Cunewalde
Encyclopedia
Cunewalde (ˌkuːnəˈvaldə) or in the Sorbian language
Kumwałd is a community in the district of Bautzen
in the east of the federal Free State of Saxony in Germany
. It can be found in the Lusatia
n mountains or hill land between the cities of Bautzen
and Löbau
in a valley between the hills of the Czorneboh, the Hromadik and the Bieleboh, 499 m (1,622 feet) above sea level. It is one of the biggest villages in upper Lusatia
.
and Thuringia
came to find a new place to live in this region. At both sides of the "Cunewalder Wasser" – a small river that flows through the valley – each of the settlers got an own piece of land that contained three different types of land-use — meadow, field and wood. This land could have a length of up to 2.5 km (1.6 mi). The village became a typical Waldhufendorf
.
The village itself never became a battlefield directly but the people in it also had to suffer under war and its battles. In the years between 1631 and 1633 about half of the inhabitants died because of an epidemic (bubonic plague
). In the seven-years-war the valley of Cunewalde has been used by the Austria
n general Daun as a place to collect and form its army before the Battle of Hochkirch
in 1758.
For about 500 years the village has been a rich peasant village - after the Thirty years War the developing handicraft became more important. It's been supported by exiles from Bohemia who brought with them the practice of weaving. Soon weaving became a practice in the whole village - the "Cunewalder Hemd" was famous in the region because of its astonishing quality.
At the end of the 19th century the small weavers in their small houses had to face a growing textile industry. Cunewalde was one of the first place in the upper Lusatia with big industry-buildings. That time also the infrastructurel network developed - a new railway-connection between Großpostwitz - Cunewalde and further to Obercunewalde has been opened in 1890. Another connection has been created in 1928 between Cunewalde and Löbau
. The entire railway-connection was given up in 1998.
Sorbian languages
The Sorbian languages are classified under the Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. They are the native languages of the Sorbs, a Slavic minority in the Lusatia region of eastern Germany. Historically the language has also been known as Wendish or Lusatian. Their collective ISO 639-2 code...
Kumwałd is a community in the district of Bautzen
Bautzen (district)
Bautzen is a district in the Free State of Saxony in Germany including the former districts of Bischofswerda and Kamenz. It is bounded by the Czech Republic, the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, the district-free city Dresden and the districts of Meißen and Görlitz...
in the east of the federal Free State of Saxony in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It can be found in the Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
n mountains or hill land between the cities of Bautzen
Bautzen
Bautzen is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and administrative centre of the eponymous district. It is located on the Spree River. As of 2008, its population is 41,161...
and Löbau
Lobau
The Lobau is a Vienna floodplain on the northern side of the Danube and partly in Großenzersdorf, Lower Austria. It has been part of the Danube-Auen National Park since 1996 and has been a protected area since 1978. It is used as a recreational area and is known as a site of nudism. There is...
in a valley between the hills of the Czorneboh, the Hromadik and the Bieleboh, 499 m (1,622 feet) above sea level. It is one of the biggest villages in upper Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
.
History
Cunewalde first has been mentioned in a document from 1222 - but its origins are much older. It seems possible that an inhabited place existed in 1004 at a street between Bautzen and "Böhmisch Zwickau". But the real settlement started in the 13th century when settlers from FranconiaFranconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
and Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
came to find a new place to live in this region. At both sides of the "Cunewalder Wasser" – a small river that flows through the valley – each of the settlers got an own piece of land that contained three different types of land-use — meadow, field and wood. This land could have a length of up to 2.5 km (1.6 mi). The village became a typical Waldhufendorf
Waldhufendorf
The Waldhufendorf is a form of rural settlement established in areas of forest clearing with the farms arranged in a series along a road or stream, like beads on a chain...
.
The village itself never became a battlefield directly but the people in it also had to suffer under war and its battles. In the years between 1631 and 1633 about half of the inhabitants died because of an epidemic (bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
). In the seven-years-war the valley of Cunewalde has been used by the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n general Daun as a place to collect and form its army before the Battle of Hochkirch
Battle of Hochkirch
The Battle of Hochkirch was a battle fought on October 14, 1758 during the Seven Years' War between a Prussian army of 30,000-36,000 commanded by Frederick the Great and an Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by Marshal Leopold Josef Graf Daun...
in 1758.
For about 500 years the village has been a rich peasant village - after the Thirty years War the developing handicraft became more important. It's been supported by exiles from Bohemia who brought with them the practice of weaving. Soon weaving became a practice in the whole village - the "Cunewalder Hemd" was famous in the region because of its astonishing quality.
At the end of the 19th century the small weavers in their small houses had to face a growing textile industry. Cunewalde was one of the first place in the upper Lusatia with big industry-buildings. That time also the infrastructurel network developed - a new railway-connection between Großpostwitz - Cunewalde and further to Obercunewalde has been opened in 1890. Another connection has been created in 1928 between Cunewalde and Löbau
Lobau
The Lobau is a Vienna floodplain on the northern side of the Danube and partly in Großenzersdorf, Lower Austria. It has been part of the Danube-Auen National Park since 1996 and has been a protected area since 1978. It is used as a recreational area and is known as a site of nudism. There is...
. The entire railway-connection was given up in 1998.