Greiz

Greiz
Town
Greiz, Thuringia
Coat of arms
Location of Greiz within Greiz district
Greiz Greiz
Coordinates: 50°39′17″N 12°11′59″E
Country	Germany
State	Thuringia
District	Greiz
Subdivisions	10
Government
• Mayor (2024–30)	Alexander Schulze (CDU)
Area
• Total	84.87 km2 (32.77 sq mi)
Elevation	265 m (869 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	20,397
• Density	240/km2 (620/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	07973
Dialling codes	03661
Vehicle registration	GRZ, ZR
Website	www.greiz.de

Greiz (/ɡraɪts/ gryts; German pronunciation: [ɡʁaɪ̯t͡s] ) is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of the state capital Erfurt, on the White Elster river.

Greiz has a large park in its centre (Fürstlich Greizer Park) which is classified as an English garden. Thomasstraße, Burgstraße, Marktstraße, Waldstraße, and Leonhardtstraße, with their Jugendstil houses, are well-known examples of that architectural style.

History

As with other nearby settlements, the place name (originally Grouts) is of Slavic origin and means gord. The first documented mention of the settlement dates from 1209. The prime location of Greiz on the confluence of the White Elster river and its tributary Göltzsch helped to make it a fast-growing town. From the 12th century it was governed by advocati (Vögte), but in 1236 it came into the possession of Gera. It was recognized as a town in the 13th century. Later the House of Reuss, a ruling German dynasty whose male members were all named Heinrich, built two castles in Greiz: the "Oberes Schloss" (Upper Castle) and the "Unteres Schloss" (Lower Castle). Both were built by famous architects and are still considered unique. Greiz became the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz until 1918.

The town was wholly destroyed by fire in 1494, and almost totally in 1802.

Greiz town center

Between 1934 and 1943, 809 people were forcibly sterilized by Nazis in the district hospital in Wichmannstraße. The local old folk's home and the care home submitted 122 sick people to the euthanasia program Aktion T4.

During World War II hundreds of prisoners of war as well as men and women from countries occupied by Nazi Germany worked as forced laborers in Sorgwald near Thalbach, a village about 2 km south-east of Greiz and in other enterprises. At least 102 of them died. There is a memorial for them in the Old Cemetery.

There is also a monument to the officer Kurt von Westernhagen, who refused orders in April 1945 to blow up the bridge and defend the town, for which he was shot by the Gestapo.

During World War II, Greiz did not suffer much damage, although 3 of the 5 bridges in town were destroyed. Ulf Merbold, who became the first astronaut from West Germany in 1983, was born here in 1941.

Greiz has a population of about 20,400 people. The former municipality Neumühle/Elster was merged into Greiz in December 2019.

Economy

In addition to a chemical works and a disused paper factory, there are mechanical engineering operations, plastics manufacturing businesses, wood machining enterprises, medical technology, suppliers to the automobile industry, printing houses, and breweries. In recent years various high-tech businesses (sensor technology, climate simulators, micro-chip production) and environmental technology companies have been developed.

• 
  Upper Castle
• 
  Upper and Lower castles
• 
  Lower Castle
• 
  View over the town
• 
  The VEB chemical factory at Greiz-Dölau 1979
• 
  The old paper factory
• 
  Aerial view of Upper Castle, 2022
• 
  Sommerpalais (Summer Palais)

Neighbouring towns and districts

The following are the districts adjacent to Greiz:

• In the Greiz district: Zeulenroda-Triebes, Langenwetzendorf, Mohlsdorf-Teichwolframsdorf, Berga/Elster
• In the Vogtlandkreis district (Saxony): Reichenbach im Vogtland, Netzschkau, Elsterberg, Pöhl, Plauen, Rosenbach/Vogtl.

Adjacent towns include:

• Elsterberg
• Reichenbach im Vogtland
• Hohenleuben
• Werdau

Transport

Greiz station is on the Gera Süd–Weischlitz railway.

Demographics

The current population is about 20,400. Like many towns in the former East Germany, Greiz has suffered from population decline in recent years.

Population from 1800 to 2016

Number of inhabitants (since 1960 as of 31st December)

Year Pop. ±% 1800 4,000 —     1833 5,600 +40.0% 1885 17,288 +208.7% 1905 23,114 +33.7% 1931 39,281 +69.9% 1946 45,410 +15.6% 1950 42,520 −6.4% 1960 39,097 −8.1% 1971 38,608 −1.3% 1981 36,684 −5.0%	Year Pop. ±% 1984 35,822 −2.3% 1994 30,206 −15.7% 1995 29,402 −2.7% 1996 28,610 −2.7% 1997 27,992 −2.2% 1998 27,324 −2.4% 1999 26,706 −2.3% 2000 26,177 −2.0% 2001 25,605 −2.2% 2002 25,037 −2.2%	Year Pop. ±% 2003 24,591 −1.8% 2004 24,199 −1.6% 2005 23,764 −1.8% 2006 23,368 −1.7% 2007 22,936 −1.8% 2008 22,548 −1.7% 2009 22,150 −1.8% 2010 21,792 −1.6% 2011 21,310 −2.2% 2012 21,580 +1.3%	Year Pop. ±% 2013 21,284 −1.4% 2014 21,111 −0.8% 2015 21,042 −0.3% 2016 20,920 −0.6% 2017 20,517 −1.9% 2018 20,103 −2.0% 2019 20,392 +1.4%
Source: Data source since 1994: Thüringian Federal Bureau of Statistics

External links

• Media related to Greiz at Wikimedia Commons
• Town of Greiz