Annaberg-Buchholz


Annaberg-Buchholz is a town in Saxony, in eastern Germany. Lying in the Ore Mountains, it is the capital of the district of Erzgebirgskreis.
WWW annaberg-buchholz.de

Geography

The town is located in the Ore Mountains, at the side of the Pöhlberg.

History

The previously heavily forested upper Ore Mountains were settled in the 12th and 13th centuries by Franconian farmers. Frohnau, Geyersdorf, and Kleinrückerswalde—all now part of present-day town—have all been attested since 1397.
In 1491, silver deposits were discovered in the area, and Annaberg soon developed under the patronage of George, Duke of Saxony and Barbara Jagiellon. George and Barbara founded the landmark St. Anne's Church and a Franciscan monastery, and Barbara donated a relic of Saint Anne to the church, which thus became a regional pilgrimage destination.
Barbara Uthmann introduced braid and lace-making to the town in 1561 and the craft was further developed in the 1590s by Belgian refugees fleeing the policies of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, Spain's governor over the Low Countries. The industry was further developed in the 19th century, when Annaberg and Buchholz were connected by rail to Chemnitz and to each other, with both settlements having specialized schools for lace-making. The population of Annaberg in the 1870s was 11,693. This had risen to 16,811 by 1905, with another 9,307 in Buchholz.
The town's mines formerly produced silver, tin, and cobalt, but ceased production before the First World War. After the Reunification of Germany in 1989, some were restored for viewing by tourists.
In 1945, the two towns Annaberg and Buchholz merged into the new town Annaberg-Buchholz. From 1952 to 1990, Annaberg-Buchholz was part of the Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt of East Germany.

Historical population

At the start of the 16th Century, Annaberg was one of the largest towns in Germany with an estimated 8,000 inhabitants. In 1834 Annaberg had a population of 5,068 and Buchholz with 1,424. In 1875, 11,693 people lived in Annaberg, in 1890 11,725, in 1925 18,204, and in 1933 19,818. The figures in the table are for Annaberg-Buchholz.
Historical population :
1 29 October

2 31 August

Main sights

The area is a tourist destination and ski resort. The Ore Mountains are referred to as Land of Christmas and famous for the Christmas Markets and the carved sculptures. Annaberg has a Roman Catholic church and three Protestant churches, among them St. Anne's, which is the largest of its kind in Saxony. There are public monuments to Luther, the famous mathematician Adam Ries, and Barbara Uthmann. Buchholz had another Gothic Protestant church and monuments to Frederick the Wise and Bismarck. Annaberg is well known for its historical old town and market square; the house Markt 2 shows the coat of arms of the family Apian-Bennewitz.

Museums

Frohnauer Hammer

The Frohnauer Hammer is a historic and fully working preserved hammer mill in the village of Frohnau within the municipality. In 1907, it was declared a technical monument and, since then, has been open to the public. In addition to the actual hammer mill itself, there is an exhibition of forged items and the former master hammersmith's house.

Regular events

  • An annual high point in early summer is the largest folk festival in the region, the Annaberger Kät.
  • Every two years in August the Abbey Festival takes place in the ruins of Annaberg Abbey.
  • The Annaberg Christmas Market is widely known outside the region and closes on the fourth week in advent with the world's biggest miners' parade.

Twin towns – sister cities

Annaberg-Buchholz is twinned with:

Notable people