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DEUTSCHLAND GERMANY
Bundesland: Freistaat Sachsen Saxony
Landkreis: Meißen  

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Großenhain

lv: Grosenhaina pl: Osiek Wielki dsb: Wjeliki Wósek hsb: Wulki Hojn
bg, ru, uk: Гросенхайн mk, sr: Гросенхајн

Großenhain is situated at an elevation of 124 m in northeastern Saxony, about 15 km northeast of the district town Meißen and about 31 km northwest of Dresden, the capital of Germany's state of Saxony. The municipality has a population of about 18,000 (2025).

The village was first mentioned in a document in 1205 as Hayn. Ozzek was mentioned in 1240. In 1254, the town was mentioned as a 'civitas'. The town was fortified in 1291. In 1398, the town of Hayn, together with the towns of Dresden, Meißen and the Upper Lusatian League of Six Towns (Bautzen, Görlitz, Kamenz, Lauban (Lubań), Löbau and Zittau), concluded a treaty to improve security along the Hohe Landstraße, which ran from Leipzig via Wurzen, Oschatz, (Großen)Hain, Kamenz, Bautzen and Görlitz to Breslau (Wrocław) and on further east. In 1429, the town was destroyed by the Hussites. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the town experienced an economic boom as an important trading centre. In 1704, the town was destroyed again during the Great Northern War. Onkly fourty years later, in 1744, it was again completely destroyed by a large fire. From the mid-17th century onwards, Hain was occupied by garrisons from time to time; following its reconstruction after the town fire of 1744, garrisons were located here almost continuously. The modern name Großenhain was introduced only in 1856. The district Großenhain, established in 1952, was merged with the district Riesa in 1994 to form the new district Riesa-Großenhain. The seat of the district administration was Großenhain. On 1st August 2008 the district Riesa-Großenhain was incoporated into the district Meißen.

1044 Großenhain
The Town Hall [left, no. 1044] was built in 1875/76 in historicist Neo-Renaissance style.

2118 Großenhain
The Town Church Sankt Marien [near left, no. 2118: top picture] was built in 1744–1748 in Baroque style by Johann Georg Schmid. Parts of the exterior walls still date from the previous medieval church. The tower was added in 1801.

The bottom left picture on glass no. 2118 [near left] shows the Kupferbergturm. The lookout tower was built in 1894. Until the 1930s the tower offered a splendid view over the area. At present, the tower is surrounded by tall trees.

The bottom right picture on glass no. 2118 [near left] shows the Bismarck monument.

Several glasses of this collection show other Bismarck monuments.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fenhain; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberlausitzer_Sechsst%C3%A4dtebund]


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