Forest idyll

Forest idyll City of Altenberg Coordinates: 50 ° 48 ′ 12 "  N , 13 ° 44 ′ 7"  E
Height :	720 m above sea level NN
Residents :	139  (December 31, 2018)
Postal code :	01773
Area code :	035052
Location of idyllic forest in Saxony

Waldidylle is a district of the town of Altenberg in the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district .

geography

location

Forest idyll is located about 36 km south of Dresden and about 6 km north of Altenberg in the Eastern Ore Mountains at about 720 m above sea level. NN .

Natural space

In terms of nature, the place and its immediate surroundings belong to the low mountain range of the upper Eastern Ore Mountains .

history

The beginnings

In the 19th century the forest and field areas of the Falkenhain farmers extended in the area of ​​Waldidylle. Around 1890 the division of the once large parcels into individual parcels began.

At that time, a wealthy bourgeoisie was developing in the cities, who could afford a second place of residence far away from the noise of the big cities.

Also within the less well-to-do sections of the population a movement towards nature gained more and more foothold, hiking clubs were formed and people went to the countryside on the weekends. A decisive impetus came from the commissioning of the Kleinbahn Hainsberg - Schmiedeberg in 1882, which was expanded to Kipsdorf in 1883, as well as from the construction of the Müglitztalbahn in 1890. With these new means of transport, thousands of summer visitors came to the small Erzgebirge villages and tourism took off rapidly.

Waldidylle was created in the course of this development and is next to Tal Kipsdorf the youngest settlement in the Eastern Ore Mountains.

The first thirty years

The master builder Karl Klotz from Dippoldiswalde was in charge of developing the idyllic forest . He built the Klotzbaude, which is now named after him, as the first house in the area. Immediately thereafter, a second building followed, the "Villa Waldidylle", which as an inn and guesthouse already accommodated the first vacationers in 1903 and is known today as the "Erzgebirgsbaude". Karl Klotz as the owner also offers summer apartments, runs a restoration and also lends dishes to residents of the villa colony. Even before 1910, the "Villa Waldidylle" was extended by an annex to accommodate the increasing number of guests. Holiday rooms were also rented in the other houses; in addition to simple rooms, accommodation with central heating was also offered. Until 1930 there were 10 houses in the idyllic forest, mostly built as weekend houses.

The 1930s

30 years after the village was founded, Waldidylle experienced a second construction phase, as a result of which the place doubled in size. The basis for this was, among other things, a progressive development of the building site for this time. In 1930 a central water pipeline with associated waterworks was built, and the sewage pipes were laid in the trenches at the same time, as the construction of a sewage treatment plant was planned. Roads and footpaths were laid out and a bus drove from Dresden 3 times a day to Waldidylle, in winter to Oberbärenburg, from where a horse-drawn sleigh ride was possible.

Equally worthy of recognition is the endeavor to achieve a nature-friendly construction method that is typical of the region. The Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz (State Association of Saxon Homeland Protection) worked with the builder Frido Tröger from Oberbärenburg and the builder Oette from Schmiedeberg to develop a development concept for a forest idyll that provided for a moderate expansion of the place within the high forest and the construction of a spa house. One of the first prefabricated houses was also built on 100 piles in Waldidylle . It was important to sell large plots of more than 1000 m² in order to preserve the character of a spacious forest settlement. With square meter prices of 2 to 4 RM / m², only the wealthy could afford it. So mainly factory owners and financially strong middle classes settled in the place. For example, general music director Karl Böhm , the manufacturer Emil Theodor Robert Gleitsmann and Albert Fromme acquired properties.

Also in 1930 a grocery store was built, which was enlarged again in 1938 and also included a shoemaker's workshop and its own post office.

From that time on, the “Villa Waldidylle” was called “Erzgebirgsbaude” and had a new owner in Arthur Rabbow, the Vogler family opened the “Zugspitze” as a café and guesthouse and in 1938 Paul Cugier built the “Falkenhorst” as the “Hotel Berghof”. Many advertisements and leaflets advertised the beneficial mountain climate, the beautiful nature and praised the newly built holiday quarters with all amenities such as running water, central heating and garages. The Waldidyller drinking water was very popular with the guests, and they often filled up something for themselves at home.

The period from 1939 to the end of the war

The interim economic upswing under the National Socialists promoted rapid local development and also brought a large number of holiday and weekend guests to Falkenhain and Waldidylle. An expansion of the district up to the southern border of Falkenhain with the old municipal office as the center of the village was considered, these plans foiled the approaching Second World War . The new zeitgeist also made itself felt in the place in other ways. The Elisabethklause was converted into a National Socialist nurses' home and Adolf Hitler's sister and niece moved into quarters in the village. With the beginning of the Second World War, the brisk construction activity in Waldidylle came to an end and vacationers stayed away. An Iraqi oil sheikh and his retinue lived in Haus Sonnenhof from 1943 onwards; he was under the political protection of the Nazi regime. Forest idyll itself was spared the direct effects of war.

the post war period

Instead of vacationers, resettlers and bombed-out families from Dresden came to the town in 1945 and looked for living space. All private houses had to take in refugees, people lived very cramped and the occupancy changed frequently. As everywhere, the procurement of food came first. The often park-like gardens were used to grow vegetables and potatoes and for this reason they were often defaced beyond recognition; The community park was also cultivated. Two particularly cold and snowy winters made life even more difficult, relaxation and vacation were out of the question for the time being.

1950-1989

In the fifties, more and more vacationers came to the place. But here, too, a change could be observed, private rentals took a back seat and the FDGB took over the holiday operations. In addition to the Berghof Falkenhorst as FDGB-Heim and the now HO -gaststätte Erzgebirgsbaude as well as the Café Zugspitze as FDGB contract partner, company holiday homes were also built. Buildings whose owners had moved to the west were used for this. Forest idyll developed again into a vacation spot and due to the large number of accommodations and the limited travel opportunities, those seeking relaxation came in large numbers. Once again, prominent guests were drawn to the idyllic forest, for example the opera singer Elfride Trötschel and the film director Eberhard Fischer lived in the Falkenhorst. But also political representatives of the former GDR stayed in town: Walter Ulbricht stayed here and the Prime Minister of Saxony, Max Seydewitz , had his holiday home in town.

For the vacationers, there were many sports opportunities, especially in winter. In Oberbärenburg , the Kammbergbahn has been continuously expanded since 1954, the Riesengrundschanze, which was built in 1930/31 in Riesengrund, was the venue for many competitions and cross-country skiing trails offered the opportunity for extensive winter hikes. The district had in turn become a well-known and popular holiday resort. With a population of 250 people, it had grown significantly. In summer as in winter, numerous guests also lived in the village.

1989 until today

After 40 years of the GDR, with the fall of 1989, a different era began for the Waldidylle district. The holiday homes were still occupied by FDGB holidaymakers until 1990, after which the “Erzgebirgsbaude” and “Falkenhorst” were closed, only the “Zugspitze” remained (until 2007) in the possession of the Vogler family and is now owned by the “Singing Landlady” “Operated. Since the end of 2004 the “Berghotel Falkenhorst” has been reopened in its old beauty. The post office was closed and in October 2000 the grocery store operator gave up. In January 2009, the Hamburg operators of the "Falkenhorst" announced in a circular to their regular guests that the mountain hotel would be closed again on February 22, 2009, as the house could not be managed to cover costs. The main reason is the low occupancy during the week.

Shortly after the reunification, a citizens' initiative was founded in the village, which campaigned in the community for the interests of the district. A major turning point was the municipal area reform. Falkenhain, to which Waldidylle belonged as a district from the beginning, was one of the last places that belonged to Altenberg from January 1st, 1999. This was preceded by violent controversies in the local council and a public vote on whether the place should be affiliated with Schmiedeberg or Altenberg. There were also considerations to separate Waldidylle from Falkenhain and go to Altenberg alone.

The homeland club

From the citizens' initiative founded shortly after the reunification, the Heimatverein Waldidylle emerged on February 23, 1999. The purpose of the association is to shape cultural life, participate in local politics and design the townscape. In 2000, the 100th anniversary of the town was celebrated at great expense. The association has, among other things, been intensively involved in the development of local design statutes in order to preserve the typical character of the place in the future. After 2000, a ski hiking trail was opened around the idyllic forest. In honor of the long-time shopkeeper and post office operator, the “Gerhard-Schmieder-Steig” was inaugurated after his death in 2004. In 2008, extensive work was carried out on the “Panoramaweg”, which offers beautiful views of the Eastern Ore Mountains and Dresden in many places.

Public and social institutions

• AWO children's home

literature

• Heimatverein Waldidylle: Chronicle on the occasion of the 100th anniversary , 2000

Web links

• Waldidylle website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Numbers and facts on the website of the city of Altenberg