Demitz-Thumitz

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 51 ° 8 ′  N , 14 ° 15 ′  E
Basic data
State :	Saxony
County :	Bautzen
Height :	250 m above sea level NHN
Area :	21.1 km 2
Residents:	2634 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	125 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	01877
Area code :	03594
License plate :	BZ, BIW, HY, KM
Community key :	14 6 25 100
Community structure:	9 districts
Address of the municipal administration:	Hauptstrasse 43 01877 Demitz-Thumitz
Website :	www.demitz-thumitz.de
Mayoress :	Gisela Pallas (DePoRo voter association)
Location of the municipality of Demitz-Thumitz in the district of Bautzen

Demitz-Thumitz ( Upper Sorbian Zemicy-Tumicy ) is a municipality with the same main town in the Bautzen district . It lies between Bischofswerda and Bautzen .

geography

The community with its 9 districts lies at the foot of the Klosterberg (height of 394.3 meters above sea level), the western foothills of the Lusatian mountains, and in the Lusatian region.

Demitz-Thumitz is bordered by the municipalities of Burkau and Göda in the north, Doberschau-Gaussig in the east, Schmölln-Putzkau in the south and Bischofswerda in the west.

Community structure (districts)

• 

  Pohla Castle
  Demitz-Thumitz ( Zemicy-Tumicy ), 1653 inhabitants
• Wölkau ( Wjelkowy ), since 1936; 206 inhabitants
• Medewitz ( Mjedźojz ), since 1968; 152 inhabitants
• Birkenrode ( Brězyšćo ), since 1968; to Demitz-Thumitz

As a result of the municipal reform in 1994, the municipalities of Demitz-Thumitz, Rothnaußlitz and Pohla were merged and Demitz-Thumitz received the following new districts:

• Rothnaußlitz ( Čerwjene Noslicy ) 226 inhabitants
• Pottschapplitz ( Počaplicy ), 62 inhabitants
• Cannewitz ( Chanecy ), 62 inhabitants
• Karlsdorf , 64 inhabitants
• Pohla ( Palow ), 143 inhabitants
• Stacha ( Stachow , incorporated into Pohla in 1936), 276 inhabitants

history

Pre-Christian time

About 450,000 years ago, the area around Demitz-Thumitz was covered with a 300 m thick layer of ice for 50,000 years. The Klosterberg was also frozen. Only 20,000 years BC The area was finally free of ice. It has been proven that people settled in the area as early as the Bronze Age. In Demitz-Thumitz itself no finds have been made that could prove such a settlement.

Thumitz until 1600

Thumitz manor, baroque palace

The Milzener , a Sorbian tribe, have settled in this region since the 7th century . In the 10th century, however, Upper Lusatia also came under the rule of German feudal lords, who brought the Sorbian areas and their inhabitants under their control. This resulted in fundamental changes for the two places Demitz and Thumitz. For Thumitz a knight was installed as a feudal man by the German king. For this a manor was formed. There is evidence that this has existed since the beginning of the 16th century.

Demitz until 1413

Demitz took a completely different development. The small built-up area along the Black Water Course was not enough to form a manor. Demitz was a typical German Waldhufendorf . The mountain heights to the right and left of the black water were covered with forest, bushes and boulders from the Ice Age. The Sorbs had refrained from clearing because of their simple tools. It was not until the population increased in the 12th century that the mighty forests were cleared. In the 13th century, not only the local population suffered under the rule of the noble feudal lords. That led to a riot. The Hussites also invaded the Demitz-Thumitz area. The Catholic Church was in alliance with the feudal lords; the St. Marienstern monastery in today's Panschwitz-Kuckau secured the support of the surrounding manors. It had to pay for it in pieces of the Black Forest (Klosterberg). It is not known whether the knights were ever used. In 1413 Demitz came under the rule of the St. Marienstern monastery.

Origin of place names

Both place names are of Slavic origin. The two places belonged to the Upper Sorbian language area until the early 20th century. The ancestors of the Sorbs lived together in large families, with each clan having its own settlement. This was named after the village elder. In Thumitz this was probably called Thom o. Ä., In Demitz a Count Zemo, by adding the Slavic ending "-itz", which is very common in East Germany, the village name was created. As recently as 1884/85, Muka recorded seven percent Sorbian population for Demitz and 25% for Thumitz in his statistics.

Construction of the railroad

Demitz-Thumitz viaduct

In the years 1844 to 1846 the Saxon-Silesian Railway Company built the Dresden – Görlitz railway through Demitz. The construction of the first large stone bridge (11 arches) in Upper Lusatia resulted in considerable socio-economic shifts. 700 workers, including those from abroad, poured into the village of Demitz. The cuboids for the viaduct had already been ordered in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains when granite was found while digging for the pillars at the current train station . Granite blocks were cut to save transport costs. The stones were broken in the so-called gypsy hole and transported down into the valley on a slide. Because the already finished workpieces had to be removed, two arches of the viaduct made of sandstone are arched. The area at the Schwarzwasser was very swampy, so that 6000 oak stakes had to be driven up to 7 m deep into the earth. 34 workers pulled a 17 quintals (850 kg) stone with a rope and dropped it on the trunk. The trunks were felled on the Demitzer Berg (Richter's Berg), which was previously fully forested. The route was inaugurated on June 25, 1846.

Beginnings of the granite industry

Former rail connection of the Sächsische Granitwerke Demitz-Thumitz (July 24, 1991)

"After the war of 1870/71 they started to dig up the treasures buried in the Klosterberg in the form of beautiful granite stones, which are obtained here in excellent quality, and which today find their way even to distant countries. The granite stone industry of Demitz -Thumitz and the neighboring village of Schmölln has achieved a worldwide reputation. "

Th. Schäfer writes the following about this in his new hiking book through the “Sächsische Oberlausitz”: “The quarries known under the collective name“ Demitz Granite Quarries ”are mostly located on the slopes of the Klosterberg, on Tröbigauer, Schmöllner, Rothnaußlitzer and Demitz-Thumitzer Ortflur and belong to the manors Schmölln, Thumitz, St. Marienstern Monastery , Kleinförstchen near Seitschen, Großgehchen, Rothnaußlitz and Weidlitz near Klein-Welka. They are awarded to 10 tenants, among which Sparmann & Co., CG Kunath, Docks & Haft, and Ernst Eisold are the most important companies. The extraction is done by blasting, splitting with wedges and drilling with 3 m long stone drills. The workers stand under a thatched roof, the position of which changes depending on the prevailing wind direction. The material is used for embossed and raw paving stones, paving slabs, columns for monuments and buildings. The dispatch takes place from the stations Demitz-Thumitz and Schmölln and has experienced a continuous increase over the years. - The granite undergoes fine processing in the stone grinding and stone sawing shop of the Docken & Haft company in Demitz-Thumitz. Here the stone is sawn, ground and polished for the purpose of making monuments (plinths) (Kaiser-Friedrich-Monument on the Breiteberge near Zittau, Dittesdenkmal in Irfersgrün ). "

Merger to Demitz-Thumitz

In 1898 the previously independent communities Demitz and Thumitz merged. This association had already been preceded by common efforts in the field of school and church organization. Today's school building replaced the old teaching facilities at Hauptstraße 31 (youth club until 2000, demolished in 2009) from 1845 and Hauptstraße 50 (until 1990 drugstore, then Volksbank Bautzen, today Kreissparkasse Bautzen). Both communities used a new cemetery since 1897. It was parish from the start, so it didn't matter that both parishes had been parish in Schmölln since 1814. In 1898 the social democratic electoral association Demitz-Thumitz was founded. Its share of the vote grew rapidly. In 1902 the local union organization of the stone workers joined the Central Association of Stone Workers. In 1912, the non-profit housing cooperative was founded (today WG Einheit).

Flood

In 1951 there was a severe flood in Demitz-Thumitz. In the Demitz district up to the Mildner stone sawmill, the properties on the Schwarzwasser were up to one meter deep under water. The Lange and Heinrich bakeries were particularly hard hit, where the water reached into the ovens. In the coal trade of the Rätze siblings, large stacks of briquettes were washed away and some of them were only deposited again in Rothnaußlitz and Spittwitz. As a result of this flood, the construction of a retention basin at Karlsdorf began in 1952. In 1958 there was another flood, almost as strong as 1951. Considerable damage was caused on the slopes of Demitzer Berg, where the earth was partially washed away and deposited in Schmöllner Straße. Not far from the train station, tracks were washed away, which resulted in an interruption in rail traffic. The road bridge was destroyed not far from the Kmoch inn. The district of Wölkau (almost no damage in 1951) was also affected this time. The "Saxon Rider" was completely flooded.

politics

Mayor Gisela Pallas (2015)

mayor

• ? –1933 Bruno Ledrich
• Xaver Heimerl
• Hans Stoinski
• Fritz Petzold
• ? –1990 Peter Schmidt
• 1990–1994 Uta Eckstädt
• 1994-2008 Horst Wittholz
• 2008–2020 Gisela Pallas
• Mayoral election on October 11, 2020

Municipal council

Current

Since the Saxon municipal elections on May 26, 2019, the municipal council in Demitz-Thumitz has the following composition:

Local council electoral period 2019-2024
Political party	%	Seats	particularities
CDU	31.7%	4th	including a woman
WV DePoRo	53.0%	7th	including 4 women
THE LEFT	15.3%	1	no woman
Turnout: 64.0%

Previous elections

Municipal council
Political party	2015-2019	2009-2014	2004-2009	1999-2004	1994-1999
CDU	5 seats 33.2%	4 seats 27.7%	7 seats 39.0%	6 seats 37.5%	6 seats 35.3%
WV DePoRo	7 seats 44.1%	9 seats 52.7%	6 seats 36.2%	6 seats 34.1%	5 seats 31.6%
SPD	-	-	1 seat 10.8%	3 seats 19.5%	4 seats 25%
THE LEFT	4 seats 22.7%	3 seats 19.6%	2 seats 13.9%	1 seat 9.0%	1 seat 8.2%
voter turnout	53.1%	51.2%	53.2%	67.9%	81.6%

Parish partnership

Bammental in the Rhine-Neckar district in Baden-Württemberg

Community financial position since 2010

year	2014	2010
Total debt:		€ 460,000
Per capita debt:		158 €
Property tax:		380 BC H.
Property tax A:	300 BC H.
Property tax B:	400 BC H.
Trade tax:	400 BC H.
Companies / traders:		161

Economy and Infrastructure

Traces of the stones

Logo in Demitzer granite

While all places in the area are predominantly agriculturally oriented to this day, Demitz-Thumitz developed into an industrial community. With the construction of the railway viaduct, quarries were created to mine granodiorite , which is traded as Lusatian granite . Today this granite is sold all over Germany and abroad. Since 1908 there has been a stonemason school in Demitz-Thumitz, where journeymen and masters from all federal states are trained.

In 2009 Demitz-Thumitz won the Free State's “Saxon Themed Villages” competition. The place is to be thematically designed according to the motto "Traces of the stones - On the way in the Saxon stone kingdom". The Saxon stonemason school played an essential role in the conception.

traffic

Demitz-Thumitz is located on state road 111 between Bischofswerda and Bautzen and near the federal motorway 4 from Dresden to Görlitz. From the S111, the state road 155 leads through the entire village to Schmölln-Putzkau . It also has a train station on the Dresden – Görlitz railway line , which is served by regional trains of the Länderbahn (“ Trilex ”) and the East German Railway .

Established businesses

• Basalt-Actien-Gesellschaft
• DüWi Bau- und Gebäudetechnik GbR
• Schoplast Bischofswerda and Wölkau
• Master stonemason and stone sculptor Markus Mickan

Facilities

• Saxon stonemason school - technical college design
• Non-profit association of the stonemasons and sculptors
• "Elementary School on the Klosterberg" Demitz-Thumitz

• 

  Elementary school Demitz-Thumitz

• 

  Logo of the "Grundschule am Klosterberg"

• Middle school (until school year 2006/2007)
• AWO Kindergarten (including day nursery) "Bridge Man"
• The Demitz-Thumitz volunteer fire brigade , with its Rothnaußlitz location and the Medewitz fire-fighting train, provides defensive fire protection and general assistance.

museum

• Adventure museum "old stone saw"

Leisure and sports facilities

• Sports and leisure center Demitz-Thumitz
• Rothnaußlitz sports hall
• Sports field Wölkau (hard court) - with floodlights and spectator areas
• Sports field Pohla (grass field) - with floodlights, spectator seats and VIP lounge
• Sports field Rothnaußlitz (grass field)

Culture / clubs

• Carnival Club Demitz-Thumitz (KCD)
• SV Demitz-Thumitz (football, badminton, volleyball, bowling, table tennis)
• TanzSportVerein Demitz e. V.
• OPELCLUB 92 Demitz-Thumitz e. V.
• SV Pohla-Stacha (soccer)

Churches / religion

• Evangelical Lutheran Church - sister community Demitz-Thumitz / Uhyst aT / Burkau. The parish Demitz-Thumitz was founded in January 1950. In November 1952 the consecration of the newly built Christ Church took place. The church at Pohla is one of the oldest in Lusatia. Since the 650th anniversary in 1984 it has been called "Maria am Berge". The historic organ by Christian Gottfried Herbrig and Son (1839) was rebuilt and enlarged in 1894, and then the sound was changed. The Herbrig case and all HERBRIG organ pipes have been preserved.
• Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church of Demitz-Thumitz was desecrated in 2011. New owners have been found who have converted the church into a residential building.

Buildings

→ Main article : List of cultural monuments in Demitz-Thumitz

• Railway viaduct

Personalities

• Georg Pauli (1867–1949), teacher, author, founder of the Lusatian Cyclist Association and numerous other associations

Honorary citizen

• Johann Traugott Mutschink (1821–1904), Sorbian folk writer, teacher and local researcher, since 1899 honorary citizen of Demitz-Thumitz

People born in the parish

• Wilhelmine von Sydow (1789–1867), author
• Michael Ernst Bär (1855–1923), entrepreneur, member of the Second Chamber of the Estates Assembly of the Kingdom of Saxony, born in Pottschapplitz
• Max Wockatz (1898–?), Politician (NSDAP), born in Rothnaußlitz
• Nils Krüger (1899–1973), writer
• Helmut Kyank (1916–1992), gynecologist, professor of gynecology and obstetrics

literature

• Birk, Giselher and others: “History and Events D3”; Leipzig 1998; Ernst Klett Schulbuchverlag Leipzig GmbH
• Ledrich, Bruno: "Heimatbuch von Demitz-Thumitz"; 1968; not misplaced
• Friedrich: "Hiking trails through the Bautzen district"; Bautzen 1981; VEB Domowina-Verlag
• Schmidt, Werner and others: Lausitzer Bergland around Pulsnitz and Bischofswerda (= values ​​of our homeland . Volume 40). 1st edition. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1983.
• Brochure “600 Years of Demitz-Thumitz”; 1974
• Chronicle of Demitz-Thumitz

Web links

Commons : Demitz-Thumitz  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Manors and castles in the kingdom of Saxony: Thumitz  - sources and full texts

Wikisource: Manors and castles in the Kingdom of Saxony: Pohla  - sources and full texts

Wikisource: Manors and castles in the kingdom of Saxony: Medewitz  - sources and full texts

• Demitz-Thumitz in the Digital Historical Directory of Saxony
• Demitz in the Digital Historical Directory of Saxony
• Thumitz in the Digital Historical Directory of Saxony

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population of the Free State of Saxony by municipalities on December 31, 2019  ( help on this ).
2. ↑ Information according to the 2011 census ; As of May 9, 2011
3. ↑ Ernst Tschernik: The development of the Sorbian population . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1954.
4. ↑ Friedrich Bernhard Störzner : What the home tells . Legends, historical images and memorable events from Saxony. [Contributions to the Saxon. Folklore and local history.] I. Eastern Saxony. Verlag von Arwed Strauch, Leipzig 1904, 215. Mark Teupitz., P. 499 (With drawings by Professor O. Seyffert and the painter F. Rowland).
5. ↑ State Statistical Office of Saxony
6. ↑ Information from the municipal administration
7. ↑ Sächsische Zeitung of June 10, 2014 (page 13)
8. ↑ Website: Kulturwerkstatt Stolpen e. V.
9. ↑ Information from the municipal administration