Herrnhut

Herrnhut

Coat of arms
Herrnhut

Coordinates: 51°01′00″N 14°44′30″E / 51.01667°N 14.74167°E / 51.01667; 14.74167Coordinates: 51°01′00″N 14°44′30″E / 51.01667°N 14.74167°E / 51.01667; 14.74167
Country Germany
State Saxony
District Görlitz
Government
  Mayor Rainer Fischer
Area
  Total 73.94 km2 (28.55 sq mi)
Population (2014-12-31)[1]
  Total 6,220
  Density 84/km2 (220/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 02747
Dialling codes 035873
Vehicle registration GR
Website www.herrnhut.de

Herrnhut (Sorbian: Ochranow; Czech: Ochranov) is a municipality in Görlitz district in eastern Saxony, Germany. Herrnhut is also the name of the largest town in the municipality.

It is located on the road Bundesstraße 178, and on the Löbau–Zittau railway. Herrnhut is 10 km south-east of Löbau, 15 km north-west of Zittau, and 25 km south-west of Görlitz.

The municipality borders on, among other municipalities, Oderwitz. It was founded in the early 18th century by German speaking religious exiles from Moravia on the estate of German nobleman Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, after meeting with their leader Christian David, who came from Moravia.

Subdivisions

Since 1 January 2013, when Berthelsdorf was incorporated, the municipality contains 11 subdivisions:

Population

Year 1834 1871 1890 1910 1925 1939 1946 1950 1964 1990 2000 2010
Population 899 1092 1139 1364 1664 1627 2024 2025 1808 1754 2842 4963

According to the Saxon state congress in 1777, Herrnhut contained 76 homes.

In the mid-19th century the population rose above 1,000, and after World War II it reached more than 2,000. Since the 1950s there has been a decline in population, which was compensated for by the incorporation of neighboring municipalities.[2]

Location maps

Coat of arms

The Herrnhut coat of arms is blue and white, showing the tower of the Altan (the lookout tower) atop the Hutberg hill above the city. The name of Hutberg hill ("Hill of Watching") suggested the name of the Moravian settlement founded by these exiles on the Zinzendorf estate in 1722. Herrn Hut means "the Lord's Watchful care".

Culture

Herrnhut has a church and two museums, including a museum of local history. It is the center of the worldwide Moravian Church, the Unitas Fratrum, in German Brüder-Unität or Brüdergemeine. Many European languages have named the Moravian Church movement directly after Herrnhut, for example hernhuutlus in Estonian, herrnhutilaisuus in Finnish, hernhūtieši in Latvian and herrnhutismen in both Norwegian and Swedish.

The former Herrnhut train station on the decommissioned railway line Zittau-Löbau has been turned into an art gallery.

Economy

Its economy is based on church administration, education, tourism and manufacturing, including a 26-pointed star that is often hung in windows and on porches during the Christmas season, which has been produced for over 150 years. It is called the Moravian Advent Star (Herrnhuter Adventsstern).

Image gallery

References

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Herrnhut.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, May 24, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.