Wurzen is a town in the Leipzig district of Saxony, Germany, on the Mulde river about twenty five kilometers east of Leipzig on the main railway line to Dresden, with 16,238 residents as of December 2024. First mentioned in a donation charter of Otto I in 961, it has a twelfth century cathedral and a castle once used as a residence of the bishops of Meissen, lies on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route along the Via Regia, and in 1839 gained the first German railway bridge, built across the Mulde for the Leipzig-Dresden line.
Facts
Area (sq km) Founding Year Founding Year Population Estimate Year Elevation (m) Latitude51.366667 degrees north 1 FAQs
Which document first mentions Wurzen?
A charter of donation by Emperor Otto I in 961.
Wurzen is first mentioned in documents in the year 961, which makes it one of the oldest towns in Saxony. The document is a charter of donation by Emperor Otto I, which refers to the castle district of Wurzen as civitas vurcine.
Sources
1. Wurzen (Wikidata)
P1082 (population)
population 16,159 (2025)
P625 (coordinate location)
latitude 51.366667, longitude 12.733333
P2044 (elevation above sea level)
elevation 124 m
P2046 (area)
area 68.54 sq km
P1082 (population), P585 (point in time)
population 16159 (2025)
View the Source2. Wurzen (Wikipedia)
Source text, founding-year-range-start: 961
Founded after 600 by Slavs, Wurzen is first mentioned in the act of donation from Otto I in 961 as a "Burgward" civitas vurcine.
Source text, founding-year-range-end: 961
Founded after 600 by Slavs, Wurzen is first mentioned in the act of donation from Otto I in 961 as a "Burgward" civitas vurcine.
Source text, founding-year: 961
Founded after 600 by Slavs, Wurzen is first mentioned in the act of donation from Otto I in 961 as a "Burgward" civitas vurcine.
- 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
district Leipzig Land (voting) and Muldental (number plates), in Saxony, Germany
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