Merlach (Ponitz)

Merlach Ponitz parish Coordinates: 50 ° 52 ′ 12 ″ N , 12 ° 25 ′ 26 ″ E
Height :	212 m above sea level NN
Residents :	100
Incorporation :	July 1, 1950
Postal code :	04639
Primaries :	034493, 03764
	Location of Merlach in Ponitz
	Oldest half-timbered house in the village from 1587/88

Merlach is part of the municipality of Ponitz in the Altenburger Land district in Thuringia . With around 100 inhabitants, it is the second smallest district in the municipality in terms of both population and area. The place is known for its restaurants, the former three-room house on the B93 and the Max Schneider inn that still exists today .

geography

Merlach is demarcated from the nearest suburb of Zschöpel by the Pleiße running to the west . Other neighboring towns are Gößnitz beginning in the north , the district of Hainichen to the east and Ponitz to the south.

The original course of the river, which led directly past the houses, is clearly recognizable, so they are arranged in an arc. The street on it touches the center of the place, the so-called Saumarkt , whose branch as a linden avenue leads to the Friedenslinde. This type of village can be clearly identified as a typical German row village.

history

The village was first mentioned in a document in 1457 and was able to celebrate its 550th anniversary in 2007 . In 1583 the place consisted of 12 hand front goods and 4 farms with a total of 85 inhabitants, today there are six farms. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Merlach threatened to be flooded several times by the Pleiße, which is why river straightening was carried out in 1682 and 1908. The place name is derived from a German foundation, the interpretation of which means something like a small place on the alder wood , that -ach could stand for a body of water, since Merlach also has a tiny stream. In 1650, when the Saxon-Altenburg ambassador to co-sign the Peace of Westphalia , Wolfgang Conrad von Thumbshirn , returned to his hometown at Ponitz Castle , a peace linden tree was planted on Hohen Strasse to commemorate the Thirty Years' War . It was destroyed by arson and in 1985 a replacement plantation was set up, which, however, developed poorly, so that in 1995 a second replacement plantation was added to the old location. In the immediate vicinity, a rest and restaurant was built at the beginning of the 19th century on the former Via Imperii and today's B93, the Dreierhäuschen , which was operated until 1954. 185 people lived in the town in 1939, 23 less than six years earlier. Until 1945 it also had an outdoor swimming pool, which was then no longer usable.

Merlach belonged to the Wettin office of Altenburg , which from the 16th century was under the sovereignty of the following Ernestine duchies due to several divisions during its existence : Duchy of Saxony (1554 to 1572), Duchy of Saxony-Weimar (1572 to 1603), Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg (1603 to 1672), Duchy of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg (1672 to 1826). When the Ernestine duchies were reorganized in 1826, the place came back to the duchy of Saxony-Altenburg. After the administrative reform in the duchy, Merlach belonged to the Eastern District (until 1900) and to the Ronneburg District Office (from 1900). From 1918 the village belonged to the Free State of Saxony-Altenburg , which was added to the State of Thuringia in 1920. In 1922 it came to the district of Altenburg .

On July 1, 1950, the place was incorporated into Ponitz. During the second district reform in the GDR in 1952, the existing states were dissolved and the districts were redesigned. Thus Merlach came as the district of Ponitz with the county Schmölln to the district of Leipzig , since 1990 as a county belonged to Schmölln Thuringia and the Thuringian district reform in 1994 opened Altenburger in the district of the country. The former cutting mill located directly on the Pleiße is spatially assigned to Gößnitz, but belongs to Merlach.

Economy and Transport

As a resident company, the Gärtnerei Stötzner , one of originally three since 1894, an advertising printing company and a car dealer as well as a car paint shop should be mentioned. The latter two directly at the Merlach junction of the B93 passing east of the site.

Culture

The Gasthof Max Schneider has existed in Merlach since the 19th century. It has a taproom, beer garden and dance hall, in which the lovers' puppet theater was located . An inn was mentioned for the first time in 1522, which at that time was still in the Ponitz district, as was the Stötzner nursery.

Still exists in Merlach one of the oldest half-timbered houses in Altenburger Land, a post and from 1587/88, so it is the oldest building in the town. One exemplary restored Handgut, a Umgebindehaus , dates back to 1711. The massively built Vierseithof with villas like house dates from 1904.

A festival meadow is available on the Pleißenaue for large events, such as the 550th anniversary celebration . Merlach has an ice skating facility with a small pond. The nearby former outdoor pool is only used for fishing.