Saalau

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
City of Wittichenau
Coordinates: 51 ° 21 '43 "  N , 14 ° 13' 58"  E
Height : 131 m above sea level NN
Area : 2.79 km²
Residents : 174  (December 31, 2016)
Population density : 62 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation : July 1, 1950
Incorporated into: Kotten
Postal code : 02997
Area code : 035725
The Saalauer Mühle with a wayside cross typical of the Catholic region in the foreground
The Saalauer Mühle with a wayside cross typical of the Catholic region in the foreground
Aerial view

Saalau , Upper Sorbian Salow ? / i , is a place in the north of the Bautzen district in East Saxony and has belonged to the city of Wittichenau since 1994 . The place is located in the Upper Lusatian heath and pond landscape and is part of the Sorbian settlement area . Audio file / audio sample

geography

Saalau is located about 25 kilometers northwest of the large district town of Bautzen and nine kilometers south of Hoyerswerda . The city of Wittichenau is three kilometers away. The Black Elster runs south of the village ; the Saalau mill is also located here.

The immediate vicinity of Saalau is used for agriculture; in the northwest, however, an extensive forest area begins, which extends continuously over ten kilometers to just before Lauta and Schwarzkollm . The Dubringer Moor , one of the largest nature reserves in Saxony, forms part of this area .

Saalau is a typical street green village, with the still clearly recognizable meadow forming the center of the village to this day. The neighboring towns are Wittichenau in the north, Hoske in the east, Kotten in the southeast, Sollschwitz in the southwest and Liebegast (municipality of Oßling ) in the west.

history

The place was first mentioned in 1264 as Zalowe . Other forms of name recorded are Czalow (1374), Salaw (1436) and Sallaw (1600). Together with the neighboring Sollschwitz, Saalau was acquired by the Panschwitz St. Marienstern Monastery for 120 marks. Saalau is part of the historic Netherlands ( Delany ) of monastery maintenance.

In 1429 the village was almost completely destroyed by the Hussites.

Since 1541 the place has been occupied by the traditional Catholic-Sorbian Easter horseback riding, with Saalau on the route of the procession from Ralbitz to Wittichenau. This Easter riding was first mentioned as such in 1490. Festively dressed men ride on decorated horses to Wittichenau and from there to the partner parish Ralbitz and proclaim the resurrection of Christ while singing and praying.

With the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Prussian-Saxon border was relocated. From then on, Saalau belonged to the Kingdom of Prussia, which primarily affected economic relations with neighboring towns to the south (in Saxony). The border itself ran about two kilometers from Saalau. The place belonged to the district of Hoyerswerda formed in 1825 . From 1996 to 2008 the community moved to the district of Kamenz and since then, as in the 18th century, back to the district of Bautzen .

Saalau has had its own brick factory since the middle of the 19th century. The generator installed in their own brickworks in 1884 supplied the entire village with electricity.

Until July 1, 1950, Saalau was an independent rural community; then it was first incorporated into Kotten and on January 1, 1994 reclassified as a district from Kotten to Wittichenau.

population

Wayside shrine in Saalau

The place was probably founded by settlers from the Saale region. The immigrants who had to give way to German pressure to the east were Sorbs. This fact explains that until now Saalau has mostly Sorbian residents.

For his statistics on the Sorbian population in Upper Lusatia, Arnošt Muka determined a population of 129 in the 1880s; without exception all of them were Sorbs . In 1956 Ernst Tschernik still counted 61.4% of the population in the municipality of Kotten, to which Saalau now belonged, who spoke Sorbian. Sorbian is also spoken in the village to this day.

The population rose slowly to around 150 inhabitants by the middle of the 20th century. Shortly before the political change, Saalau temporarily had over 200 residents; today there are a little less.

Saalau is traditionally Catholic and has been part of the parish of St. Mariä Himmelfahrt Wittichenau since at least the 16th century. The Protestant part is also parish to Wittichenau.

The majority of the villagers are in the local youth association Katholische Landjugend Saalau e. V., the volunteer fire brigade or the senior group.

place

The center of the village is the chapel. Saalau has a sports field, a culture house provided by the city of Wittichenau, a children's playground, a few ponds and a mill.

The current structure of the chapel was built in 1953. From the 16-meter-high tower, what is probably the oldest bishopric calls to worship. It dates from the 14th century and originally served the community in the Wittichenau parish church . An automatic system has been installed since mid-2010, and it rings daily at 12 noon and 6 p.m. The fact that the chapel had a much older predecessor is made clear by the statue of the Virgin Mary preserved in the chapel, which dates from the 17th century and was carried from Saalau to Rosenthal in processions by girls in traditional costumes (Družki).

particularities

Saalau / Salow plays a similar role in the Sorbian narrative culture as Schilda and the Schildbürger do in the German one. The funny anecdotes that are ascribed to the Saalau residents are also very similar to individual Schildbürger pranks. Jurij Brězan took up this tradition in his novel The People of Salow and used it to create the fictional history of a typical Sorbian village in northern Upper Lusatia.

Economy and Infrastructure

Saalau is the headquarters of Energieversorgung Schwarze Elster GmbH, which operates a natural gas network within a radius of more than 15 kilometers.

Traditions and Customs

Sorbian customs determine village life to this day. This includes camping in the village itself as well as taking part in the carnival parades in the carnival stronghold of Wittichenau.

On Easter Sunday, a large number of the men from Saalau take part in the Easter riding.

With the witch burning on April 30th, winter is symbolically driven away. This custom is particularly popular with the children who collect wood cuttings throughout April.

Before the pile is ignited, however, a maypole is made, adorned with fresh greenery and colorful ribbons and set up by the local men. This is an old ritual that is supposed to transfer health and fertility to the residents. The maypole throwing takes place towards the end of May. At this festival, the young people perform a Sorbian dance program. Then the tree is brought down. The young men run to the top, whoever reaches it first is named May King and can choose his queen from the girls present. The annual mosquito disco, which is organized by the local youth association “Katholischen Landjugend Saalau eV”, has also become a tradition.

Web links

Commons : Saalau / Salow  - collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

  • Saalau in the Digital Historical Directory of Saxony

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ernst Tschernik: The development of the Sorbian population . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1954.
  2. ^ Ludwig Elle: Language policy in the Lausitz . Domowina-Verlag, Bautzen 1995, p. 244 .
  3. ↑ Susanne Hose: Stories about Weißenberger, Salower and Schildauer. In: Sabine Wienker-Piepho, Klaus Roth: Telling between cultures. Waxmann Verlag 2004, p. 97 ff.