Hoyerswerda: Socialist Model Town, Lausitz Lakes, and Saxony's Shrinking City in Sorbian Country
Hoyerswerda has a population around 44,000 and lies in the Lusatian (Lausitz) region of Saxony. The town is bilingual; alongside the German name, it carries the Upper Sorbian name Wojerecy. In the 1950s and 1960s, Hoyerswerda grew from a small town of 7,000 to a socialist model city of nearly 72,000, built to house workers at the Schwarze Pumpe lignite processing combine.
The Neustadt, the GDR-era Plattenbau quarter, is being partly demolished under the Stadtumbau Ost programme as population decline continues. The Altstadt retains some older buildings including the Schloss Hoyerswerda, which houses the town museum. Konrad Zuse, inventor of the Z3 computer, grew up here; the Konrad-Zuse-Computermuseum documents his work. The Lausitzer Seenland, a chain of former open-cast mining pits being flooded to create Europe's largest artificial lake district, surrounds the town. The Knappensee and Senftenberger See are already open for bathing. Adult companionship follows Saxon regulatory standards.
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Hoyerswerda has a population around 44,000 and lies in the Lusatian (Lausitz) region of Saxony. The town is bilingual; alongside the German name, it carries the Upper Sorbian name Wojerecy. In the 1950s and 1960s, Hoyerswerda grew from a small town of 7,000 to a socialist model city of nearly 72,000, built to house workers at the Schwarze Pumpe lignite processing combine.
The Neustadt, the GDR-era Plattenbau quarter, is being partly demolished under the Stadtumbau Ost programme as population decline continues. The Altstadt retains some older buildings including the Schloss Hoyerswerda, which houses the town museum. Konrad Zuse, inventor of the Z3 computer, grew up here; the Konrad-Zuse-Computermuseum documents his work. The Lausitzer Seenland, a chain of former open-cast mining pits being flooded to create Europe's largest artificial lake district, surrounds the town. The Knappensee and Senftenberger See are already open for bathing. Adult companionship follows Saxon regulatory standards.
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