DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Freistaat Sachsen	Saxony
Landkreis: Görlitz

map →

Waltersdorf is situated at an elevation of 508 m about 3 km south of Großschönau and 11 km southwest of Zittau at the foot of the Lausche mountain. Waltersdorf has a population of 1,380 (2008) and is part of the municipality of Großschönau.

The origins of the settlement likely go back to the 13th century when the Zittauer Gebirge area was settled. the oldest documents mentioning Waltherivilla date from after 1355. The first mention of a church dates from 1384. Originally part of the kingdom of Bohemia, Waltersdorf was purchased by Zittau and thus became part of the Oberlausitz region. Silver mining in Waltersdorf began in 1538 and was part of the mining activities in the Lausitzer Gebirge mountains, culminating in the foundation of Sankt Georgenthal (now Jiřetín pod Jedlovou, CZ). However, the mines at Waltersdorf were not profitable so that mining stopped already in 1559. In 1547 Waltersdorf had to be returned to the Bohemian Crown, but Zittau could repurchase the village in 1554. In the 19th century, Waletrsdorf became a popular summer resort. The municipality of Waltersdorf was founded in 1843. In 2003 Waltersdorf was incorporated into the municipality of Großschönau.

The Lausche [background left] is the highest peak (793 m) of the Lusatian Mountains and the highest mountain in the German part of the Upper Lusatia (Oberlausit) region. The conical mountain is part of the Zittau Mountains range, situated on the border of the German state of Saxony with the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic.

Glass no. 3221 is labeled and dated Zur Erinnerung an das Schulfest Waltersdorf 1907 ('souvenir from the school festival Waltersdorf 1907').
Further glass in this collection produced as school festival souvenirs are from:
Burkersdorf (Burgstädt) and Pethau (Zittau).

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltersdorf_(Großschönau), https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Großschönau; http://www.fallingrain.com/world/GM/13/Waltersdorf2.html; https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lausche]