Delitzsch
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Delitzsch is a city in Saxony, near Leipzig.
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History
The town was founded around 1200 AD (according to chronicles) and received the status of 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 (1618-1648), the Swedes. From this final encounter with the Swedes a legend arises 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 (medieval style) to celebrate this victory over the Swedes and, during the fair, shopping centers are open on Sundays.
In World War II (1939 - 1945), only one building was burned and that was the station.
According to a 1996 survey, Delitzsch had more than 27,000 inhabitants. But many young people leave the region because of the high unemployment rate in the "Neue Bundesländer" (New Federal States). They go to the western parts of Germany to seek better employment and educational opportunities.
Industry
During the years that the German Democratic Republic was in existence, many regions were industrialized for coal mining to get electricity; as was the case in Delitzsch. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the new government of Saxony decided to restructure the region around Delitzsch into a recreational center, called "Tagebaurestloch Goitzsche" (mining resort Goitzsch - origin for Goitzsche unknown). In the 1990s Delitzsch had a sugar factory of the Südzucker company, Europe's largest sugar producer. It also had a railway plant for the Deutsche Bahn, which will be closed in 2006 following heavy debate with the CEO of the company, Hartmut Mehdorn, about its future. The biggest employer in town is a chocolate factory of the Vanetten company which produces chocolate Santa Clauses, jelly bananas, chocolate Easter rabbits, and other sweets. The private sector is the largest employer of the city - insurance, banks, etc. Delitzsch also has a hospital which is the largest in the county. Most of the citizens, though, are commuters who work in Leipzig.
Interesting facts
- At the time of German reunification, Delitzsch had many blocks of flats; the mayor, Heinz Binieck, and the city council decided to demolish some to create green spaces.
- Delitzsch comes from the Slavic name "Delc" which means "town on a hill"
- City partnership (twinned) with:
Famous Delitzschers
- Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (bioscientist who co-discovered the use of bacteria in medicine)
- Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch (founder of the cooperative system)
Sights
Delitzsch has many sights to offer, including a castle, a medieval inner city, and a historic town wall which was rebuilt in the 1990s. In the castle there is also the marriage council.
Sports
After the GDR period, Delitzsch began a sports raffle because sport was no longer financed by the government, and many sports clubs had to close. But there are still five major sports clubs in Delitzsch:
- ESV (Eisenbahner Sportverein) - the town's first and older soccer team - soccer
- PSV (Polizeisportverein) - the town's second soccer team
- DTC (Delitzscher Tennisclub) - most of the town's wealthy people play there - tennis
- Delitzscher Sportfüchse - Judo
- Concordia Delitzsch - handball club in the 1st handball league of Germany - handball
There are also other sports clubs which seek to cater to everyone.
Education
Because Delitzsch lost many citizens to west Germany, many schools were torn down because there were not enough students to teach. In 2003 the Mittelschule Delitzsch Nord merged with the Mittelschule Delitzsch West, and the Oscar-Reime-Gymnasium (grammar school) merged with the Ehrenberg-Gymnasium. Delitzsch currently has three middle schools: Mittelschule Delitzsch-Nord and Arthur-Becker-Mittelschule, and the Comenius-Mittelschule which will close in 2006. It has one grammar school: Ehrenberg-Gymnasium. There are also elementary schools: Rosenweg and others. The Grundschule Delitzsch-West (elementary school) was closed in 1999.
But Delitzsch has the most modern vocational grammar school in Saxony, the "Berufsschulzentrum Hermann-Schulze-Delitzsch". The school is in cooperation with Apple Germany, a computer manufacturer. The school has a good sporting complex for track and field, basketball, and other sports.