony.

Other important mountains in the region around Oberwiesenthal are the:

Climatic diagram for the Fichtelberg near Oberwiesenthal

Neighbouring municipalities

On the Czech side is the municipality of Loučná pod Klínovcem (Böhmisch Wiesenthal) and, further west, is Boží Dar (Gottesgab). Adjacent municipalities in Germany are Bärenstein, Crottendorf, Sehmatal, Breitenbrunn/Erzgeb. and Raschau-Markersbach.

Subdivisions

View of Oberwiesenthal and the Fichtelberg from the opposite side of the border (the cemetery at Háj)
Winter's view from the Great Fichtelberg
An Oberwiesenthal candle arch or Schwibbogen

History

The "new town in the Wiesen valley" ("Neustadt am Wiesenthal") was founded in 1527 by the lords of Schönburg as a mining town because, one year earlier, silver ore had been found in the region. By 1530 the new settlement had been granted town rights and, in 1559, its ownership passed to the House of Wettin.

Mining operations finally wound up in the 19th century and tourism increasingly took its place during the 20th. However, after the Second World War, there were attempts by the Russians to mine uranium for the nuclear arms race in the Zechengrund, today a nature reserve. Traces of their activity are still visible. On 1 September 1921 Oberwiesenthal was merged with the town of Unterwiesenthal further down the valley,[3] which had first been mentioned in the records in 1406 and had town rights by 1510.

Historical Population

Year Population
1559 95 villeins (besessene Mann)
1748 190 villeins
1834 1278
1871 1980
1890 1967
1910 1729
Year Population
1925 2425
1939 2446
1946 2946
1950 4603
1964 2553
1971 2611
Year Population
1990 1621
1998 3381
1999 3273
2000 3163
2001 3069
2002 3015
Year Population
2003 2925
2004 2828
2005 2735
2006 2675
2007 2592
2009 2501

Data source to 1990: Oberwiesenthal in the Digital Historic Index of Places in Saxony (Digitalen Historischen Ortsverzeichnis von Sachsen)
Data source from 1998: Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen

Politics

Town hall (Rathaus)

Town council

The town council of Oberwiesenthal consists of 14 councillors and the directly elected mayor or Bürgermeister, who presides over the council. The local elections of 7 June 2009, which had a voter participlation of 62.5%, the following result:

Party FDP CDU BfW Die Alternative Die Linke Total
Seats 5 5 2 2 0 14
Stimmenanteil 35.1% 33.4% 13.5% 12.6% 5.4%

Mayor

Heinz-Michael Kirsten (CDU) was elected mayor (Bürgermeister) in January 2002. By February 2002 the Annaberg district office (Landratsamt Annaberg) had declared this result void due to unpermitted election advertising. This resulted in a five-year legal battle by all sides that ended with a decision in 2007 by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, that confirmed the decision in February 2007 by the administrative appeals tribunal (Oberverwaltungsgericht) of Bautzen as legal. Heinz-Michael Kirsten was then sent on leave by the regional authority (Regierungspräsidium). On 4 November 2007 a new election took place in which no party achieved an absolute majority. In the second round of elections on 18 November the independent (now FDP) candidate, Mirko Ernst, was elected mayor.

Twinnings

Culture and sights

Museum

Electorate of Saxony postal milepost on the market square

Structures

Sport

Notable people

The Fichtelberg ski jumps

References

  1. "Aktuelle Einwohnerzahlen nach Gemeinden 2015] (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)" (PDF). Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen (in German). July 2016.
  2. Official web site (in German)
  3. Das Sachsenbuch, Kommunal-Verlag Sachsen KG, Dresden, 1943, page 241
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