Plauen

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Plauen is a city in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany, located at . The city is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic. Not to be confused with, also in Saxony, Plauen a former town, now city-district of Dresden.

Slogan: Plauen - echt Spitze

History

The city was founded by Slavs in the 12th century and was passed to Bohemia in 1327 and to Saxony in 1466. The population is 69,160 (Sep 2005). In the late 19th century, Plauen became a textile manufacturing center, specializing in lace. Around 1910 Plauen, as a kind of industrial 'boomtown', reached its population peak (1910 census: 121,000 inhabitants). (1912: 128,000 - the top level).

In the 1930s Plauen earned the dubious distinction of hosting the first chapter of the Nazi Party outside of Bavaria.

From 1945 on, it belonged to the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, from 1949 to 1990 to the German Democratic Republic. During that time it hosted a big Soviet Army occupation garrison and in the last years of the East German state the officer school of the border guards ("Grenztruppen der DDR"). Plauen's population shrunk dramatically since WW-2 (1939: 111,000 inhabitants!). The exposé Fast Food Nation gives special mention to Plauen as the first city in East Germany following the collapse of the Berlin Wall to have a McDonald's restaurant.

The upcoming district reform of July 1 2008 will see the town of Plauen lose its urban district status and be included into the district of Vogtlandkreis.

Tourist attractions

• Museum Plauener Spitze
• Galerie e.O. plauen
• Old Town Hall
• Elstertalbrücke
• Friedensbrücke - largest stone arch bridge in the world
• Johanniskirche
• Alte Elsterbrücke - oldest bridge in Saxony

Education and science

Plauen is home to a University of Applied Sciences, with about 300 students and a DIPLOMA Fachhochschule.

Notable residents

• Hans Otte, composer and pianist (b. 1926)

Twin cities

• Aš, Czech Republic, since 1962
• Cegléd, Hungary, since 2005
• Steyr, Austria, since 1970
• Hof, Bavaria, Germany, since 1987
• Siegen, Germany, since 1990
• Pabianice, Poland, since 2006

External links

• http://www.plauen.de

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Last updated on Sunday March 23, 2008 at 08:45:02 PDT (GMT -0700)
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