Town in Saxony, Germany
Town in Saxony, Germany
Riesa
(
Upper Sorbian
:
Ryzawa
) is a town in the district of
Meißen
in
Saxony
,
Germany
. It is located on the river
Elbe
, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of
Dresden
.
History
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]
The name
Riesa
is derived from Slavic
Riezowe
. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears first in October 1119 in a document from
Pope Callixtus II
.
The world's first 110 kV power line was installed between Riesa and
Lauchhammer
in 1912. Between 1952 and 1994, Riesa was the seat of a district.
During the 1980s, Riesa was the headquarters of the
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
's
9th Tank Division
.
Population history
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The town grew from the start of the 20th century due to industrialisation. The population declined after
German Reunification
in 1989. The local steel works shut and the population fell from 52,000 to 31,000.
Historical population
Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1575
| 350
| ?
|
---|
1834
| 1,631
| +366.0%
|
---|
1849
| 2,679
| +64.3%
|
---|
1875
| 5,707
| +113.0%
|
---|
1880
| 6,259
| +9.7%
|
---|
1900
| 13,491
| +115.5%
|
---|
1933
| 26,248
| +94.6%
|
---|
1939
| 29,963
| +14.2%
|
---|
1946
| 34,406
| +14.8%
|
---|
| Year
| Pop.
| ±%
|
---|
1950
| 36,150
| +5.1%
|
---|
1960
| 36,769
| +1.7%
|
---|
1981
| 51,857
| +41.0%
|
---|
1995
| 42,429
| ?18.2%
|
---|
2000
| 39,367
| ?7.2%
|
---|
2005
| 36,221
| ?8.0%
|
---|
2010
| 33,351
| ?7.9%
|
---|
2015
| 31,541
| ?5.4%
|
---|
2019
| 29,754
| ?5.7%
|
---|
|
Sights
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Riesa has a 25 m tall, 234 tonne,
cast-iron
(GGG 40) sculpture of an
oak
trunk, named
Elbquelle
, which means
source
of the
Elbe
, by
Jorg Immendorff
, erected in 1999. Local folk call the sculpture by many other names, most notably "Rostige Eiche", which means "Rusty Oak".
In Riesa there are two notable churches. The
minster
St. Marien was built in 1261 as an addition to the
Benedictine
Abbey. The
Trinitatis Church
was completed in 1897.
Culture
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]
Riesa is well known locally for its pasta, which is produced at
Teigwaren Riesa GmbH
. Another symbol of Riesa are the
Riesaer Zundholzer
, the
matches
which were traditionally manufactured there.
The steel production in Riesa is also well known.
Sport
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Riesa has a football club,
BSG Stahl Riesa
. The club's crest is blue and white, as are the club colours. They play now in the Landesliga Sachsen (6th tier).
Riesa is known locally for the
SACHSENarena
, a large hall which hosted the European
Sumo Wrestling
Championship in October 2003 and the World Sumo Wrestling Championship in October 2004.
Twin towns ? sister cities
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]
Riesa is
twinned
with:
[3]
Transport
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]
Riesa railway station
is located north of the town's centre, it offers both regional and long-distance services.
Riesa is located on
Bundesstraße 169
, which ensures access to federal motorways
A 14
(close to
Dobeln
, approx. 25 km) and
A 13
(close to
Ruhland
, approx. 50 km).
Notable people
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]
- Adolph von Carlowitz
(1858?1928), Saxon officer, general of the infantry and war minister
- Johannes Muller
(1864?1949), theologian
- Rolf Moebius
(1915?2004), actor
- Dieter Noll
(1927?2008), writer
- Jurgen Schmieder
(born 1952), politician
- Monika Zehrt
(born 1952), athlete
- Olaf Jentzsch
(born 1958), cyclist
- Heiko Peschke
(born 1963), footballer
- Ulf Kirsten
(born 1965), footballer
- Rudiger Heinze
(born 1971), film producer and screenwriter
- Maximilian Arnold
(born 1994), footballer
Associated with the town
[
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References
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External links
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