Greiz


Greiz is a town in Thuringia, and it is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia on the river White Elster.
As with other nearby settlements, the place name is of Slavic origin and means Gradec. It was first mentioned in 1209. The prime location of Greiz at the river White Elster and the stream Göltzsch made it a fast-growing town. It kept expanding during the last 1000 years. It has been recognized as town in the 13th century for the first time. Later the House of Reuss, a ruling German dynasty, built 2 castles in Greiz: the "Oberes Schloss" and the "Unteres Schloss". Both were built by famous architects and are still considered unique. Greiz became the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz.
Greiz has a large park in its center which is classified as an English garden. Thomasstraße, Burgstraße, Marktstraße, Waldstraße, and Leonhardtstraße with their Jugendstil houses are well known examples of that architectural style. In Prof.-Dr.-Friedrich-Schneider-Straße 4 there is one of the earliest examples of Art Deco architecture.
During World War II, Greiz did not suffer much damage, although 3 of the 5 bridges in town were destroyed. In 1941, Ulf Merbold was born there, who became in 1983 the first astronaut from the Federal Republic of Germany.
Greiz has a population of about 20,524 people. The former municipality Neumühle/Elster was merged into Greiz in December 2019.
In addition to a chemical works and a paper factory there are mechanical engineering operations, plastics manufacturing businesses, wood machining enterprises, medical technology, suppliers to the automobile industry, printing houses and breweries. In recent years various high tech businesses and environmental technology companies developed.
Adjacent towns include:
Greiz station is on the Gera Süd–Weischlitz railway.