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Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 Budissin in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river, is the eighth most populous town in Saxony, and is the seat of Saxony's largest district. Bautzen lies in the bilingual Sorbian settlement area ( Serbski sydlenski rum) of Lusatia, and is Lusatia's third-largest town after Cottbus and Görlitz, as well as the second-largest town in Upper Lusatia.
The town lies in the hilly Upper Lusatian Gefilde ( Hornjołužiske hona), a part of the northwesternmost foothills of the Sudetes, just north of the Lusatian Highlands. Bautzen is the first larger town on the Spree River (), and the Bautzen Reservoir ( Budyska rěčna zawěra) lies in the north of the town. In 2021, Bautzen had a population of around 38,000.
Although Görlitz is larger, it is Bautzen that is regarded as the historical capital of Upper Lusatia. Bautzen is the political and cultural center of the entirety of the Slavs minority of the Sorbs (Upper and Lower), although Lower Lusatia and the Lower Sorbian-speaking Sorbs have an own, second center, which is Cottbus. About 10 percent of Bautzen's population is Upper Sorbian-speaking. The use of the language is more widespread in the countryside surrounding the town than in the town itself. Bautzen is the seat of several Sorbian institutions like the Domowina, the German-Sorbian People's Theater ( Němsko-Serbske ludowe dźiwadło), and Sorbian Broadcasting ( Sorbischer Rundfunk, Serbski rozhłós).
From 1346 until 1815, the town was a member of the Lusatian League. The Bautzen Wenceslaus' Market ( Bautzener Wenzelsmarkt, Upper Sorbian: Budyske Wjacławske wiki) is "Germany's oldest Christmas market mentioned in a chronicle". Asteroid 11580 Bautzen is named in honour of the city.
Besides Bautzen (German language) and Budyšin (Upper Sorbian), the town has had the following names:
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The first written evidence of the city is from 1002 under the name Budusin (, ). In 1018 the Peace of Bautzen was signed between the German king Henry II and the Polish ruler Bolesław I the Brave. The treaty left the town under Polish rule. In 1032 it passed to the Margraviate of Meissen within the Holy Roman Empire, in 1075 to the Duchy of Bohemia, elevated to a kingdom in 1198 (with short periods of Brandenburgian and Hungarian rule), in 1635 to Saxony, whose Prince-electors were also Polish kings in personal union from 1697 to 1763. One of two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through the town at that time.
From 1346 to 1815, it was a member of the Lusatian League of the Upper Lusatian cities of Görlitz, Zittau, Löbau, Kamenz, Lubań, and Bautzen.
In 1429 and 1431 the town was unsuccessfully besieged by the Hussites. In 1634, it was destroyed by the Swedish Empire during the Thirty Years' War. It was the site of one of the battlefields of the Napoleonic War Battle of Bautzen in 1813. In 1868, the name was officially changed from Budissin to the more Germanized form Bautzen.
In 1839, the Sorbian student organization Societas Slavica Budissenensis was founded in the city. In 1845, the Sorbian national anthem was publicly performed for the first time in the city. The Serbski dom (), a Sorbian cultural centre, was opened in the city in 1904.
After the Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933, many political prisoners were held in the Bautzen I and Bautzen II prisons, built in 1904 and 1906, respectively. During the Kristallnacht in 1938, local Jews were persecuted and Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed. During World War II, in 1942–1943, the Nazis conducted three trials of members of the Polish resistance at the local court, sentencing thirteen to death. The AL Bautzen subcamp of the Groß-Rosen concentration camp operated in Bautzen. At least 600 men, mostly Poles, but also of other nationalities, were imprisoned there, about 310 of whom died. Ernst Thälmann was imprisoned there before being deported to Buchenwald. In April 1945, the Germans evacuated many prisoners on foot to Nixdorf, where they were liberated by Polish troops on May 8, 1945, while the remaining prisoners were liberated in Bautzen by the Soviets on April 20, 1945. Between 21 April and 30 April 1945, the Battle of Bautzen was fought which resulted in the town being recaptured by the German army.
From 1952 to 1990, Bautzen was part of the Bezirk Dresden of East Germany. Bautzen was infamous throughout East Germany for its two penitentiaries. "Bautzen I" was used as an official prison, soon to be nicknamed Gelbes Elend ("Yellow Misery") due to its outer colour, whereas the more secretive "Bautzen II" was used as a facility to hold political prisoners, dissidents and prisoners of conscience. Today, Bautzen I is known as the Bautzen Correctional Institution and is used to hold prisoners who are awaiting trial. Bautzen II which was also operated by the GDR's Stasi, has served as an open memorial since 1993, operated by the Saxon Memorials Foundation. It is accessible to the public. Guided tours are provided and occasionally, films are screened. A permanent exhibition depicts the misery suffered by occupants; visitors may tour detention cells, the isolation area and the yards where prisoners were allowed to exercise.
In 2002 the city commemorated its 1000th birthday. In 2010 it was hit by a flood.
As of December 31, 2011, 98.3% of Bautzen's residents were of German origin, with 6.1% having a migration background.
(as of December 31 unless otherwise stated)
Sites of interest include:
There are six museums in Bautzen, including the Stadtmuseum Bautzen ("Bautzen city Museum"), the Sorbian Museum ("Sorbian Museum", Sorbian: Serbski muzej) and the Senfmuseum ( Mustard Museum).
The mustard Bautz'ner Senf is produced in Bautzen. It is the market leader in the new states of Germany with a market share of 65 percent.
(2026). 9781474241540, Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781474241540
(1995). 9783980422628 ISBN 9783980422628 This meant Bautzen and its surroundings stayed in German hands until Germany's capitulation.
Population development
During the Early Middle Ages, Bautzen was one of the largest cities in Central Germany. However, from around the 15th century, its population growth began to stagnate. The relatively late onset of industrialization in Bautzen brought new momentum, leading to population growth even during the era of East Germany. Following the Peaceful Revolution of 1990, however, the city’s population declined significantly, dropping from 52,000 in 1989 to around 38,000, largely due to emigration and low birth rates. Since the early 2000s, this decline has slowed considerably. Today, Bautzen ranks as the 10th largest city in Saxony by population.
Politics
The Bautzen City Council consists of 34 members. It meets either in the or in the . There are also four local councils (Niederkaina, Stiebitz, Kleinwelka, and Salzenforst-Bolbritz), whose honorary members are elected for five years.
Mayors
Main sights
Bautzen has a very compact and well-preserved medieval town centre with numerous churches and towers and a city wall on the steep embankment to the river Spree, with one of the oldest preserved waterworks in central Europe (built 1558).
Sorbian institutions
Bautzen is the seat of several institutions of the cultural self-administration of the Sorbian people:
Economy
Alstom operates a large factory on Fabrikstraße making railway locomotives, carriages and trams. It was built by the former VEB Waggonbau Bautzen, which was acquired by Bombardier Transportation in 1998 via Deutsche Waggonbau and acquired by Alstom when Bombardier Transportation was sold by parent Bombardier Inc. in 2021.
Notable people
Twin towns – sister cities
Bautzen is Sister city with:
External links
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