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	Alexander Schulze (Ind.)
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 is a town in Thuringia, and it is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia on the river White Elster.

Greiz has a large park in its center (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. In Prof.-Dr.-Friedrich-Schneider-Straße 4 there is one of the earliest examples of Art Deco architecture (built in 1911).

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. It was recognized as a town in the 13th century. Later the House of Reuss, a ruling German dynasty, built 2 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).

Greiz town center

During World War II, Greiz did not suffer much damage, although 3 of the 5 bridges in town were destroyed. In 1941, Ulf Merbold was born there, who became in 1983 the first astronaut from the Federal Republic of Germany (Sigmund Jähn, born only 40 km (24.85 mi) away, was the first German space traveller, representing the German Democratic Republic in 1978 as a cosmonaut).

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 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 developed.

Neigbouring Towns

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
• Hohenleuben
• Werdau

Greiz station is on the Gera Süd–Weischlitz railway.

Demographics

Historical population

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

1800 - 1950 1800: 4,000 1833: 5,600 1885: 17,288 1905: 23,114 1931: 39,281 1946: 45,410 1950: 42,520

1960 - 1999 1960: 39,097 1971: 38,608 1981: 36,684 1984: 35,822 1994: 30,206 1995: 29,402 1996: 28,610 1997: 27,992 1998: 27,324 1999: 26,706

2000 - 2009 2000: 26,177 2001: 25,605 2002: 25,037 2003: 24,591 2004: 24,199 2005: 23,764 2006: 23,368 2007: 22,936 2008: 22,548 2009: 22,150

2010 - 2019 2010: 21,792 2011: 21,310 2012: 21,580 2013: 21,284 2014: 21,111 2015: 21,042 2016: 20,920 2017: 20,517 2018: 20,103 2019: 20,392

Data source since 1994: Thüringian Federal Bureau of Statistics

See also

• Media related to Greiz at Wikimedia Commons

External links

• Town of Greiz