Zschopau (), is a town in the Erzgebirgskreis district of Saxony, Germany.
The town grew around the castle, which was built in the mid-12th century to protect the Salt Road, which crossed the Zschopau River here. Mining was also practiced from the 14th century onward, and in 1493, Zschopau was granted the privileges of a "Freie Bergstadt" However, its importance always lagged behind the major mining towns in the Ore Mountains.
The development of crafts and trades was favored by the trade route; in 1451, Zschopau was granted market rights and in 1466, brewing rights. The first guilds of weavers and calico printers were founded as early as 1529. Later, textile factories and spinning mills developed, which favored Zschopau's early transformation into an industrial city at the beginning of the 19th century.
Motorcycles have been built in Zschopau since 1922. The world's first motorcycle assembly line was located here in 1926, and the Zschopauer Motorenwerke, with its DKW brand, was the world's largest motorcycle factory for the first time, with a production of around 60,000 units in 1928. Even during the GDR era, the motorcycle factory was one of the world's largest motorcycle producers in terms of production volume.
Geography The town is located on the northwestern slopes of the Ore Mountains, on both banks of the Zschopau River, about south-east from Chemnitz. The highest point is Mt. Pilzhübel with an elevation of . The municipal area comprises the village of Krumhermersdorf, incorporated in 1999. Since German reunification, Zschopau has lost about one fourth of its population.
Zschopau has a handsome parish church dedicated to St Martin, a town hall and a castle (Schloss Wildeck), whose construction started in the twelfth century.
Historical population Year Population 1750 4,300 1841 6,100 1871 7,877 1890 7,441 1900 6,748 1910 6,732 1925 7,455 1939 8,854 1946 8,983
Notable people Heinz Auerswald (1891-1974), painter not to be confused with Heinz Auerswald German lawyer, Nazi party, 1908 - 1970 Marcus Burghardt (born 1983), bicycle racer Ulf Findeisen (born 1962), ski jumper David Füleki (born 1985), comic artist and non-fiction author Rebekka Haase (born 1993), athlete (sprinter) Axel Jungk (born 1991), skeleton racer Walter Kaaden (1919–1996), engineer Karl Kröner (1887–1972), painter
Claudia Nystad (born 1978), cross country skier Karl Schmidt-Hellerau (1873–1948), furniture manufacturer and social reformer Stefan Semmler (born 1952), rower Frank Uhlig (born 1955), footballer Roland Wieser (born 1956), racewalker
People who worked in the area
Carl Hahn (1894-1961), German-Austrian automobile builder and entrepreneur, father of VW manager Carl Hahn Walter Kaaden (1919-1996), engineer Christian Liebe (1654-1708), composer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen (1878-1964), Danish engineer and industrialist Hermann Weber (1896-1948), Constructor Valentin Weigel (1533-1588), mystical theosophical writer, priest and natural philosopher Clara Zetkin (1857-1933), socialist politician and women's rights activist
Pictures
Notes
References
External links
http://www.zschopau.de/ Official city homepage