Plauen

Template:Infobox Town DE

Plauen is a city in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany, located at 50°29′N 12°07′E / 50.483°N 12.117°E / 50.483; 12.117. The city is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.

Slogan: Plauen - echt Spitze

History

The city was founded by Slavs in the 12th century and was passed to Bohemia in 1327 and to Saxony in 1466. The population is 69,160 (Sep 2005). In the late 19th century, Plauen became a textile manufacturing center, specializing in lace. Around 1910 Plauen, as a kind of industrial 'boomtown', reached its population peak (1910 census: 121,000 inhabitants). (1912: 128,000 - the top level).

In the 1930s Plauen earned the dubious distinction of hosting the first chapter of the Nazi Party outside of Bavaria.

From 1945 on, it belonged to the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, from 1949 to 1990 to the German Democratic Republic. During that time it hosted a big soviet army occupation garrison and in the last years of the East German state the officer school of the border guards ("Grenztruppen der DDR"). Plauen's population shrunk dramatically since WW-2 (1939: 111,000 inhabitants!). The exposé Fast Food Nation gives special mention to Plauen as the first city in East Germany following the collapse of the Berlin Wall to have a McDonald's restaurant.

The upcoming district reform of July 1 2008 will see the town of Plauen to loose its urban district status and be included into the district of Vogtlandkreis.