Plauen
Plauen (German pronunciation: [ˈplaʊən]; Czech: Plavno) is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the Saxon Vogtland (German: Sächsisches Vogtland). The city lies on the river White Elster (Weiße Elster; a tributary of the Saale), in the Central Vogtlandian Hill Country. Plauen is the southwesternmost city of a string of cities sitting in the densely populated foreland of the Elster and Ore Mountains, stretching from Plauen in the southwest via Zwickau, Chemnitz and Freiberg to Dresden in the northeast. It is the capital of the Vogtland District. Plauen borders Thuringia to the north, and it is also situated near the Saxon border with Bavaria (Franconia) and the Czech Republic (Bohemia).
Plauen | |
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Clockwise from top: view over the city centre, astronomical clock, St John's Church, old market, St Mark's Church, old and new city hall | |
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Coat of arms | |
Location of Plauen within Vogtlandkreis district | |
Plauen Plauen | |
| Coordinates: 50°29′N 12°07′E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Saxony |
| District | Vogtlandkreis |
| Subdivisions | 5 city boroughs with 38 parts |
| Government | |
| • Lord mayor (2021–28) | Steffen Zenner (CDU) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 102.11 km2 (39.42 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 412 m (1,352 ft) |
| Population (2021-12-31) | |
| • Total | 63,372 |
| • Density | 620/km2 (1,600/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 08523;-5;-7;-9 |
| Dialling codes | 03741 |
| Vehicle registration | V, AE, OVL, PL, RC |
| Website | www |
Although being a Saxon city, the regional Vogtlandian dialect spoken in Plauen is a (Saxon-influenced) East Franconian variant related to the dialects of neighbouring Franconia in Bavaria. The name of the city as well as the names of many of its boroughs are of Slavic origin. Plauen and the surrounding Saxon Vogtland are known as the centre of the German embroidery and lace industry.