Döbeln is a town in Saxony, Germany, part of the Mittelsachsen district. It sits on the banks of the Freiberger Mulde river.

Location and geography

Döbeln is situated in the Central Saxon Hill country in the wide basin of the Freiberger Mulde, roughly in the middle of the triangle between Chemnitz (40 km away), Dresden (50 km away) and Leipzig (70 km away). The surrounding area is characterized by the Mulde valley, the lower Zschopau valley and the surrounding hilly landscape. The Zschopau flows into the Mulde near the village of Schweta. Döbeln has a traditional old town, whose central part is located on the Mulde Island and is surrounded by two branches of the Freiberger Mulde river. Districts of the town are Döbeln-Ost, Döbeln-Nord, Gärtitz, Großbauchlitz, Keuern, Kleinbauchlitz, Masten, Pommlitz, Sörmitz, and Zschackwitz. Döbeln has two highway exits on the Bundesautobahn 14, Döbeln Nord and Döbeln Ost.

History

Döbeln is known as the "boot town" (Stiefelstadt) because of the world's largest historical giant boots. The first stood around 4.60 metres tall and was made by Döbeln shoemakers in 1925 for the 600th anniversary of their guild. In 1937, it became the property of the town of Döbeln and stood in the town hall and the town museum Wappenhenschstift. A bigger model boot, the Leisniger Riesenstiefel, was made in 1996 and is 4.90 metres tall. Its size earned it an entry in the Guinness Book of Records in 1997 as the largest top boot in the world.

Population history

From 31 December 1960 unless otherwise noted: Note that the village of Ebersbach, with its population of approximately 1,000 was merged into Döbeln in 2011. On 1 January 2016, the former municipality Mochau became part of Döbeln.

Memorials

Transport

Döbeln Central Station is on the Borsdorf–Coswig and Riesa–Chemnitz lines. It has two connections to the A14 motorway (Autobahn). Döbeln has the last remaining horse-drawn tram line in Germany, in the form of the Döbeln Tramway. This line originally ran from 1892 to 1926, and was reopened in 2007.

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Döbeln is twinned with:

Sources