Großenhain

Großenhain
Town hall
Coat of arms
Großenhain
Location of Großenhain within Meißen district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Meißen
Government
• Mayor	Burkhard Müller (CDU)
Area
• Total	96.79 km2 (37.37 sq mi)
Population (2014-12-31)
• Total	18,347
• Density	190/km2 (490/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	01558; 01561
Dialling codes	03522
Vehicle registration	MEI; GRH; RG; RIE
Website	www.grossenhain.de

Großenhain (also written as Grossenhain) is a Große Kreisstadt (German for major district town) in the district of Meißen, Saxony, Germany.

History

Großenhain was originally a Sorb settlement. It was first mentioned in 1205. It was for a time occupied by the Bohemians, by whom it was strongly fortified. It afterwards came into the possession of the margraves of Meißen, from whom it was taken in 1312 by the margraves of Brandenburg. In the middle-ages, Großenhain was one of the most powerful towns in Saxony. It suffered considerably in all the great German wars, and in 1744 was nearly destroyed by fire. On May 16, 1813, a battle took place here between the French and the Russians.

Geography

Großenhain is located on the river Röder, 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Dresden, and 17 km (11 mi) east of Riesa. It is also situated on Via Regia from Görlitz to Santiago de Compostela.

Localities

Naundorf Folbern Rostig

Zschieschen Mülbitz Kleinraschütz Großraschütz

Skassa Weßnitz Zschauitz.

Infrastructure

There are two train stations in Großenhain. As Großenhain Berliner Bahnhof is out of service since 2002, only Großenhain Cottbusser Bahnhof is served by trains from Dresden to Elsterwerda, Cottbus and Hoyerswerda.

Großenhain is accessible by car via Bundesstraße 98 and Bundesstraße 101.

Famous people

• Martin Blochwich (1602-1629): German physician, born here
• Karl Benjamin Preusker (1786–1871): Founder of the first public library in Germany (1828)
• Manfred von Richthofen (1892–1918): German fighter pilot known as The Red Baron, was trained as observer at the local airport
• Corinna Harfouch (born 1954): German actress, passed her childhood here
• Heino (born 1938): German schlager artist, passed his childhood here

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: 

External links

• Homepage of Großenhain