Gohlis

Gohlis
StadtteilofLeipzig
Gohlis Palace
Flag
Location of Gohlis
Gohlis Gohlis
Coordinates:51°21′40″N12°22′0″E
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Urban district
City	Leipzig
Area
• Total	16.86 km2(6.51 sq mi)
Population (2020)
• Total	45,924
• Density	2,700/km2(7,100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00(CEST)
Postal codes	04157, 04155
Dialling codes	0341

Gohlisis an area in the north of the city ofLeipzig,Germany. Once a village and knightly estate (Rittergut), it became in 1838 a rural community (Landgemeinde). It urbanised during theGründerzeitperiod of the 19th century and was incorporated into the city of Leipzig in 1890. Gohlis is now divided into three districts (Gohlis-Süd, Gohlis-Mitte and Gohlis-Nord), all of which belong to the northern district of Leipzig. Dominated by residential buildings from the late-19th and first half of the 20th century, Gohlis has a population of more than 45,000 inhabitants (2020).

It is well known as the place whereFriedrich Schillerwrote the first version of hisOde to Joyin 1785.

Geography

The original settlement was located on the north-eastern edge of thefloodplainofWhite ElsterandLuppe,north of the confluence ofNördliche RietzschkeandParthe,and south of the oldSchkeuditzer Landstraße(road from Leipzig toSchkeuditz;today'sGeorg-Schumann-Straße). The originallinear villagestretched about 600 metres along the bent village road. Today's urban area is much more extensive, stretching 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi) north-south and 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) west-east, covering an area of 5.32 square kilometres (2.05 sq mi). It borders on the city core of Leipzig to the south-east,Eutritzschto the east,Möckernto the west andWiederitzschto the north.

History

Village

The village was probably founded bySlavicSorbsin the seventh century. Early forms of the name wereGolitz,GolizorGolis.The old Sorbian rootgolmeantbare, barrenand is possibly a description of the unforested immediate hinterland of the village. The ending-its/-itzis typical for Slavic villages.

In the course of the German expansion to the east,Flemishsettlers established themselves in the region. The first documented mention is in the year 1317, in which the village grant of land to the Cistercian monastery of St. George is mentioned.

The rulers of Gohlis were theMargraves of MeissenorLandsberg,and later theElectors of Saxonyfrom theErnestine branchof theHouse of Wettin(1423–1485), then theAlbertineDukes, Electors andKings of Saxony.Within the Saxon state, the village Gohlis belonged to the district of Leipzig.

The village Gohlis belonged to theseigneury(lordship) of the manor Gohlis, by which it was subject to patrimonial law. In 1659, Michael Heinrich Horn (1623–1681), a professor of medicine and chemistry at theLeipzig University,acquired the manor and the seigneury of Gohlis. Law professor Lüder Mencke (1658–1726) acquired the manor in 1720 and modernised the local law. Christiana Regina Hetzer (1724–1780) and her second husband, the Leipzig merchant and alderman Johann Caspar Richter (1708–1770), built a summer residence inrococostyle in 1755/1756. The so-calledGohliser Schlösschen( "little palace of Gohlis" ) is nowadays used as restaurant and for cultural events. After Richter's death, Christiana Regina remarried, making her third husband, the historianJohann Gottlob Böhme(1717–1780) lord of the manor.

"Schillerhaus", where Friedrich Schiller lived in Gohlis

The next owner was Christiana Regina's brother, Johann Hieronymus Hetzer (1723–1788). He was a patron of the arts, making Gohlis known as a "Court of the Muses". At the invitation of Hetzer and his friendChristian Gottfried Körner,poet and playwrightFriedrich Schillerspent the summer of 1785 in Gohlis. He worked on the second act of his playDon Carlos,edited theFiescoand wrote the first version of theOde to Joy.The farmhouse in which Schiller lived is the oldest house standing in Gohlis. It was built in 1700 and has hardly changed since the 18th Century. In 1841, the Leipzig Schiller Society erected a memorial site which is now the "Schillerhaus" museum.

In 1793, the city of Leipzig became the owner of the manor and acquired the underlying seigneury. Even after the city sold the manor to theHouse of Alvenslebenin 1832, it continued to exercise the local jurisdiction. Under Saxony's 1838 Municipal Code, Gohlis was made a separate rural municipality with the right of local self-governance, ending the late-feudal system of manorialism. At that time, Gohlis comprised 54 houses and 578 inhabitants. During theIndustrial Revolution,Gohlis was connected to theMagdeburg–Leipzig railwayin 1840.

Bleichert cableway factory (1910)

During the following decades, the village experienced a rapid population growth. In 1871, it counted 5015 inhabitants, effectively becoming a suburb of the booming city of Leipzig. A new school was built in 1860–61. In 1870 Gohlis became a separate Lutheran parish, theneo-GothicPeace Church was consecrated in 1873. In the same year, Gohlis was connected to theLeipzig tram network(then horse-drawn, electrified after 1896).Adolf Bleichertmoved hiscablewayfactory to Gohlis in 1881, becoming one of the largest and most well-known industrial plants of this place. TheRoyal Saxon Armydeveloped an extensive barracks area between northern Gohlis and the neighbouring village Möckern.

Part of Leipzig

One of the 1900s urban villas

Gohlis, like several other suburbanised villages around Leipzig, was incorporated into the city in 1890. At that time, Gohlis already counted 19,312 inhabitants. After the 1898 local plan, the built-up area was extended massively to the north, beyond the railway line that had been the settlement's northern border so far. Residential neighbourhoods were developed in the following years, mostlyblocksof four-storeymulti-family residentials,but also areas with upscale detached houses in ornamentalhistoriciststyles orJugendstil(Art nouveau).

The next step of residential development was theBauhaus-styleKrochsiedlung(named after German-Jewish banker Hans Kroch) built in the far-north of Gohlis in 1929/30. Planned as asatellite cityfor 15,000 people, only a quarter of the project was completed before being halted by the ramifications of theGreat Depressionand finally abandoned after theNazi seizure of power.The modernist Church of Reconciliation, intended as the centre of that satellite city, was consecrated in 1932. One year later, Gohlis counted 54,581 inhabitants. Instead of Bauhaus-style apartment blocks, housing development was resumed in the 1930s with more conventional single-family and duplex houses. During the Allied airstrikes of 1943-45, Gohlis suffered some damages, but was less affected than other parts of the city.

Under the communist rule in East Germany, residential development was complemented by 1960s blocks ofhousing cooperativesand a minorPlattenbauestate built at the northern end of Gohlis in the 1980s. Most of the old building stock deteriorated. After theGerman reunificationin 1990, almost all industrial plants closed down. Since then, Gohlis is dominated by residential use, small-scale services and retail. A few commercial centres were built during the 1990s. At the same time, most of the old buildings were renovated, making Gohlis again one of the most coveted residential areas of Leipzig. In the 2010s, it experienced another building boom byurban consolidation.From 32,500 inhabitants in 2000, the population rose to more than 45,000 in 2020.

External links

Media related toGohlisat Wikimedia Commons