Pöhla
Encyclopedia
Pöhla was a municipality lying in the valley of the river Pöhlwasser, in the district of Aue-Schwarzenberg
in Saxony
, Germany
. Since 1 January 2008, it is part of the town Schwarzenberg
.
origin and comes from the word bjelo, meaning “light” or “white”, often used in placenames. The community’s namesake is the stream that flows through it, called the Pöhlwasser.
At first, the constituent communities of Großpöhla and Kleinpöhla each developed by themselves. The first documentary mention came in 1406 under the names die Behl and die Böhl and refers to an estate. In 1495, the socage
records still show only zwene Menner in der Bele (two men). It is assumed that in the first half of the 16th century what was to become the Pfeilhammer – an ironworks
– was built on the Pöhlwasser’s left bank, raising the population so that in 1551, there were two estate owners, six cottagers and nine other inhabitants in Pöhla. Over the centuries the Pfeilhammer remained one of the village’s main employers and contributed to the rise in the villagers’ numbers.
On the other (right) side of the Pöhlwasser, another settlement had been growing at the same time. To distinguish the two places, the name "Kleinpöhla" was used for the one on the left bank and the name "Großpöhla" for the one on the right bank. Not only did the river Pöhlwasser split the two villages apart at this time, but it also marked the boundary between the later united Ämter of Schwarzenberg and Crottendorf. Großpöhla was laid out as a forest homestead village (Waldhufendorf
). At the four homesteads dwelt 26 property-owning men, among them eleven “small cottagers”, with their families in the late 16th century. By the early 19th century, Großpöhla already consisted of 75 houses and roughly 750 inhabitants, whose livelihoods lay in, among other things, lace
tatting, spoon
making, woodworking
, mining
and ironworking. In the village were a probate court and a secondary customs
post from Schwarzenberg. Near the community was found a private limekiln
.
Today, Pöhla has almost no more economic importance. It is thought that tourism
and winter sport
might help the community to a new upswing.
The community is seeking to dissolve its link with the administrative community with Markersbach and Raschau which has stood since 1995, a measure opposed by the mayors and councils of those two communities. A plebiscite held in Pöhla on 26 November 2006 has not come to fruition yet, although a majority voted to split away from the administrative community and at the same time amalgamate with the district seat of Schwarzenberg. Also, a repeated application to Saxony’s interior ministry has yet to yield results. Between January and July 2007, Pöhla’s councillors let their mandate rest, as on legal grounds they could see no possibility of implementing the plebiscite. The community’s mayor approved this move even though it might have been seen as an infringement against the Saxony municipal code. The issue was taken up once again on 19 July because important deeds could not be performed without council resolutions. It is foreseen that on 16 and 24 October, the two partner communities of Markersbach and Raschau, which are seeking a unified community of Raschau-Markersbach, will endorse the existing administrative community’s dissolution, thereby paving the way for Pöhla’s amalgamation with Schwarzenberg.
Aue-Schwarzenberg
Aue-Schwarzenberg is a former district in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It was bounded by the Czech Republic and the districts of Vogtlandkreis, Zwickauer Land, Stollberg and Annaberg.- History :...
in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, 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...
. Since 1 January 2008, it is part of the town Schwarzenberg
Schwarzenberg, Saxony
Schwarzenberg is a town in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in Saxony’s Ore Mountains, near the German–Czech border. The town lies roughly 15 km southeast of Aue, and 35 km southwest of Chemnitz....
.
Constituent communities
Pöhla has two main centres, Großpöhla (“Great Pöhla”) with Siegelhof and Kleinpöhla (“Little Pöhla”) with Pfeilhammer.History
The community of Pöhla only came into being in its current form in the mid 19th century. On 13 December 1855, the two current constituent communities of Großpöhla and Kleinpöhla were joined under the collective name of Pöhla. The name is of SlavicSlavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
origin and comes from the word bjelo, meaning “light” or “white”, often used in placenames. The community’s namesake is the stream that flows through it, called the Pöhlwasser.
At first, the constituent communities of Großpöhla and Kleinpöhla each developed by themselves. The first documentary mention came in 1406 under the names die Behl and die Böhl and refers to an estate. In 1495, the socage
Socage
Socage was one of the feudal duties and hence land tenure forms in the feudal system. A farmer, for example, held the land in exchange for a clearly defined, fixed payment to be made at specified intervals to his feudal lord, who in turn had his own feudal obligations, to the farmer and to the Crown...
records still show only zwene Menner in der Bele (two men). It is assumed that in the first half of the 16th century what was to become the Pfeilhammer – an ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
– was built on the Pöhlwasser’s left bank, raising the population so that in 1551, there were two estate owners, six cottagers and nine other inhabitants in Pöhla. Over the centuries the Pfeilhammer remained one of the village’s main employers and contributed to the rise in the villagers’ numbers.
On the other (right) side of the Pöhlwasser, another settlement had been growing at the same time. To distinguish the two places, the name "Kleinpöhla" was used for the one on the left bank and the name "Großpöhla" for the one on the right bank. Not only did the river Pöhlwasser split the two villages apart at this time, but it also marked the boundary between the later united Ämter of Schwarzenberg and Crottendorf. Großpöhla was laid out as a forest homestead village (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...
). At the four homesteads dwelt 26 property-owning men, among them eleven “small cottagers”, with their families in the late 16th century. By the early 19th century, Großpöhla already consisted of 75 houses and roughly 750 inhabitants, whose livelihoods lay in, among other things, lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
tatting, spoon
Spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
making, woodworking
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
, mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and ironworking. In the village were a probate court and a secondary customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
post from Schwarzenberg. Near the community was found a private limekiln
Limekiln
A lime kiln is used to produce quicklime through the calcination of limestone . The chemical equation for this reaction is...
.
Today, Pöhla has almost no more economic importance. It is thought that tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and winter sport
Winter sport
A winter sport is a sport which is played on snow or ice. Most such sports are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally such sports were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and ice allow more flexibility...
might help the community to a new upswing.
The community is seeking to dissolve its link with the administrative community with Markersbach and Raschau which has stood since 1995, a measure opposed by the mayors and councils of those two communities. A plebiscite held in Pöhla on 26 November 2006 has not come to fruition yet, although a majority voted to split away from the administrative community and at the same time amalgamate with the district seat of Schwarzenberg. Also, a repeated application to Saxony’s interior ministry has yet to yield results. Between January and July 2007, Pöhla’s councillors let their mandate rest, as on legal grounds they could see no possibility of implementing the plebiscite. The community’s mayor approved this move even though it might have been seen as an infringement against the Saxony municipal code. The issue was taken up once again on 19 July because important deeds could not be performed without council resolutions. It is foreseen that on 16 and 24 October, the two partner communities of Markersbach and Raschau, which are seeking a unified community of Raschau-Markersbach, will endorse the existing administrative community’s dissolution, thereby paving the way for Pöhla’s amalgamation with Schwarzenberg.
Population development
The following population figures refer to 31 December in each given year.1982 to 1988
|
1989 to 1995
|
1996 to 2002
|
2003 to 2006
|
- Source: Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen
Sightseeing
- Visitor mine opened in 1992 in the Luchsbach Valley with EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
’s biggest tinTinTin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
chamber. - Likewise in the Luchsbach Valley is found the Erbstollen Morgenstern visitor mine. Already in the 17th century there was intensive tin and silverSilverSilver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mining on the Hahnel. The Förderverein Luchsbachtal e. V. got the upper mine working “honorarily” once again with ABM (“Arbeitsbeschaffungsmaßnahmen” – make-work measures) forces brought to bear. The gallery reaches 190 m into the ground, of which 80 m is open to visitors. The temperature inside is 11-12°C the year round. - Bergbaulehrpfad (“Mining Lore Trail”) that goes to the old mining works as well as those run by SDAG Wismut (as of 1946)
- Manor houses belonging to the old hammereworks
Famous people
- The poet of the song Dar Vugelbeerbaam Max Schreyer (1845-1922) was active here from 1893 to 1919 as chief forester.
- The ski jumper Jens Weißflog grew up here.
Further reading
- August SchumannAugust SchumannFriedrich August Gottlob Schumann was a German bookseller and publisher. His best-known work is the 18-volume Lexicon of Saxony, which was completed after his death by Albert Schiffner...
: Vollständiges Staats- Post- und Zeitungs-Lexikon von Sachsen. 3. Band, Zwickau 1816, S. 523