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{{other uses}}
{{Infobox German location
|type              = Stadt
|image_photo       = Colditz - panoramio.jpg
|image_caption     = Town and castle
|image_coa         = DEU Colditz COA.svg
|coordinates       = {{coord|51|07|45|N|12|48|25|E|type:city_region:DE|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan        = Colditz in L.svg
|state             = Sachsen
|district          = Leipzig
|elevation         = 156
|area              = 84.09
|postal_code       = 04680
|area_code         = 034381
|licence           = L, BNA, GHA, GRM, MTL, WUR
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 14729080
|divisions         = 4
|website           = [http://www.colditz.de/ www.colditz.de]
|mayor             = Robert Zillmann<ref>[https://www.statistik.sachsen.de/wahlen/bm/BM2001-2018/B%fcrgermeisterwahlen%202001-2018/wahlen.statistik.sachsen.de/wahlarchiv/pkg_w04_nav5c95.html Bürgermeisterwahlen 2018], Freistaat Sachsen, accessed 10 July 2021.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2018&ndash;25
|party             = Independent
}}
'''Colditz''' ({{IPA|de|ˈkɔldɪts|-|De-Colditz.ogg}}) is a small town in the district of [[Leipzig (district)|Leipzig]], in [[Saxony]], [[Germany]]. It is best known for [[Colditz Castle]], the site of the [[Oflag IV-C]] [[prisoner-of-war camp|POW camp]] for officers in [[World War II]].

==Geography==
Colditz is situated in the [[Leipzig Bay]], southeast of the city of [[Leipzig]]. The town centre is located on the banks of [[Zwickau Mulde]] river, south of its confluence with the [[Freiberger Mulde|Freiberg Mulde]]. The municipality had a population of 8,374 in 2020.

The town Colditz consists of Colditz proper and the ''Ortsteile'' (divisions) Bockwitz, Collmen, Commichau, Erlbach, Erlln, Hausdorf, Hohnbach, Kaltenborn, Koltzschen, [[Lastau]], Leisenau, Maaschwitz, Meuselwitz, Möseln, Podelwitz, Raschütz, Schönbach, Sermuth, Skoplau, Tanndorf, Terpitzsch, Zollwitz, [[Zschadraß]], Zschetzsch and Zschirla.<ref>[https://www.colditz.de/seite/300556/ortsteile.html Ortsteile], Stadt Colditz, accessed 12 October 2021.</ref>

==History==
[[File:SCHLOSS COLDITZ1.jpg|thumb|left|Colditz Castle on the Mulde river]]
The first record of a [[burgward]] on the Mulde river, called ''Cholidistcha'', dates to the year 1046,<ref name="colditz.de">{{cite web
|url=http://www.colditz.de/seite/288899/geschichte.html|title= Geschichte|publisher=Stadt Colditz|access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref> when Emperor [[Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry III]] dedicated it to his consort [[Agnes of Poitou]]. The name is possibly of [[Polabian Slavs|Slavic]] origin.

In 1083, Henry's son and successor [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV]] recommended that his follower Count [[Wiprecht of Groitzsch]] build a castle on the cliff above the river. From 1158, under the rule of Emperor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]], the fortress became the residence of the noble [[:de:Colditz_(Adelsgeschlecht)|House of Colditz]], a dynasty of ''[[ministerialis|ministeriales]]'' in the Imperial [[Pleissnerland]] territory. In the 12th century, merchant houses were built around a marketplace below the castle and St. Nicholas' Church was built. In 1265, the Colditz citizens were granted [[German town law|town privileges]] by the ruler.

In 1243, the former Imperial estates were pledged to the [[House of Wettin|Wettin]] margrave [[Henry III, Margrave of Meissen|Henry III of Meissen]]. His grandson, Margrave [[Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen|Frederick I of Meissen]] occupied Colditz Castle in 1309. The whole lordship was finally incorporated into the [[Margravate of Meissen]] by 1404. Merged into the [[Electorate of Saxony]] from 1423, Colditz was held by Elector [[Ernest, Elector of Saxony|Ernest]] upon the 1485 [[Treaty of Leipzig]].

In 1504, the local baker accidentally set Colditz on fire, and the city hall, church, castle and a large part of the town went up in flames. In 1506, reconstruction began and new buildings were raised around the rear castle courtyard. After the defeat of Elector [[John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony|John Frederick I of Saxony]] in the [[Schmalkaldic War]] of 1546–47, the town passed to his cousin [[Maurice, Elector of Saxony|Maurice]]. His descendants continued to rebuild Colditz Castle as a hunting lodge. From 1602 to 1622, it served as the residence of Dowager Electress [[Sophie of Brandenburg|Sophie]], widow of Elector [[Christian I, Elector of Saxony|Christian I]].

In the 17th century, the cloth and linen manufacture developed. In the 18th century, clay from the Colditz area started to be used in the [[Meissen porcelain]] factory that was established in 1710 by Elector [[Augustus the Strong]]. In 1804 a ceramics factory was established in Colditz by Thomsberger & Hermann.

[[File:Allied Prisoners of War at Oflag Ivc, Colditz HU20269.jpg|thumb|left|Allied officers at Colditz Castle (1941)]]
In the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] era, Colditz Castle was temporarily used as a [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camp]] by the [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] and as a ''[[Reichsarbeitsdienst]]'' camp. During the Second World War, the town did not suffer any damage. In 1940, the town became the headquarters of the German military district [[Wehrkreis IV]] for personnel guarding an ''[[Oflag]]'' POW camp for officers, when Oflag IV-C was established in the castle. It became widely known after the war, for both its notable inmates (''Prominente''), such as [[Giles Romilly]] or  [[George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood|George Lascelles]], and several escape attempts.

On 14{{nbsp}}April 1945, the U.S. Army entered the town and freed the prisoners. However, under agreements signed at the [[Yalta Conference]], the Americans withdrew and were replaced by [[Red Army|Soviet]] occupation forces late in June 1945. As a result, Colditz and the entire state of Saxony became part of [[East Germany]]. In 1958, the [[Volkseigener Betrieb|publicly owned]] porcelain factory was established. It produced a major part of the dishes used by [[Mitropa]], as evident by the manufacturer's logo "cp". Both the porcelain and chamotte industries went into decline after 1990.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.zweimuldenland.de/weissesgold/Das-weisse-Gold.html | title = Das weisse Gold | publisher =  Tourist-Information Colditz | date = 15 May 2012}}</ref>

Since [[German reunification]] in 1990, efforts have been made to increase visits by tourists. The castle was restored and has become a much visited museum.<ref>[http://www.schloss-colditz.com/index.php?langswitch=eng Visiting Colditz Castle]</ref> The great [[2002 European floods|flood of August 2002]] as well as the [[2013 European floods|flood of 2013]] caused some damage to the old town, but it has since been restored.

==Sights==
* [[Colditz Castle]]
* St. Nicholas Church – Originally built in the middle of the 12th century.
* Old Marketplace – ''Markt'', the houses at #13 and #21 were built around 1600.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.colditz.de/seite/288899/geschichte.html | title = Geschichte | publisher = Stadt Colditz | access-date = 8 March 2017}}</ref>
* Lower Market #3 – ''Untermarkt 3'' – a Gothic house with steep gabled roof with date 1564.
* [[Johann David Köhler]] house – the grandfather of information science and a grandfather of library science was born here 16 January 1684.

==Transport==
The nearest airports are [[Leipzig-Altenburg Airport]] (26&nbsp;km) and [[Leipzig/Halle Airport]] (52&nbsp;km). Traffic on the section of the [[Glauchau–Wurzen railway|Glauchau-Großbothen railway line]], which ran through Colditz, ceased in 2000. Public transport is provided by buses, with services to [[Grimma]], [[Leisnig]], [[Hartha]], [[Rochlitz]], and [[Bad Lausick]], as well as to several villages in the vicinity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mdv.de/site/uploads/LNP_muldental.pdf |title=Liniennetz Landkreis Leipzig, Region Muldental |date=11 December 2016 |publisher=Mitteldeutscher Verkehrsverbund |access-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305200137/https://www.mdv.de/site/uploads/LNP_muldental.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2017 |url-status=dead}} 2016 map of bus services in the area</ref>

==Wartime dramatisations==
The story of the wartime prisoners at [[Oflag IV-C]] was documented by [[Pat Reid|Patrick Robert ("Pat") Reid]] in his books ''The Colditz Story'' and ''The Latter Days At Colditz'', and the former was used as the basis for a 1955 film directed by [[Guy Hamilton]]. In the early 1970s the BBC broadcast a series, ''[[Colditz (1972 TV series)|Colditz]]'', created by [[Brian Degas]] and [[Gerard Glaister]], with Reid as technical advisor. 
In 1973 the TV comedy series [[The Two Ronnies]] shot a sketch "Colditz" featuring [[Ronnie Corbett]] in the role of the new detainee and [[Ronnie Barker]] as camp commandant.
Beginning in 1973 a board game [[Escape from Colditz]] was marketed by [[Parker Brothers]], followed by a computer game in 1991.

== Notable people ==
=== From the city ===
[[File:Johann David Koehler.jpg|thumb|150px|Johann David Koehler 1720]]
* [[Johann David Köhler]] (1684–1755), historian and numismatic
* [[Paul Nitsche]] (1876–1948), psychiatrist and one of the men responsible for the medical murders during the Nazi era, executed for crimes against humanity
* [[Ernst Bergmann (philosopher)|Ernst Bergmann]] (1881–1945), professor of philosophy and pedagogy and proponent of a new German national religion.
* [[Werner Gruner]] (1904–1995), mechanical engineer and university lecturer
* [[Jürgen Schumann]] (1940–1977), pilot of the [[Lufthansa]], victim of the [[Red Army Faction]]
* [[Clemens Pickel]] (born 1961), bishop of the diocese of Saratov in Russia

=== Others related to the city ===
* [[Christian Führer]] (1943–2014), priest in Colditz from 1968 to 1980, an initiator of the peaceful revolution in the GDR  as pastor of the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig
* [[Ernest, Elector of Saxony]] (1441–1486), died on 26 August 1486 near Colditz, when he fell from his horse on a ride

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Michael Booker, ''Collecting Colditz and Its Secrets'', page 32.
* Eric J. Narveson, ''Prison Citadel'', pp.&nbsp;36–37.
* [[Pat Reid]], ''Colditz: The Full Story'', pp.&nbsp;124, 259–263.
* [[Georg Martin Schädlich]], ''Tales from Colditz Castle'', pp.&nbsp;4–6, 27, 61, 63, 91–101.
* {{HOV}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Colditz}}
* [http://www.colditz.de Official website] {{in lang|de}}
* {{cite web | url = http://www.colditz.de/data/include_tourismus/schloss_colditz/objekt_eng.php | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050921164757/http://www.colditz.de/data/include_tourismus/schloss_colditz/objekt_eng.php | title = Exposé on Colditz Castle: Description of the Building | publisher = Stadt Colditz | archive-date = 21 September 2005}}
* [http://www.schloss-colditz.com/index.php?langswitch=eng  Visiting information for Colditz Castle]
* [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Kriegsgefangenenlager/Offizierslager-R.htm  German army records] indicate the camp was in existence from September 1939 until April 1945.
*[http://www.virtualcolditz.com VirtualColditz.com] &mdash; Videos and photos of Colditz Castle as it is today.

{{Geographic location
| Northwest = 
| North = [[Grimma]]
| Northeast = [[Leisnig]]
| West = [[Bad Lausick]]
| Centre = Colditz
| East = [[Hartha]]
| Southwest = [[Königsfeld (Sachsen)|Königsfeld]]
| South = [[Zettlitz]]
| Southeast = [[Geringswalde]]
}}

{{Colditz}}
{{Cities and towns in Leipzig (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Colditz| ]]
[[Category:Leipzig (district)]]