Delitzsch is a town in the Free State of Saxony in Germany. With 24,850 inhabitants at the end of 2015, it is the largest town in the district of Nordsachsen. Archaeological evidence outside the town limits points to a settlement dating from the Neolithic Age. The first documented mention of Delitzsch dates from 1166 and it later became the elector's residence in the 17th and 18th centuries. The old town is well preserved, with several plazas, citizens' and patrician houses, towers, a baroque castle and the town's fortifications. Delitzsch and its surrounding area contain water areas, hiking and cycling networks and nature reserves.
Geography
Location
Delitzsch is located in the northwestern part of Nordsachsen in Saxony, at an altitude of 94 meters above sea level. Due to its location on the border with Saxony-Anhalt, Delitzsch is the northernmost town in Saxony. It is situated on the north heath and recreation area Goitzsche which extends across the Saxony-Saxony-Anhalt border to Bitterfeld-Wolfen. To the east is the spa town of Bad Düben, which is the starting point for the Düben Heath. The total size of the urban area is. The north-south extension is and the east-west extension. The border communities are Löbnitz, Schönwölkau, Rackwitz and Neukyhna clockwise called from the north of town. The graphic below shows the main towns and cities around Delitzsch and their distance from downtown Delitzsch. They are located in the districts Nordsachsen, Anhalt-Bitterfeld or in the cities of Leipzig and Halle on the Saale.
Districts
Name of the District
Area in km2
Population at September 2011
Density inhabitants/km2
Delitzsch with Gertitz, Kertitz and Werben
38.04
20,974
551
Beerendorf
2.38
585
246
Benndorf
3.62
382
106
Brodau
3.16
314
99
Döbernitz
1.17
833
712
Laue
5.22
203
39
Poßdorf
7.78
66
8
Rödgen
4.12
224
54
Schenkenberg
2.43
832
342
Selben
3.33
664
199
Spröda
6,42
287
45
Storkwitz
3.59
150
42
Zschepen
2.31
407
176
Overall
83.57
25,921
310
History
Delitzsch was founded as a town around 1200 AD and became recognized as a city in 1300 AD. Both before and after its founding, the city fought off many invaders: first the Slavic tribes who had lived there before the city was founded and then, later, in the Thirty Years' War, the Swedes. A legend arose from this final encounter with the Swedes, saying that when the Swedes reached the river Lober, the tower warden's daughter spied them and blew a trumpet, allowing the citizens of the town to get to safety and prepare, and as a result the invaders were defeated. Every year there is a historical fair to celebrate this victory over the Swedes and, during the fair, shopping centers are open on Sundays. As a result of the Congress of Vienna in, Delitzsch was granted to Prussia from the Kingdom of Saxony. A district of Delitzsch was established for administrative purposes. In World War II, only one building, the station, was burned, minimal damage in comparison with many other German urban centers. According to a 1996 census, Delitzsch had more than 27,000 inhabitants.
¹ Merging districts Source: Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen
Politics
Town council
The town council consists of the lord mayor and the number prescribed by the local order of 30 town councillors. Every five years, the town council is chosen anew; the next election is in 2014. The constituting meeting of the new-elective advice always takes place in the conference hall of the city hall. The current makeup has been in place since the last local election, and is constituted as follows:
Party
percentage of votes 2009
seats
percentage of votes 2004
seats
CDU
34.9 percent
11
43,2 percent
14
SPD
20.5 percent
7
19,0 percent
6
FWG
14.6 percent
4
9,2 percent
2
FDP
4.6 percent
1
4,7 percent
1
The Left
18.9 percent
6
23,9 percent
7
NPD
3.8 percent
1
-
-
Mayor
Arno Erhardt: 1945
Richard Hampe: 1945-1950
Paul Heinze: 1951-1952
Walter Lange: 1952-1956
Rudolf Kunath: 1956-1959
Otto Paul: 1960-1973
Hans-Joachim Kumrow: 1973-1977
Wolfgang Neubert: 1977-1979
Karl Lubienski: 1979-1990
Heinz Bieniek: 1990-2008
Historian Manfred Wilde won the mayoral election in 2008 with 60.2 percent of the votes cast.
Coat of Arms
The emblem of the town Delitzsch combines two different arms, the house of Wettin or tribal emblem and the County of the Mark Meissen. It shows two upright poles blue that are in a golden box, and this split in three parts. In the middle of the main shield of the emblem can be seen in an inclined position as a means to shield Meissen black lion on a golden shield. The middle blade is tilted forward, and so the lion appears as upright as possible, or borders. He has two tail tuft, with their division begins in the middle of the tail, which should point to the Mark Meissen County. As an accessory, the coat of arms a fluttering ribbon bearing the inscription: "Secretum civium in delitzsch".
Twinning
Traffic
Road
To the west of the town the national roads B183a and B184 intersect.
Rail transport
Delitzsch has an "upper station" with two platforms and a "lower station" with three tracks. Both stations are in the tariff zone 165 of the regional public transport network. Since December 2008 the two stations have been served Mitteldeutsche Regionalbahn in addition to Deutsche Bahn, services to and from Delitzsch oberer Bahnhof have been taken over by Abellio in 2015. The upper station is served by regional trains hourly on weekdays, two-hourly on weekends. The lower station is served by S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland and by regional trains between Leipzig and Magdeburg. Long-distance services can be reached by changing in Leipzig or Halle.
The trains of the MRB take the following route:
*Eilenburg - Delitzsch oberer Bahnhof - Halle Hauptbahnhof
The DB trains run on the following lines:
*Eilenburg - Delitzsch oberer Bahnhof - Halle Hauptbahnhof
*Leipzig Hauptbahnhof - Delitzsch unterer Bahnhof - Bitterfeld - Dessau
*Leipzig Hauptbahnhof - Delitzsch unterer Bahnhof - Bitterfeld - Wittenberg
The trains of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland take the route:
*Gaschwitz - Leipzig-Connewitz - Leipzig City Tunnel - Delitzsch unterer Bahnhof - Bitterfeld
Air traffic
is located southwest of Delitzsch.
Local businesses
The most important industries in Delitzsch included the sugar and confectionery industry. Currently, the Delitzscher Chocolate Factory, the EuroMaint Rail GmbH, URSA Insulation and the Smurfit Kappa Corrugated board plant are the major industrial employers. Most of these big companies are located in the industrial area on the south-west side. Due to the EU production quotas for sugar, the sugar factory was shut down in 2001. Lignite mining was discontinued in the early 1990s, the remaining mines are planned to be a system of lakes and heathland in an arc from the southwest to the north.
Sights
Baroque castle with Lustgarten, formerly temporary residence and administrative centre, later dower of the Dukes of Saxony-Merseburg, built on the foundations of a medieval moated castle
kennel gardens, terraced green space created between the city wall and moat
fortifications dating back to the 14th and 15th century with two towers, defensive wall, and water-filled moat
Stadtschreiberhaus, former home and workplace of the town clerk, now a gallery
city park with water basin
zoological gardens
Sports
Among the many sports clubs in North Saxony district town, among other things, the annual sporting events like the LVZ Bicycle Ride, Delitzsch moves or the old town race. More than 13 sports clubs are based in the region of Delitzsch. Some of the clubs:
1. SV Concordia Delitzsch
NHV Concordia Delitzsch 2010 e.V.
GSVE Delitzsch 1995 e.V.
Delitzscher Sportfüchse 1995 e.V.
1.FC Delitzsch 2010 e.V.
RV Germania Delitzsch 1891 e.V.
Korean Tigers 1989 e.V.
Delitzscher tennis club 1921 e.V.
Badminton club Delitzsch
Dive club Delitzsch 1958 e.v.
Education
The first school was built around 1426 as a boys school and was expanded in the 16th century to cater for girls. Today more than 3,500 students learn in ten public and three private schools. These include three primary schools, two Mittelschulen, one grammar school, two colleges and two special schools. The School of Music, the Adult high school and the acting school are private schools.
Lucas Brandis and his brothers, Moritz, Mark, and Matthew Brandis, important early book printers
Erasmus Schmidt, mathematician and philologist.
Christian Saalbach, professor and poet, born in the district Schenkenberg
Ernst Friedrich Pfotenhauer, jurist
Carl August Ehrenberg, botanist and plant collector
Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch, founder of the German cooperative system and politician, was born in the house market 11. In 1848 as Prussian delegate he added the city name to his to be better distinguished from other delegates by this name.
