Zschorlau
Encyclopedia
Location
Zschorlau lies nestled in the gentle hills in the western Ore MountainsOre Mountains
The Ore Mountains in Central Europe have formed a natural border between Saxony and Bohemia for many centuries. Today, the border between Germany and the Czech Republic runs just north of the main crest of the mountain range...
some 5 km from Aue
Aue
Aue is a small town in Germany at the outlet of the river Schwarzwasser into the river Mulde in the Ore Mountains, and has roughly 18,000 inhabitants. Aue was the administrative seat of the former district of Aue-Schwarzenberg in Saxony, and is part of the Erzgebirgskreis since August 2008...
and is overhung in the south by the Steinberg. The community, as is so with many former forest homestead villages (Waldhufendörfer) in the Ore Mountains, grew up on a stream, in this case the Zschorlaubach, which rises southwest of the community on a broad moor
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
y plateau known in the local speech as Dr Forst or Hoher Forst (“The Forest” or “High Forest”). Before the stream reaches the community, its waters feed the Filzteich (pond), a popular recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
area. At the end of the community’s area at the Gößnitzgrund comes a glen through which the Zschorlauer Talstraße (Zschorlau Valley Road) was built in 1907. Also in this glen is found the St. Anna am Freudenstein visitor mine.
Geology
The community lies on the southeast flank of the Schneeberger Lagerstätte (deposit), which reaches to the edge of the community. This is made clear by the headframeHeadframe
A headframe is the structural frame above an underground mine shaft. Modern headframes are built out of steel, concrete or a combination of both...
of the Türkschacht (mine) standing on a bank only a few metres behind the houses between Zschorlau and Neustädtel.
One thing that sets the St. Anna am Freudenstein visitor mine area apart is that it belongs geologically to the Schneeberger Lagerstätte, but is also considered an outlying part of that deposit.
Furthermore, the wolframite
Wolframite
Wolframite WO4, is an iron manganese tungstate mineral that is the intermediate between ferberite and huebernite . Along with scheelite, the wolframite series are the most important tungsten ore minerals. Wolframite is found in quartz veins and pegmatites associated with granitic intrusives...
deposits discovered and mined in the municipal area are interesting.
Constituent communities
The centres of Albernau (with Schindlerswerk) and Burkhardtsgrün are parts of Zschorlau, which together with neighbouring BockauBockau
Bockau is a community in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in the Free State of Saxony in Germany. The community is known for growing and researching herbs...
forms an administrative community (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft).
Municipal council
Zschorlau’s council consists of 16 seats, 15 of which are held by the CDUChristian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
and the other by the Albernauer Alternative.
Partnerships
There is a partnership with the community of DietenhofenDietenhofen
Dietenhofen is a municipality in the district of Ansbach in Bavaria, Germany.-Geography:This small village is located in the Franconian Heights about 28 km west of Nuremberg, 14 km north east of Ansbach and 38 km east of Rothenburg o.d. Tauber.The river Bibert flows through the...
in the district of Ansbach
Ansbach (district)
Ansbach is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is surrounding, but not including the city of Ansbach; nonetheless the administrative seat of the district is Ansbach. It is the district with the biggest area in Bavaria...
.
Culture and sightseeing
The St. Anna am Freudenstein visitor mine is found at the lower end of the community on the connecting road to AueAue
Aue is a small town in Germany at the outlet of the river Schwarzwasser into the river Mulde in the Ore Mountains, and has roughly 18,000 inhabitants. Aue was the administrative seat of the former district of Aue-Schwarzenberg in Saxony, and is part of the Erzgebirgskreis since August 2008...
, where the traditional Mettenschicht (literally “matins shift”) is still held at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
today, and it is public. It is a special event held on the last mining shift before Christmas, and it involves music, food and drinkhttp://www.erzgebirge.de/ERZGEBIRGE/ADVENT/701677.html. A special high point in the community’s cultural life is the Sommergastspiel (“Summer Guest Performance”) by the Dombrowsky Puppet Theatre. With cheerful plays for young and old, great numbers of visitors are lured to the quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
to Germany’s first underground puppet theatre.
Education
Zschorlau has at its disposal the Mittelschule Zschorlau (middle schoolMiddle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
) and the Grundschule Zschorlau (elementary
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
school).