Weiden in der Oberpfalz


Weiden in der Oberpfalz is a district-free town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located east of Nuremberg and west of the Czech border. Weiden is the second biggest town in the governmental district Oberpfalz after Regensburg. A branch of the German Army is located here.
WWW Official Site

History

Weiden in der Oberpfalz was first mentioned in a document in 1241 as Weiden. It is assumed that the first settlements in Weiden date back to the year 1000. Located at the intersection of two major trading routes, Weiden soon became an important trading centre with a population of 2,200 in 1531. Two big fires, the Thirty Years' War and the Plague were major setbacks for the town, which it did not recover from until the end of the 18th century. Between 1634 and 1635 and 1648 and 1650, Weiden was occupied by Swedish troops. From 1714, the town belonged to the Duchy of Palatine-Sulzbach. An economic boom occurred in 1863 when Weiden was connected to the railroad network. With the settlement of important glass and porcelain companies, the population increased. Around the turn of the century, it was already close to 10,000.
On 1 January 1919, the town became district-free by decree of the first Republican Prime Minister, Kurt Eisner

Districts

Nr.DistrictArea
PopulationRemarksPopulation density
01Altstadt0.983.943Southern old town with historic city center4023
02Scheibe0,862.296Northern old town2669
03Hammerweg4,325.5591286
04Weiden-Ost II10,452.829with Tröglersricht, Zollhaus, Almesbach270
05Weiden-Ost I3,142.490792
06Bahnhof-Moosbürg2,551.466574
07Fichtenbühl1,271.192with Ermersricht938
08Stockerhut1,803.9532196
09Lerchenfeld1,454.4593075
10Weiden-West5,032.062with Brandweiher409
11Rehbühl1,536.5384273
12Mooslohe5,503.559with Moosöd647
13Neunkirchen11,501.718with Frauenricht, Latsch, Halmesricht, Spitalöd, Wiesendorf149
14Rothenstadt11,733.145with Ullersricht, Neubau, Maierhof, Mallersricht, Mallersricht-Ziegelhütte268
15Weiden-Land8,43235with Muglhof, Matzlesrieth, Unterhöll, Mitterhöll, Trauschendorf, Oedenthal27

Incorporations into Weiden in der Oberpfalz

On 1 January 1914, the municipality of Moosbürg was incorporated with Moosbürg, Ermersricht, Fichtenbühl and Leihstadtmühle. Tröglersricht and Zollhaus from the former municipality of Edeldorf followed on 1 February 1915.
The following districts were incorporated on 1 July 1972:
  • Municipality of Frauenricht with Frauenricht, Halmesricht, Latsch and Spitalöd
  • Municipality of Muglhof with Muglhof, Mitterhöll, Unterhöll, Oedenthal and Trauschendorf
  • Municipality of Neunkirchen bei Weiden with Neunkirchen, Brandweiher and Wiesendorf
  • Municipality of Rothenstadt with Rothenstadt and Mallersricht
On 1 May 1978 the following districts were added to the existing municipalities:
  • Matzlesrieth; added to the municipality of Muglhof
  • Maierhof, Neubau, Ullersricht and Moodöd; added to the municipality of Rothenstadt

Main sights

Historical buildings

  • St. Josef, a Catholic church, built between 1899 and 1900, Neo Romanesque style with Art Nouveau interior.
  • Marktplatz, the market square stretched between the Upper and Lower Gates with numerous renaissance buildings.
  • Altes Rathaus, built between 1539 and 1545 by Hans Nopl.
  • St. Michael, a Protestant church rebuilt several times. The church got its present baroque appearance from 1627, the tower from 1761.
  • Alte Stadtmauer, partially preserved old town walls from the 14th century.
  • St. Sebastian, a Catholic chapel, built around 1480.

Museums

*
  • - exhibits art, furniture and porcelain from the early 16th century to the 19th century. There is a room dedicated to composer Max Reger, who lived and studied in Weiden.

Economy and infrastructure

Overview

In the year 2016, Weiden, within the city limits, reached a GDP of 2.272 Billion € and a GDP per capita of €53.734. Therefore it was significantly higher than average. In 2017 there were about 41,800 employed people in the town. The rate of unemployment in 2018 stood at 5.3% and therefore significantly higher than the Bavarian average of 2.7%.

Economic structure

Today, about 42,000 people live in Weiden, spanning n area of 70.5 km2 / 27.2 mi2. Weiden was never a typical industrial town; in 2015 only a fifth of all 26,567 employees subject to social security worked in the manufacturing sector, meanwhile more than ¾ were working in the service sector.
Since the end of the 20th century, industry and trade changed a lot. The monostructure of glass and porcelain with companies like Bauscher, Seltmann and Nachtmann, who still play a big role in the manufacturing sector, was dismantled and supplemented by vehicle construction, plastics processing and microelectronics companies.
A structural change is reflected in the huge job cuts seen in the glass and porcelain industry, which is why Weiden suffers from persistently high rates of unemployment.

Traffic

Highways

Public transit

The city buses are operated by the company . There are and, that all meet at the Central Bus Station next to the town hall. The regular traffic applies every Monday to Friday between 6:00 and 18:15. Before 6:00 and after 18:15, as well as on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays the light traffic applies.
Next to the citybuses, there are intercity buses operated by the, a daughter company of the Deutsche Bahn. They drive into the surrounding cities and villages and meet at the cities' train station
Ticket prices are regulated by the . The has joined the TON as well, creating one unified system for the northern part of the Oberpfalz

Twin towns – sister cities

Weiden in der Oberpfalz is twinned with:

Geography

Climate

This area is characterized by equable climates with few extremes of temperature and ample precipitation in all months. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfb"..

Notable people

Important glass and porcellain companies in Weiden