Bautzen

Bautzen
Coordinates	51°10′53″N 14°25′26″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
Admin. region	Dresden
District	Bautzen
Town subdivisions	15
Mayor	Christian Schramm (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	66.63 km2 (25.73 sq mi)
Elevation	204 m  (669 ft)
Population	40,740  (31 December 2009)
- Density	611 /km2 (1,584 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	BZ
Postal code	02625
Area code	03591
Website	www.bautzen.de

Bautzen ([ˈbautsn̩] , Upper Sorbian: Budyšin, Lower Sorbian: Budyšyn [ˈbudɨʃɨn]; Polish: Budziszyn) is a city in eastern Saxony, Germany, and capital of the Bautzen Rural District. It is on the Spree River.

In 2005, 42,189 people lived in Bautzen. Asteroid 11580 Bautzen is named in honour of the city.

Bautzen is historical capital of Upper Lusatia, and it is the most important cultural centre of the Sorbs, a Slavic minority.

During World War II and the Nazi era, there was a subcamp of the Groß-Rosen concentration camp in Bautzen. Ernst Thälmann was imprisoned there before being deported to Buchenwald.

After the war Bautzen was well known in the German Democratic Republic because of its prison. Bautzen I was used as an official prison, Bautzen II was a secret prison for prisoners of conscience (people arrested for their political beliefs, not because of an ordinary crime). Bautzen I is still used as a prison, and Bautzen II has been a memorial since 1993.

In 2002 the city commemorated its thousandth birthday.

Twin cities

Reichenturm tower

• Worms, since 1990
• Heidelberg, since 1991
• Dreux, France, since 1992
• Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic, since 1993
• Jelenia Góra, Poland, since 1993

Other websites

• Official website
• Interactive sightseeing tour through Bautzen
• City and regional portal of Bautzen and the Oberlausitz