Probstzella

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 50 ° 32 '  N , 11 ° 23'  E
Basic data
State :	Thuringia
County :	Saalfeld-Rudolstadt
Management Community :	Slate mountains
Height :	340 m above sea level NHN
Area :	74.34 km 2
Residents:	2851 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	38 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	07330
Primaries :	036735 (Probstzella, Marktgölitz), 036734 (Lichtentanne), 036731 (Unterloquitz)
License plate :	SLF, RU
Community key :	16 0 73 067
Community structure:	20 districts
Address of the municipal administration:	Markt 8 07330 Probstzella
Website :	www.einheitsgemeinde-probstzella.de
Mayor :	Sven Mechtold ( SPD )
Location of the community of Probstzella in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district

Probstzella is a municipality in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district in Thuringia . Probstzella became known as the GDR's border station for interzonal trains from West Germany to West Berlin .

geography

Probstzella lies in a deep basin of the Thuringian Slate Mountains in the Thuringian Slate Mountains / Obere Saale Nature Park , where the Zopte flows into the Loquitz. Some of the surrounding mountains rise more than 200 meters. The Loquitz , an approximately 35-kilometer-long natural tributary of the Saale, flows through the village . The area around Probstzellas is very wooded. The Rennsteig runs about 15 kilometers south of the village. The highest peaks are the Kolditzberg and the Bocksberg.

Expansion of the municipal area

After Uhlstädt-Kirchhasel, Probstzella is the second largest municipality in terms of area in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district. The unified community extends in the shape of a crescent moon in the Loquitztal .

Neighboring communities

Clockwise - starting in the north: Saalfeld / Saale , Kaulsdorf , Leutenberg , Wurzbach , Lehesten , Ludwigsstadt (Bavaria) and Gräfenthal .

Community structure

The community is divided into a total of 20 districts:

District	Residents	Area (km²)
Arnsbach	177	1.30
Döhlen	66	1.94
Gift of god	59	1
Großgeschwenda	155	6.25
Kleinneundorf	70	2.43
Koenigsthal	77	1.10
Laasen	57	4.31
Light fir	274	8.61
Limbach	70	3.63
Marktgölitz	370	7.18
Oberloquitz	200	6.05
Pippelsdorf	68	2.60
Probstzella	1316	8.20
Reichenbach	87	3.44
Roda / Wickendorf	46	2.25
Schaderthal	92	2.55
Schlaga	49	1.23
Unterloquitz	239	5.81
Pigtails	174	4.08

1) included in Marktgölitz

history

In 1012, King Heinrich II gave the imperial domain of Saalfeld and Orlagau to the Lorraine Count Palatine Ehrenfried ( Ezzo ). At that time the Orlagau also included the areas southwest from Saalfeld to the mountain ridge and thus also Probstzella. Ezzo's daughter Richeza , Queen of Poland, inherited the Saalfeld property and gave it to the Archdiocese of Cologne in 1056 . In 1071 the Benedictine monastery of St. Peter and Paul was founded in Saalfeld and occupied by monks from Cologne . These were supposed to convert the mostly Slavic population (but also Thuringian and Franconian settlers) to Christianity and to make the surrounding forest arable, which led to extensive clearing in the surrounding area of ​​Saalfeld around 1300 . In the course of 1116 which was provost Zella founded. The cell, initially a small house of prayer, developed into a rich provost's office thanks to numerous foundations. It had a castle-like structure with a moat and rampart. Field names such as Kreuzacker and Hofau are still preserved from this time.

In 1345 the provost was ceded to the Duchy of Saxony . With the secularization of 1553 it was taken over by the country lordship. From 1572 the place belonged to the House of Sachsen-Weimar . In 1645 Probstzella was separated from the Saalfeld office and received his own office.

During the Thirty Years' War the plague raged in the village in 1627 and 1636. In 1678 the name "Probstzella" appeared on a map for the first time. From 1826 to 1918 Probstzella belonged to Sachsen-Meiningen . After the end of the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen, Probstzella became part of the newly created district of Saalfeld in the state of Thuringia in 1923 . From 1952 this belonged to the district of Gera as the Saalfeld district . Since the district reform in 1994 , Probstzella has belonged to the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district .

In 1885 the last gap in the long-distance Berlin – Munich line was closed at Falkenstein 1 km south of Probstzella. In 1885 Probstzella got a connection to the railway line from Saalfeld and further over the Franconian forest line to Lichtenfels . In 1898 a branch line from Probstzella to Schmiedefeld was put into operation, which was extended to Lichte Ost in 1899 and was connected to the Coburg railway line in 1913 . In 1997, train traffic on the section to Ernstthal am Rennsteig was discontinued.

The Thuringian industrial pioneer Franz Itting had a decisive influence on the development of Probstzella in the first half of the 20th century . He built the first coal-fired power plant , which went into operation on September 2, 1909. In 1913 it supplied over 60 municipalities with electricity, later over 120 municipalities. In the 1920s, Itting had the House of the People built, a multi-storey hotel designed by the architect Alfred Arndt . It is considered to be the largest Bauhaus ensemble in Thuringia.

In the time of National Socialism , the "little house", a former barn on Marktgölitzer Strasse, became a center for the gatherings of Christians of the Confessing Church , led by the Evangelical Lutheran pastor Walter Korth. The German-Christian church leadership had expelled him from the rectory. He was arrested several times by the Gestapo because he called for intercession for Pastor Martin Niemöller , and others. a. at Wespenstein Castle in Graefenthal . Towards the end of the Second World War , in April 1945, columns of prisoners on a death march from Buchenwald concentration camp passed the village of Lichtentanne. In 1971 the FIR erected a memorial stone at the train station for the victims .

After the end of the Second World War, Probstzella was on the southern border of the Soviet occupation zone , from 1949 the GDR . From 1954 the place belonged to the five-kilometer exclusion zone , which made visits from other GDR citizens almost impossible. The road via Falkenstein to Ludwigsstadt was interrupted, and tourism came to a standstill. Mines were laid in the border strip . The House of the People, which was used as a rest and convalescent home after the war, had to cease operations. In order to prevent the increasing emigration of Probstzella citizens as well as some entrepreneurs in the direction of Bavaria, in 1952 and 1961 "politically unreliable people" were forced to move into the interior of the GDR. The station , which was now a border station 1000 m from the border for trains from Berlin to Munich, was comprehensively expanded with barriers, a deflection switch on a buffer stop and strictly guarded. For the trains of the GDR internal traffic from Saalfeld in the direction of Sonneberg, a track loop was created to bypass the border station and the Probstzella stop was set up. In 1976 a four-story building was built for border clearance, while the House of the People became the house of culture for the border troops .

Arthur Petzold took up the position of community doctor ("Staatliche Ärztepraxis") in 1965 after a predecessor had to leave the place for political reasons. Petzold's wife, from Thuringia, accompanied him, although she was against moving to the exclusion zone because she had heard of harassment. At first there was no pharmacy in Probstzella. The doctor was not allowed to go to the nearest pharmacy in Graefenthal, only 3 km away, because it was in a different district, i.e. a different restricted zone. Therefore, railway workers had to deliver the medicines they needed. Because Petzold "repeatedly criticized the absurdities", he was replaced and, as the last resettled from Probstzella, had to move to the interior of the GDR with his wife from October 19, 1981, one week in advance. The nephew Roland Jahn (* 1953) had visited Uncle Petzold several times from Jena , had learned various things, opposed him, lost his place at university and was kidnapped on June 7, 1983 by the State Security on a ministerial instruction and was forcibly taken to the West by train deported .

After 1990 the station lost its function as a border station. The terminal building was demolished at the end of 2008, and the House of the People was completely refurbished in 2003-2008. Around 1991 the road was reopened to motor vehicles.

Incorporations

On April 6, 1994 the previously independent communities of Roda (near Leutenberg), Unterloquitz, Schaderthal, Reichenbach near Unterloquitz, Oberloquitz, Lichtentanne, Laasen (near Probstzella) and Großgeschwenda were incorporated into Probstzella, and on March 16, 2004 Marktgölitz followed.

politics

town hall

Probstzella is the seat of the slate mountains administrative community , which consists of the towns of Graefenthal , Lehesten and the municipality of Probstzella.

Municipal council

The council of the municipality of Probstzella consists of 14 councilors. The local elections on May 26, 2019 led to the following result:

Party / list	Seats	Share of votes
Social Democratic Party (SPD)	6th	42.6%
LEFT	2	11.0%
F. u. V.	6th	46.4%
Turnout: 61.1%

mayor

The graduate engineer Sven Mechtold was elected on October 6, 2013 in the second ballot with 52.6% of the votes to succeed Marko Wolfram (SPD).

coat of arms

The coat of arms was approved on January 24, 1996 by the Thuringian State Administration Office.

Blazon : “Split between red and gold; in front a golden figure of a saint with a golden palm branch in his left hand and a black grate in his right, behind a red-armored and red-tongued black lion. "

The coat of arms was designed by the heraldist Michael Zapfe.

The coat of arms shows Saint Lawrence with a golden palm frond as a sign of his martyrdom.

Culture and sights

Buildings

Evangelical Church of St. Lorenz

House of the People

• The House of the People was built from 1925 to 1927 by Alfred Arndt and Ernst Gebhardt as a hotel and multi-purpose hall on behalf of the industrialist Franz Itting . The interior was designed entirely by artists from the Bauhaus Dessau . After the Second World War, the building was used by the GDR as a customs office, and various kinds of performances and celebrations took place in the event hall. In 1970/1971 the inside of the building was rebuilt and a restaurant was added. In 1995 the house was listed and sold in 2003 to a private owner who has set itself the goal of renovating and reusing the building. At the end of 2005 the restaurant was reopened. In the house there is a theater and concert hall as well as the central exhibition on the creation of the Green Belt Germany . Since 2014 there has been a Franz Itting Museum in the Haus des Volkes, designed by Roman Grafe .
• GDR border station museum in the historic station building of the Probstzella border station , designed by Roman Grafe
• Park with lily pond, playground and Kneipp basin
• Border tower on Hopfsberg with exhibition
• Memorial fountain "German division" on the market square
• Nature park information point "A window on the green belt"
• Local history and railway museum in the old forester's house
• Church of St. Lorenz with a late Gothic pointed arch in the basement of the tower and a baroque pulpit altar

Near Probstzella are the Thüringer Warte and Lauenstein Castle .

See also : List of cultural monuments in Probstzella

Natural monuments

One of the most interesting natural monuments is the slate nature trail with geological treasures and beautiful views around Probstzella. The Green Belt as a former border strip is also one of the places of interest.

Sports

Various sports clubs are based in the unified community of Probstzella. The most famous clubs are the Probstzellaer Sportverein e. V. , the Unterloquitzer Sportverein e. V . and the bowling club 91 Zopten eV .

Economy and Infrastructure

Probstzella division of the Wurzbach furniture factory: production of school desks

VEB Schiefergruben in Unterloquitz 1973

In the last two centuries, the slate quarries , slate processing, wood processing and the overland plant (E-Werk) were of particular economic importance. The electricity works of Franz Itting supplied more than 150 places in the region with electricity. The Second World War and the restricted area that followed (Probstzella was located in the inner-German border area during GDR times ) brought the economic upswing to a standstill. Today there are medium-sized businesses in the furniture industry and the metalworking industry. In Unterloquitz, slate mining is carried out by ulopor Thüringer Schiefer GmbH. Numerous craft businesses in the wood, metal and slate industries are active in the region.

Probstzella's infrastructure is very well developed, as the location is on the Frankenwaldbahn , which was also used by the ICE from Berlin to Munich until December 2017 . The town's train station used to be of particular importance as a border station between the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR. Even before the Second World War, the large railway facilities served as a border station (until 1920) between the Prussian and Bavarian State Railways . Furthermore, there chained the now disused on this section railway Probstzella-Neuhaus am Rennweg , which in Ernstthal am Rennsteig -ending stretch of Coburg connect to Sonnenberg produced, west off. In GDR times it was the main rail route into the Sonneberg district . Probstzella had its own depot , where mainly Prussian locomotives were exchanged for Bavarian ones.

traffic

Probstzella station

Probstzella is on the federal road 85 , which leads from Saalfeld to Kronach . Other streets connect the place with Lehesten and Gräfenthal .

In the station at the Franconian Forest Railway hour hold regional express trains of the Franken-Thüringen-express train , each in two-hour intervals alternating trains from Leipzig Hauptbahnhof - Nuremberg main station and the line Saalfeld (Saale) -Nürnberg main station.

Public facilities

The gym of the community of Probstzella belongs to the public facilities. This was inaugurated on March 11, 2011. The community operates an outdoor swimming pool in the Marktgölitz district. This was extensively renovated in 2010.

education

The Probstzella State Elementary School is located in Probstzella and uses the building of the former POS " Hanno Günther ". The foundation stone for the school was laid in 1888, and it was ceremoniously inaugurated on May 12, 1889. The school district today includes the districts of Arnsbach, Döhlen, Großgeschwenda, Kleinneundorf, Königsthal, Laasen, Lichtentanne, Limbach, Marktgölitz , Oberloquitz, Pippelsdorf, Probstzella, Reichenbach, Roda, Schaderthal, Schlaga, Unterloquitz and Zopten. The Probstzella elementary school is an open all-day school with afternoon care by the after- school care center or working groups.

The unified community has three kindergartens , which are run by various social organizations in Unterloquitz, Probstzella and Marktgölitz. A branch of the Volkshochschule of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district has been set up in the old forester's house.

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the church

• Christian August von Lengefeld (1728–1789), Prussian lieutenant general
• Friedrich Wilhelm von Lengefeld (1733–1806), born in Laasen, Prussian lieutenant general
• Emanuel Schultze (1740–1809), Protestant missionary and father of the 6th Governor of Pennsylvania
• Johann Friedrich August Breithaupt (1791–1873), mineralogist
• Helmut Dietrich (1922–1986), President of the State Bank of the GDR
• Hans-Joachim Lemnitzer (* 1931), Trade Councilor in India and Poland and President of the Chamber for Foreign Trade of the GDR, born in Arnsbach
• Klaus Schneider (* 1936), composer and jazz musician, born in Unterloquitz

Personalities who worked in Probstzella

• Franz Itting (1875–1967), industrialist, builder of the House of the People
• Alfred Arndt (1898–1976), architect of the House of the People
• Marko Wolfram (* 1974), economist, former mayor of Probstzella and district administrator of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district

literature

• Roman Grafe : The border through Germany. A chronicle from 1945 to 1990. 2nd, improved edition. Siedler, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-88680-744-4 (about Probstzella at the time of the German-German border).
• Hatt, Henry: Secret rudd project . BRABAG Zeitz am Bocksberg , Kronach, 2017.
• Walter Glemnitz: Probstzella and its surroundings. A home book. Volume 1: Probstzella and its surroundings from the beginnings to the Wars of Liberation. Council of the municipality of Probstzella, Probstzella 1971.
• Brigitte Krzyminski: Probstzella. Story + stories . Collection of articles. Self-published, Königstein 1998, ISBN 3-00-003171-5 .
• Brigitte Krzyminski: Probstzella. A century in pictures . 1st edition 1999.

Web links

Commons : Probstzella  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the unified church
• Private website about Probstzella

Individual evidence

1. ^ Population of the municipalities from the Thuringian State Office for Statistics  ( help on this ).
2. ↑ Thuringian Association of the Persecuted of the Nazi Regime - Association of Antifascists and Study Group of German Resistance 1933–1945 (Ed.): Local history guide to sites of resistance and persecution 1933–1945. Volume 8: Thuringia. VAS - Verlag für Akademische Schriften, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-88864-343-0 , p. 237 f.
3. ↑ Mysterious Places: The Probstzella border station (ARD July 10, 2017) - HD Radio Metropolis One, published July 10, 2017, accessed April 10, 2019. Video (44:40). With interviews of those affected, pictures and videos up to reunification.
4. ^ StBA: Changes in the municipalities in Germany, see 2004
5. ↑ City council election 2019 in Thuringia - final result for Probstzella
6. ↑ http://saalfeld.otz.de/web/saalfeld/startseite/detail/-/specific/Sven-Mechtold-wird-neuer-Buergermeister-in-Probstzella-159256653