Schmochtitz

Schmochtitz Smochćicy City of Bautzen Coordinates: 51 ° 12 ′ 49 ″  N , 14 ° 21 ′ 41 ″  E
Height :	180-200 m above sea level NN
Area :	1.58 km²
Residents :	55  (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	35 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation :	April 1, 1948
Incorporated into:	Salt forest
Postal code :	02625
Area code :	03591
Location of Schmochtitz in Bautzen
The Schmochtitz manor in the 19th century

Aerial view

Schmochtitz , in Upper Sorbian Smochćicy ^{? / i} , is a village in the East Saxon district of Bautzen and has been part of the large district town of Bautzen since 1999 . Since 2007 it has officially counted as a district. Schmochtitz is in Upper Lusatia and is in the Sorbian settlement area .

geography

Schmochtitz on the measuring table from 1884

The place is located in the humid lowlands of a stream between the elevations of the Wiewalze (249 m) in the southwest and the Red Mountain (203 m) in the northeast, about six kilometers northwest of Bautzen city center.

In terms of settlement history, Schmochtitz is a manor settlement that developed southwest of the former manor (today's Bischof-Benno-Haus ). The estate had a relatively large park, most of which can still be seen today at the western exit of the village. Shortly before Großbrösern there is the so-called “Sun Temple” in the middle of the forest, which originally also belonged to the estate park.

The neighboring towns are Großbrösern ( Radibor municipality ) in the north, Großwelka in the east, Oberuhna in the south and Strohschütz in the northwest.

history

In the 1980s, a coin treasure from the 12th century was discovered on the grounds of the Schmochtitz manor, which indicates that Schmochtitz was a customs post on the national trade route Via Regia , which led from Bautzen to Kamenz at this time . The earliest known documentary mention of the place was in 1391 as Smochticz . The manor presumably existed before the 14th century, was first mentioned in 1568 and existed independently until the 20th century.

In 1763, the Saxon court marshal Peter August von Schönberg acquired the Schmochtitzer estate and had it generously expanded. In connection with the Battle of Bautzen , the property was destroyed in May 1813 and then rebuilt.

In 1925 the property was acquired by the Catholic diocese of Meißen and converted into its seminary . Training began in May 1927; The Sorbian martyr Alois Andritzki received his spiritual training here. In April 1945 the mansion was badly damaged by the war and was not rebuilt until 1986. Since 1992, the former estate has served as the Bishop Benno House (named after St. Benno von Meißen ) for the Dresden-Meißen diocese as an educational and conference center.

Until 1948 Schmochtitz was an independent rural community, since 1936 with the districts of Löschau , Oberuhna and Niederuhna . From 1948 to 1969 the place was part of the municipality of Salzenforst and since 1969 of Salzenforst-Bolbritz . Together with this it was incorporated in 1994 to Kleinwelka and finally in 1999 to Bautzen.

population

For his statistics on the Sorbian population, Arnošt Muka determined a population of 135, of which 119 were Sorbs (88%) and 16 were Germans.

In 1939 the community Schmochtitz with districts had a total of 347 inhabitants, of which about 130 were in the main town. After a brief increase in population due to the arrival of resettlers after the Second World War , the number of inhabitants fell steadily in the second half of the 20th century.

In 2000 Schmochtitz had 88 inhabitants, in 2012 there were only 51; this corresponds to a decrease of more than 40 percent in just twelve years.

Denominations

In 2010, 54 of 78 inhabitants were Protestant (69.2%), nine were Catholic (11.5%) and 15 did not belong to any or another religious community (19.2%). The Protestant population has been parish in Göda since the Reformation , the Catholic chapel of the Bishop Benno House has been a branch church of Storcha since 2002 .

Attractions

Millennium monument not far from the place

Today, the place is particularly well-known for the Bischof-Benno-Haus , located in the former manor , which today serves the diocese of Dresden-Meißen as a Catholic educational institution and conference center and the venue for numerous cultural events (e.g. Schmochtitz music nights , annual benefit concerts by Silbermond etc. ), Conferences, but also church services. The manor complex is one of the largest and most representative of its kind in all of Upper Lusatia.

To the north-west of Schmochtitz is the so-called “Millennium Monument” on the Red Mountain with the two “Slav apostles” Cyril and Method , which was built by the Sorbian-Catholic Cyril Methodius Association in 2000 to commemorate the Christianization of the Sorbs.

swell

• Schmochtitz in the Digital Historical Directory of Saxony

1. ↑ History of the goods on www.benno-haus.de
2. ↑ Ernst Tschernik: The development of the Sorbian population . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1954.
3. ↑ City administration of Bautzen: Statistical report according to city districts. February 2011 (PDF; 2.0 MB)

Web links

Commons : Schmochtitz / Smochćicy  - collection of images, videos and audio files

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