Events
that went down in Bautzen's History
Bautzen city council
|
 A chronicle illustrated with up-to-date photographs* |
 |
|
A chronicle illustrated with up-to-date photographs* |
|
| 1002 | First written mention of Bautzen * as civitas Budusin in the Chronicle of Bishop Thietmar von Merseburg |
| 1018 | Peace of Bautzen concluded after sixteen years of military conflict between the Polish duchy and the early-feudal German city, which remains under Polish occupation until 1031 |
| 1158 | After being an object of horse-trading among German kings, counts and dukes, King Barbarossa grants Bohemia the city in fee |
| 1213 | First town hall built of stone * |
| 1215 | At the point of today's St. Peter's Cathedral, which becomes an interdenominational church over 300 years later, starts construction of the Church of St. John |
| 1284 | Brandenburg's Margraves grant Bautzen, which is pledged as a fief to them those days, the priviledge of establishing the first bazaar in the Upper Lusatia |
| 1319 | Annexed by the Kingdom of Bohemia once again |
| 1346 | Foundation of the "Six-City League of Upper Lusatia" for giving robber barons as good as one gets. The members are Bautzen (secretary), Goerlitz, Loebau, Zittau, Kamenz and Lauben (Luban) |
| 1400 | Bautzen is one of the biggest cities of th region with its some 5000 inhabitants - bigger than Dresden those days |
| 1408 | After several craftsmen's rebellions at the beginning of the century the King of Bohemia finishes the riots in Bautzen. 14 of the 100 craftsmen sentenced to death executed in public at the Main Market *. |
| 1429/31 | The "Six-City League of Upper Lusatia"refuses to join the Hussites. Consequently they try to conquer Bautzen, but fail - also because of the almost completed inner and outer city walls * |
| 1469 | 21 years of political allegiance to the Hungary under Matthias Corvinus, whose sculpture on the east side of the Matthiasturm bears a great resemblance to him, start * |
| 1507 | Since the "Stapelrecht" (the right to hold fairs) goes to the city of Leipzig, the Upper Lusatia loses its economic importance |
| 1547 | Ostensibly because of refusing to provide assistance in the Schmalkaldic War (Battle of Muehlberg), the six cities of the Upper Lusatian League forfeit all of their privileges and holdings to the Emperor, Bohemia |
| 1552 | Michael Wohlrab founded the first printing office in the town |
| 1558 | The Old Waterworks built of stone |
| 1596 | First town library founded |
| 1618 | The Thirty Year's War begins with the Defenestration of Prague and ends with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. During the war Bautzen is besieged by Saxon troops (1620) and Swedish troops (1639), Wallenstein's troops march through this region (1633), Colonel von der Golz conquers Bautzen and on his orders it is set on fire (1634) |
| 1635 | Peace of Prague. The City goes as "Mannlehen" (a kind of fief) to Saxony |
| 1709, 1720 | Devastating city fires |
| 1813 | Battle around Bautzen against Napoleon's army |
| 1846 | Railway station erected and railway line between Dresden and Bautzen opened |
| 1868 | The city is renamed to its final German designation Bautzen (Sorbian: Budysin) |
| 1900 | They begin to build the Royal Saxon Prison, which determines the image of the town during several periods of time in this century |
| 1909 | The "Crown Prince Bridge" over the valley of the river Spree is built |
| 1937/1938 | The motorway to Bautzen is completed |
| 1939-1945 | World War II - in February 1945 the first streams with refugees arrive the town. On 18th April, 1945, the "Red Army" and Polish troops try to conquer the city, Bautzen is declared a fortress and capitulation refused. The city is left with the bridges blown up and heavily damaged buildings |
| 1949 | On 21st December, Stalin's birthday, the biggest bridge of Bautzen (renamed to Friedensbruecke) is presented to the public |
| 1974 | Completion of the Bautzen Spree Dam and creation of an recreation area |
| 1989 | Meetings in churches and demonstrations for political change in "East Germany". |
| 1990 | German Reunification - On the one hand the inner city is renewed, on the other hand for some factories start economically difficult times, which cause a high unemployment rate in this region |
| 1995 | Bautzen becomes a major regional administrative centre with about 46 thousand inhabitants |
| 1999 | A big shopping centre is being built in the city. Almost at the same time they began to pull down the tower block with 168 flats erected in 1968, which has always been a matter of contest * |
