Meissen

Meissen
Meißen
Albrechtsburg and Cathedral
Location of Meissen within Meißen district
Meissen
Meissen
Coordinates: 51°10′N 13°29′E / 51.167°N 13.483°E / 51.167; 13.483
CountryGermany
StateSaxony
DistrictMeißen
Subdivisions12 Stadtteile/Stadtbezirke
Government
 • MayorOlaf Raschke
Area
 • Total30.90 km2 (11.93 sq mi)
Elevation
106 m (348 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[1]
 • Total29,007
 • Density940/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
01654–01662
Dialling codes03521
Vehicle registrationMEI
Websitewww.stadt-meissen.de

Meißen (Sorbian languages: Mišno, Latin: Misnia, Misena) is a town of about 30,000 near Dresden on both banks of the Elbe in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meißen is the home of Meißen porcelain. Meißen is the capital city of Meißen Rural District

During World War II, a subcamp of Flossenburg concentration camp was in Meißen.[2]

Porcelain

Meißen is famous for the manufacture of porcelain. This is because there are big local deposits of china clay (kaolin) and potter's clay (potter's earth). Meißen porcelain was the first high quality porcelain to be produced outside of China.

The first European porcelain was made in Meißen in 1710, when the Royal Porcelain Factory was opened in the Albrechtsburg. In 1861, it was moved to the Triebisch valley of Meißen, where the Meißen porcelain factory can still be found today.

Notable residents

  • St. Benno (1010-1106), Bishop of Meißen
  • Heinrich Frauenlob (died 1318), poet
  • Johann Klaj (1616-1656), poet
  • Johann Elias Schlegel (1719-1749), critic and poet
  • Johann Adolf Schlegel (1721-1793), poet and clergyman
  • Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), physician
  • Karl G. Maeser (1828-1901), Mormon academic
  • Ralf Schumann (born 1962), Olympic shooter

References

  1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Sachsens am 31. Dezember 2023 - Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 15. Mai 2022 (Gebietsstand 01.01.2023)" (in German). Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen.
  2. Christine O'Keefe.Concentration Camps.www.tartanplace.com/tartanhistory/concentrationcamps.html

Other websites

Media related to Meißen at Wikimedia Commons