Wikipedia

Altenburg

This article is about the city in Thuringia, Germany. For other uses, seeAltenburg (disambiguation).
Not to be confused withOldenburg (disambiguation)orAltenberg, Saxony.

Altenburg(listenⓘ) is a city inThuringia,Germany,located 40 kilometres (25 miles) south ofLeipzig,90 kilometres (56 miles) west ofDresdenand 100 kilometres (62 miles) east ofErfurt.It is the capital of theAltenburger Landdistrict and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betweenGera,ZwickauandChemnitzwith more than 1 million inhabitants, while the city itself has a population of 33,000. Today, the city and its ruralcountyis part of theCentral German Metropolitan Region.

Altenburg
City
Coat of arms of Altenburg
Coat of arms
Location of Altenburg within Altenburger Land district
AltenburgDobitschenFockendorfGerstenbergGöhrenGöllnitzGöpfersdorfGößnitzHaselbachHeukewaldeHeyersdorfJonaswaldeKriebitzschLangenleuba-NiederhainLöbichauLödlaLuckaMehnaMeuselwitzMonstabNobitzPonitzPostersteinRositzNobitzSchmöllnStarkenbergThonhausenTrebenVollmershainWindischleubaThuringiaGreiz (district)Saxony-AnhaltSaxony
Altenburg is located in Germany
Altenburg
Altenburg
Altenburg is located in Thuringia
Altenburg
Altenburg
Coordinates:50°59′6″N12°26′0″E/ 50.98500°N 12.43333°E/50.98500; 12.43333
CountryGermany
StateThuringia
DistrictAltenburger Land
Subdivisions4
Government
•Lord mayor(2024–30)André Neumann[1](CDU)
Area
• Total45.6 km2(17.6 sq mi)
Elevation
202 m (663 ft)
Population
(2022-12-31)[2]
• Total31,315
• Density690/km2(1,800/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+02:00(CEST)
Postal codes
04600
Dialling codes03447
Vehicle registrationABG, SLN
Websitealtenburg.eu

Altenburg was first mentioned in 976 and later became one of the first German cities within former Slavic area, east of theSaaleriver (as part of the medievalOstsiedlungmovement). The emperorFrederick Barbarossavisited Altenburg several times between 1165 and 1188, hence the town is named aBarbarossa towntoday. Since the 17th century, Altenburg was the residence of differentErnestineduchies, of whom theSaxe-Altenburgpersisted until the end of monarchy in Germany in 1918. Industrialization reached Altenburg and the region quite early in the first half of the 19th century and flourished until theGreat Depressionaround 1930. Economic malaise set in while Altenburg was inEast Germanyand continued after German reunification in 1990, evidenced by a decline in population, high unemployment and house vacancy rates.

The main sights of Altenburg are the castle, theLindenau-Museum,the historic city center (most buildings are from early-modern origin) and theGründerzeitarchitecture around the center. The popular German card gameSkatwas developed in Altenburg during the 1810s and the founder of the famousBrockhaus Enzyklopädie,Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus,lived and worked in Altenburg between 1810 and 1817.

Altenburg lies in the flat and fertile landscape ofOsterlandon thePleißeriver in the very east of Thuringia, next to the neighboring federal state ofSaxony.

History

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Altenburg about the year 1650
Castle of Altenburg
The Nikolai quarter is one of the oldest parts of Altenburg

Middle Ages

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The town (civitas Altenburg) was first mentioned in a deed to theBishop of Zeitzin 976. Remains of aSlaviccastle on the Schloßberg ( "Castle Hill" ) demonstrate that the town was probably a Slavic foundation, the capital of the shire of Plisni, taken over during the conquest ofMeissenbyHenry I.As shown by placenames, the surrounding area (Osterland) was mainly settled bySlavs.

The town's location on theimperial road'Via Imperii' betweenHalleandChebinBohemiagave Altenburg economic importance in the salt trade.

The first castle, located under the present day church St. Bartholomäi, was destroyed after theBattle of HohenmölsenbetweenHenry IVandRudolph of Swabia.It was rebuilt on the Schloßberg outside of the town. The 11th centuryMantelturmtower is still preserved. The castle later became an imperialpalatinateand played an important part in the German takeover and settlement of the area between theHarz-mountains and theElbe.

In the middle of the 12th century, theHohenstaufenemperors patronized Altenburg as one of theirKaiserpfalzes,allowing the town to become a market and a mint. Together with the Royal forests Leina, Pahna, Kammerforst and Luckauer Forst, lands of theGroitzschfamily bought byFrederick Barbarossa,Altenburg,Colditz,ZwickauandChemnitzwere turned into theTerra Plisnensis.Altenburg and Chemnitz as Imperial towns were intended to reduce the importance of Leipzig held by the Margrave of Meissen. Under Frederick Barbarossa much building took place, especially in the market area, and the town grew rapidly. Aprioryofcanons regularwas founded and theparish churchwas finished in 1172. The twin towers of the 12th century Augustinian monastery (Rote Spitzen) are still preserved. A town wall with 5 gates was constructed at the end of the 12th century. Altenburg got its charter around 1200, in 1256 the Wettins confirmed it again. The law structure was transposed fromGoslarmunicipal law.

During theInterregnum,the Terra Plisnensis was impounded, but bought back byRudolph I of Germany,who desired the crown of Thuringia. Together with Zwickau and Chemnitz, Altenburg was part of the anti-Meissen Pleiße-city Union of 1290. After theBattle of Luckain 1307 againstFrederick the Braveof Meissen and his brother Diezmann, KingAlbert Ilost Altenburg and the Pleiße-lands to theWettinmargraves of Meissen, who held the city until 1918.

In 1455, Altenburg saw the division (Altenburger Teilung) of the Meissen lands between ElectorFrederick II(the Gentle) and Duke William that led, after a failed attempt at reconciliation (Hallescher Machtspruch) to a war (1446–1451) between the two brothers (Bruderkrieg). In thesecond divisionof theWettinlands betweenErnestandAlbertat Leipzig in 1485, Altenburg fell to Ernest, together with the Electorate (Kurland),Grimma,the Mutschener Pflege,Leisnig,Thuringia and theVogtland.From this time on, Altenburg was historically connected with Thuringia and its dynasty, the Ernestine Wettins.

Early modern period

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TheReformationwas introduced in Altenburg quite early, in 1522, byGeorge Spalatin,Wenzeslaus Linck andGabriel Zwilling.During theGerman Peasants' Warof 1525, the Altenburg Augustinian monastery was attacked. In the summer, four peasant rebels were executed at the marketplace. After theSchmalkaldic Warbrought defeat for the Ernestines, Altenburg belonged to the Albertines for short time (1547–1554) before coming back to the Ernestines after the Naumburg Treaty.

From 1603 to 1672, Altenburg was the residence of an Ernestine line, after that, it fell toSaxe-Gotha-Altenburg.TheThirty Years' Warbrought heavy damage to the city and more than half of the population died.

From 1705 onwards, the Magdalenenstift was a Protestant boarding school for young noble ladies.[3]

During theNapoleonic warsit was a scene of a brief Alliedraidby the Saxon GeneralJohann von Thielmann.

Since 1815

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Market square in 1839

When the Ernestine lands were re-divided in 1826, Altenburg became the capital ofSaxe-Altenburg,successor state to the dissolvedSaxe-Hildburghausen.Around 1830, the city walls and gates were knocked down and the old suburbia in front of the former wall were incorporated. Industrialization began around this time and the economy and population both saw rapid growth, strengthened by the connection to the railway in 1842 (as Thuringia's first connected city). TheRevolution of 1848led to the abdication of the conservative dukeJoseph,who was replaced by his more liberal brotherGeorge.The last duke abdicated during theRevolution of 1918on 13 November 1918 after being promised 12 million Marks and the ownership of numerous castles. The free-state of Saxe-Altenburg was merged with Thuringia in 1920.

Altenburg was a working-class city during theWeimar Republic,ruled bySPDandKPD,which led to heavy conflicts between left- and right-wing forces after 1933. The Jewish community was destroyed during theKristallnachtin 1938, many Jews emigrated or were killed in the concentration camps. Furthermore, communists and invalids from Altenburg were murdered. DuringWorld War II,several subcamps of theBuchenwald concentration campwere located here. They provided 13,000forced labourersforHASAG,the third largest German company to use concentration camp labour.[4]The US Army reached Altenburg on 15 April 1945 and was replaced by the Soviet Army on 1 July 1945.

In 1952, Thuringia was dissolved and replaced byadministrative divisions of East Germany (Bezirks).Altenburg became part of theLeipzig administrative district,in which it was the second largest city. After reunification, previously extant states were re-established in the former east Germany as federal states in the reunified Germany. Although a majority of 54% in the district voted forSaxonyin a plebiscite, the district council decided to join Thuringia together with theSchmöllndistrict, partly because a vast majority of 80% in the neighboring Schmölln district had voted for Thuringia. These districts had formed the eastern part of Saxe-Altenburg until 1920 and were reunified as the modern-dayAltenburger Landdistrict in 1994.

Geography and demographics

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Topography

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"Großer Teich", bridge to island with the Zoological Gardens

Altenburg is located on the southern edge of theLeipzig Bay,a flat and fertile area, with intensive agricultural use andlignitesurface mining 10 km (6 mi) north of the town. The nearest mountains are theOre Mountainsapproximately 50 km (31 mi) to the south-east. ThePleißevalley runs east of the city, whereas the center itself is located atBlaue Flut(blue flood) river, a small tributary of Pleiße river. The Blaue Flut feeds theGroßer Teich(big pond), an inner-city pond with an island in the middle, on which the Altenburg zoo is located. There is relatively little forest within the town's municipal territory: the smallStadtwald(town wood) andHerzog-Ernst-Wald(Duke Ernest wood) south of the center and theFasanerieholz(Pheasantry wood) at Ehrenberg district. The elevation of the city center is 200 m, to the north it declines down to 162 m and in the south next to Mockzig district it rises up to 261 m.

District map

Administrative division

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Altenburg is bounded byWindischleuba,Nobitz,Altkirchen,Göhren,Lödla,Rositz,Meuselwitz,TrebenandGerstenberg.

Because of the quite densely settlement of the region, many small villages and ancient former suburbs are situated within the municipal territory, which is officially divided into 4 districts:

  • Altenburg (including the villages Drescha, Kauerndorf, Poschwitz, Rasephas, Steinwitz and Zschernitzsch)
  • Ehrenberg, incorporated in 1993 (with Greipzig, Lehnitzsch, Mockzig, Modelwitz, Paditz, Stünzhain, Zschaiga and Zschechwitz)
  • Kosma, incorporated in 1996 (with Altendorf and Kürbitz)
  • Zetzscha, incorporated in 1994 (with Knau, Oberzetzscha, Rautenberg and Unterzetzscha)

For a detailed view of Altenburg's administrative division, see thelist in German Wikipedia.

Demographics

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Evolution of population between 1831 and 2011

Altenburg has been a relatively big town (compared to others in the wider region) down the centuries, because of its importance as aKaiserpfalzand later as a ducal residence. During the Middle Ages, it had a population of 3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants, rising to 6,000 around 1700, 10,000 around 1800 and 20,000 around 1870, making it Thuringia's second-largest city afterErfurtfor a short time in the mid-19th century. The population grew further to 40,000 in 1910, 44,000 in 1940 and peaked at about 56,000 around 1980 before starting to decline. In 1988, before reunification, Altenburg had 53,000 inhabitants, shrinking to 41,000 by 2000 and 33,000 in 2012. With a decline of nearly 40% since 1988, Altenburg is among the most rapidly declining urban areas in Germany.

The average decrease of population between 2009 and 2012 was approximately 1.27% p.a., whereas the population in bordering rural regions is shrinking with accelerating tendency. Suburbanization played only a small role in Altenburg. It occurred after the reunification for a short time in the 1990s, but most of the suburban areas were situated within the administrative city borders, others areWindischleubaandNobitz.During the 1990s and the 2000s, many inhabitants left Altenburg to search a better life in western Germany or other major east German cities likeLeipzig,DresdenorJena.The birth deficit, caused by the high average age of the population, is becoming a bigger problem because there is no immigration to compensate it. Despite urban planning activities to tear down unused flats, vacancy is still a problem with rates around 16% (according to 2011 EU census), which is the largest amount among Thuringia's major towns. A positive side effect for the inhabitants is that Altenburg has one of the lowest rent levels in Germany.

The birth deficit was 282 in 2012, this is -8.5 per 1,000 inhabitants (Thuringian average: -4.5; national average: -2.4). The net migration rate was -1.7 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2012 (Thuringian average: -0.8; national average: +4.6).[5]The most important target regions of Altenburg migrants are the large cities around like Leipzig, Dresden, Halle, Jena and Erfurt, as well as the western German conurbations.

Like most other small to middling eastern German towns, Altenburg has only a small amount of foreign population: circa 1.7% are non-Germans by citizenship and overall 1.6% are migrants (according to2011 EU census). Differing from the national average, the biggest groups of migrants in Altenburg areRussiansandVietnamese people.During recent years, the economic situation of the city has improved a bit: the unemployment rate in the district declined from 24% in 2005 to 10% in 2013 with little bit higher rates in the city than in the other municipalities of the Altenburger Land district. Nevertheless, this is still one of the highest rates in Thuringia.

Partly due to official atheism in formerGDR,most of the population is non-religious. 12.1% are members of theEvangelical Church in Central Germanyand 2.5% are Catholics (according to 2011 EU census).

1831 – 1950 1951 – 2000 2001 – 2017
  • 1831 – 12,629
  • 1880 – 26,241
  • 1885 – 29,110
  • 1890 – 31,439
  • 1900 – 37,110
  • 1925 – 42,570
  • 1933 – 43,736
  • 1939 – 45,851
  • 1946 – 51,805[* 1]
  • 1950 – 49,413[* 2]
  • 1955 – 48.281
  • 1960 – 46,791
  • 1981 – 55,827
  • 1984 – 54,755
  • 1994 – 46,291
  • 1995 – 45,472
  • 1996 – 44,854
  • 1997 – 44,060
  • 1998 – 43,032
  • 1999 – 42,005
  • 2000 – 41,290
  • 2001 – 40,559
  • 2002 – 39,810
  • 2003 – 39,189
  • 2004 – 38,417
  • 2013 – 32,992
  • 2014 – 32,819
  • 2015 – 32,910
  • 2016 – 32,788
  • 2017 – 32,374
Source (since 1994): Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik
  1. ^29 October
  2. ^31 August

Culture, sights and cityscape

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Culture

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Altenburg is nicknamedplaying cards town.The game ofskatis said to have originated here, based on the Bavariantarock.Because of the influence EmperorFrederick Barbarossahad on the town, it is nicknamed a "Barbarossa town".

Museums

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There are some museums in Altenburg:

  • TheSchloss- und Spielkartenmuseum(castle and playing card museum) inside the castle hosts an exhibition about Altenburg as a ducal residence, and a historical playing cards collection.
  • TheLindenau-Museum(established in 1876) showsBernhard von Lindenau's art collection includingItalianpaintings of the 13th–15th centuries, a collection of classical antiquities and cast and modern art.
  • TheMauritianum(opened in 1908) is Altenburg's museum of natural history with the largest well-known mummifiedrat king,which was found in 1828 in a miller's fireplace at Buchheim.
  • TheBrauereimuseuminside the Altenburger brewery shows an exhibition about beer and its history with a local focus.
  • Schloss- und Spielkartenmuseum inside the castle
  • Lindenau-Museum
  • Mauritianum
  • Altenburg brewery

Old town

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Some Gründerzeit architecture at Wallstraße

The town center of Altenburg within the former wall has a planned grid of 12th/13th century origin, whereas the two old settlement cores were located aroundBrühlin the north-east and around St. Nicholas' Church in the south-west. The area around the castle and southward on the eastern bank of Blaue Flut river has also been urban since the Middle Ages, nevertheless, it was located outside the city walls.

During the 19th and early 20th century, Altenburg saw a construction boom and the town enlarged to all directions, particularly north and east towards the new railway station (opened in 1878). Its time as a state capital until 1918 led to many interesting public and private buildings inGründerzeitstyle, same as in other historist styles. Later, the town lost some of its importance and became a simple district capital in Thuringia. World War II left Altenburg unscathed, so all historic buildings are preserved. Nevertheless, the buildings' maintenance was neglected during theEast Germanperiod, instead, some bigPlattenbausettlements were set up on the northern and south-eastern periphery of Altenburg.

After reunification, most of the main sights and historic buildings were refurbished. On the other hand, the city lost much of its population which led to a very high vacancy rate, especially in the old inner-city buildings, which today endangers the historic city structure because of many vacant old private houses.

Sights and architectural heritage

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Churches

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  • St. Bartholomew's Church, built between 1428 and 1443 in Gothic style at Burgstraße, is Altenburg's main evangelical parish church.
  • The Fraternity Church at Marktplatz is another evangelical parish church, founded as aFranciscansmonastery during the 12th century. It was abandoned after the Reformation in 1529 and reused as evangelical church. Today's building was established in 1905 in Neo-Gothic style.
  • St. Nicholas' Church at Nikolaikirchhof was the first church of Altenburg, mentioned in 1140. It was demolished during the 16th century, only the steeple remains.
  • St. George's Chapel is the castle's church, built in picturesque Gothic style during the mid-15th century.
  • St. Mary's Monastery (Augustinians) is a former monastery on a hill east of the center. It was founded during the 12th century and abandoned in 1543. Only the two Romanesque towers and some walls remain, being the city's landmark called "Rote Spitzen" (red spires).
  • The Duchess Agnes Memorial Church at Hausweg is an evangelical church, built between 1903 and 1906 in historist style.
  • The Cemetery Church at Hospitalplatz was built between 1639 and 1651 in Renaissance style.
  • St. Bartholomew's Church
  • Fraternity Church
  • St. Nicholas' Steeple
  • St. George's Chapel at the castle
  • Rote Spitzen
  • Duchess Agnes Memorial Church
  • Cemetery Church

Ducal buildings

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  • Altenburg Castle is the big ducal residence on a hill above the city center. It was in use first as fortification and later as residence since the 9th century until the end of monarchy in Germany in 1918. Today's castle is of 17th and 18th century origin and was built in Renaissance, later in Baroque style. The chapel is of older origin (see above). The castle is the scene of the famousPrinzenraub,related byCarlylein his "Miscellanies".
  • Further buildings within the castle complex are theJunkereiin the north, built in the 16th century, theFlasche,an old castle tower from the 11th century, theHausmannturm,built in the 12th century as the castle's keep as well as thePrinzenpalaisand theHofmarschallamtin the south, built after a fire in 1868.
  • Next to the castle lies theSchlosspark(castle park) with some more ducal buildings: the BaroqueTeehaus(tea house) (1712), the BaroqueOrangerie(1712) and the historistMarstall(1851).
  • TheAmtshauswas built between 1725 and 1728 in Baroque style at Burgstraße and is now used as district court.
  • TheKanzleiwas the seat of some ducal authorities, built in 1476 at Brühl.
  • TheNeues Ministeriumat Lindenaustraße was built in 1895 in Classicist style and is now the seat of the district government.
  • The formerLandgerichtat Pauritzer Platz was built in 1859 in Neo-Renaissance style and hosts the social court now.
  • TheLandesbank(federal state bank) at Burgstraße was built in 1865 in Neo-Renaissance style. Currently, it is vacant.
  • The DucalMausoleumin Altenburg Cemetery (burial site of several Dukes and Duchesses), now in ruins (those buried there removed to other parts of the cemetery in 1974).
  • Altenburg Castle
  • Junkerei andFlaschetower
  • Orangerie
  • Amtshaus
  • Neues Ministerium
  • Former Landesgericht
  • Former Landesbank

Other sights

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  • The town hall is one of the most importantRenaissancebuildings in Germany. It was built between 1562 and 1564 by the architectNikolaus Gromann.
  • TheLandestheateris the theater of Altenburg, built in Neo-Baroque style in 1871.
  • The city wall remained in the north behind Johannisstraße and in the south at Langengasse. Two towers are preserved at Langengasse and Kunstgasse.
  • ThePalaisSeckendorffat Brühl is a Baroque style nobility palace, built in 1724.
  • TheWasserkunstat Kunstgasse is an old waterwork, built in 1844 in Classicist style.
  • ThePohlhofat Pohlhofgasse is a small Renaissance palace.
  • The Freemasons' Lodge at Johannisgraben was built in 1804 in Classicist style.
  • Town hall
  • Theater
  • Tower at the city wall
  • Palais Seckendorff
  • Wasserkunst
  • Pohlhof
  • Freemasons' Lodge

Economy and infrastructure

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Agriculture, industry and services

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Gumpert Apollo

Agriculture plays an important role in the region, because theLoesssoil around the city is very fertile. 69% of the municipal territory is in agricultural use, both for cultivation and cattle farming. A famous product of the region isAltenburger Ziegenkäse,a soft cheese of goat milk with somecarawayseed inside with protectedGeographical indication.Another typical dish of Altenburg isMutzbraten,a flame-grilled pork speciality. Altenburg is also known for its mustard, which is produced by Altenburger Senf und Feinkost. Altenburger beer also enjoys some popularity.

The industry of Altenburg was based on the production of textiles and hardware during the 19th and 20th century, but most of the companies did not survive the transition to capitalism after German reunification. Altenburg was especially known for its sewing machine production from companies like L. O. Dietrich (machines Vesta, Saxonia, Löwe, Minerva, Juno), Hermann Köhler AG (machines Köhler, Diva, Clementine, Hermann, Dora, Orion, Globus), Textima Wittenberge (Columba, Altin), Gustav Winselmann GmbH (Titan, Vera, Bera, Hera, Heraldus, Omnia, Marvel, Noris, Regia, Saxony, the Wellington).

Today, the main branches are food industries (with a factory ofVion NVamongst others) and engineering with car component production in focus. TheGumpert Sportwagenmanufakturproduced theGumpert Apollosupercar between 2005 and its bankruptcy in 2013. Altenburg is also noted for produced playing cards. The Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik (playing card factory) was founded in 1831; today it is a subsidiary company ofCartamundiand market leader in Germany. In 2012, there were 19 companies with more than 20 workers in industrial sector, employing 1,400 people and generating an overall turnover of €451 million.[6]

Altenburg is a regional service hub for retail, hospitals, government, culture etc. Tourism doesn't play a big role, although the city hosts many historic sights and is a local center of culture with theater and museums. In 2012, 37,000 hotel guests had 87,000 overnight stays in Altenburg.[7]

Transport

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Altenburg station

Altenburg was the first city in Thuringia with connection to the railway, established in 1842 with theLeipzig–Hof line.Initially,Altenburg stationwas a terminus station, which became impractical as traffic grew, so a new through station was built in 1878 in the north-east of the city. In addition to the connections toLeipzig(1842) andHof/Zwickau(1844), some more lines were established toGlauchau(1858, viaGößnitz), toGera(1865, via Gößnitz), toZeitz(1872, abandoned in 2002) and toNarsdorf(1901, abandoned in 1998). Today, the Altenburg station is the only station within the municipality, after the Paditz station (on the Hof line) and the North Altenburg station (on the Zeitz line) were closed. There are some regional trains toLeipzig,ZwickauandErfurt(viaGeraandJena) today.Glauchaucan be reached by changing trains in the nearGößnitzstation. With the rollout of theLeipzig City Tunnelin December 2013, the services on the Leipzig–Hof/Zwickau line were reorganized and integrated in theS-Bahn Mitteldeutschlandwith connections to Leipzig twice an hour. The connection to long-distance trains is carried out via Leipzig (north and east), Jena (south) and Erfurt (west), since the last long-distance trains on the Leipzig–Hof line ceased operating in 2006.

Altenburg is situated between twoAutobahns:theA4(Erfurt–Dresden) passes approximately 20 km (12 mi) south and theA72(Leipzig–Chemnitz) passes approximately 20 km (12 mi) east of the city. Regional traffic is carried by the threenational roadsnin Altenburg. TheB7is the connection toGera(and A4 in Erfurt direction) in the south-west and toRochlitzin the north-east, theB93runs toBorna(and A72 in Leipzig direction) in the north and toZwickauin the south and theB180links Altenburg withZeitzin the west andHohenstein-Ernstthal(and A72/A4 in Chemnitz and Dresden direction via secondary road 1357) in the south-east. An important secondary road connects Altenburg with Gera north to the B7 viaLumpzig.The B7 and B93 bypass the town center on a ring road to absorb the transit traffic between Leipzig and Zwickau.

Leipzig-Altenburg Airport

TheLeipzig-Altenburg Airport,a formerSovietmilitary airport, is situated 5 km (3 mi) east of the city and was used byRyanairfor flights toLondon Stansted,Barcelona-GironaandEdinburghuntil 2011. Currently, there are no public flights at this airport. The next regional airport is located inLeipzig/Halle(60 km (37 mi) to the north).

Biking is becoming more popular since the construction of long-distance cycle tracks began in the 1990s. Both thePleiße track,along thePleißevalley fromWerdaunear Zwickau toLeipzig,and theThuringian city track (Radweg Thüringer Städtekette)fromEisenachviaErfurt,Weimar,JenaandGerato Altenburg, connect points of tourist interest.

Local public transport within Altenburg is based exclusively on buses. Six lines connect the outlying quarters to the inner city. Furthermore, there are some regional bus services to the villages in the district. The Altenburg Tramway was in operation from 1895 until 1920.

Education

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There are threeGymnasiumsin Altenburg: two state-owned and one Christian (ecumenical).

Politics

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Mayor and city council

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The first freely elected mayor after German reunification wasJohannes Ungvariof theChristian Democratic Union(CDU), who served from 1990 to 2000. He was succeeded byMichael Wolfof theSocial Democratic Party(SPD), who served until 2018. Since 2018,André Neumannof the CDU has been mayor. The most recent mayoral election was held on 15 April 2018, and the results were as follows:

Candidate Party Votes %
André Neumann Christian Democratic Union 7,614 55.6
Frank Schütze Independent 3,296 24.0
Katharina Schenk Social Democratic Party 2,795 20.4
Valid votes 13,705 98.7
Invalid votes 177 1.3
Total 13,882 100.0
Electorate/voter turnout 27,725 50.1
Source:Wahlen in Thüringen

The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows:

Party Lead candidate Votes % +/- Seats +/-
Christian Democratic Union(CDU) André Neumann 11,510 30.4 5.0 11 2
Pro Alternburg Peter Müller 9,326 24.7 6.4 9 3
City Forum Altenburg[a] Johannes Schaefer 5,227 13.8 New 5 New
The Left(Die Linke) Kati Klaubert 5,187 13.7 8.3 5 3
Social Democratic Party(SPD) Nikolaus Dorsch 4,356 11.5 13.3 4 5
Free Democratic Party(FDP) Detlef Zschiegner 1,274 3.4 1.7 1 ±0
Alliance 90/The Greens(Grüne)[b] Claudia Große 942 2.5 New 1 New
Valid votes 12,718 95.7
Invalid votes 566 4.3
Total 13,284 100.0 36 ±0
Electorate/voter turnout 27,296 48.7 7.0
Source:Wahlen in Thüringen

Twin towns – sister cities

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See also:List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Altenburg istwinnedwith:[8]

Notable people

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Walther Flemming
Hermann Schlegel 1842

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^The Greens and City Forum Alternburg ran on a combined list in 2014, which won 7.7% and 3 seats.
  2. ^The Greens and City Forum Alternburg ran on a combined list in 2014, which won 7.7% and 3 seats.

References

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  1. ^Gewählte Bürgermeister - aktuelle Landesübersicht,Freistaat Thüringen. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  2. ^"Bevölkerung der Gemeinden, erfüllenden Gemeinden und Verwaltungsgemeinschaften in Thüringen Gebietsstand: 31.12.2022"(in German).Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik.June 2023.
  3. ^James C. Albisetti:Schooling German Girls and Women
  4. ^Edward Victor,Alphabetical List of Camps, Subcamps and Other Camps.Archived2010-12-16 at theWayback Machine
  5. ^According toThüringer Landesamt für Statistik
  6. ^According to Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik
  7. ^According to Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik
  8. ^"Partnerstädte von Altenburg".altenburg.eu(in German). Altenburg.Retrieved2021-05-10.
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