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Schwarzenberg, Saxony

Western Europe

Schwarzenberg is a town in the Erzgebirgskreis district of Saxony, Germany, in the Ore Mountains near the border with the Czech Republic. Founded in the 12th century to protect a trade route, it became the largest producer of washing machines in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Writer Stefan Heym gave it wider recognition in 1987 by using the phrase Free Republic of Schwarzenberg for the brief gap between Soviet and American occupation zones that existed there in 1945. Known as the Pearl of the Erzgebirge for its historic center, castle, and St.-Georgen-Kirche built between 1690 and 1699, the town had a population of 15,475 as of December 2024.

Facts
Population
15,158 1
Area (sq km)
46.33 1
Founding Year
1150 2
Founding Year
1101 to 1200 2
Population Estimate Year
2025 1
Elevation (m)
468 1
Latitude
50.545278 degrees north 1
Longitude
12.779167 degrees east 1
Elevation Band
Lowland 3
Climate Zone
Temperate 4
Time Zone
UTC+01:00 5
FAQs

What territory was Schwarzenberg the centre of?

It was the centre of Herrschaft Schwarzenberg and later Amt Schwarzenberg.

Schwarzenberg was founded in the 12th century to protect a trade road. The small mountain town became the centre of a territory known as Herrschaft Schwarzenberg and later Amt Schwarzenberg.
Sources
1. Schwarzenberg, Saxony (Wikidata)
  • P1082 (population)
    population 15,158 (2025)
  • P625 (coordinate location)
    latitude 50.545278, longitude 12.779167
  • P2044 (elevation above sea level)
    elevation 468 m
  • P2046 (area)
    area 46.33 sq km
  • P1082 (population), P585 (point in time)
    population 15158 (2025)
View the Source
2. Schwarzenberg, Saxony (Wikipedia)
  • Lead section
    Founded in the 12th century to protect a trade road, the small mountain town became the centre of a territory known as Herrschaft Schwarzenberg and later Amt Schwarzenberg.
  • Source text, founding-year: 1150
    Schwarzenberg was first documented in 1282 as “civitas Swartzenberg”, but potsherds excavated in 1977 date back somewhat further to c.1200 and the official year of establishment has been fixed at 1150.
  • In Group: Cities of Western Europe (World), Wikipedia; part-of country and UN M49 subregion
  • On Continent: Europe, Lead paragraph names Germany; continent follows from the atlas record for Germany
    Herrschaft Schwarzenberg and later Amt Schwarzenberg. During the division of Germany
View the Source
3. OpenTopoData (SRTM 90 m): SRTM 90 m elevation at 50.5453,12.7792
OpenTopoData (SRTM 90 m)results elevation
Quote, results elevation
"elevation": 440.0
View the Source
4. Koeppen-Geiger map (Kottek et al., University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna): World Map of the Koeppen-Geiger Climate Classification, present climate data
Koeppen-Geiger map (Kottek et al., University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna)Koeppen-Geiger-ASCII.txt grid cell 50.75, 12.75
Quote, Koeppen-Geiger-ASCII.txt grid cell 50.75, 12.75
50.75 12.75 Cfb
View the Source
5. GeoNames: Schwarzenberg - GeoNames
GeoNamescities500 record 2834978, nearest place to the city coordinates (0.92 km)
Quote, cities500 record 2834978, nearest place to the city coordinates (0.92 km)
50.53791 12.78522 P PPL DE 13 00 14521 14521550 15475 467 Europe/Berlin
View the Source
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