Gröditz

Gröditz
Town hall
Coat of arms
Gröditz
Location of Gröditz within Meißen district
Coordinates: 51°25′0″N 13°27′59″E / 51.41667°N 13.46639°E / 51.41667; 13.46639Coordinates: 51°25′0″N 13°27′59″E / 51.41667°N 13.46639°E / 51.41667; 13.46639
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Meißen
Government
• Mayor	Jochen Reinicke
Area
• Total	28.78 km2 (11.11 sq mi)
Elevation	95 m (312 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	7,409
• Density	260/km2 (670/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	01609
Dialling codes	035263
Vehicle registration	MEI
Website	www.groeditz.de

Gröditz is a town in the district Meißen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. The town is located 12 km northeast of Riesa, and 7 km southwest of Elsterwerda.

Gröditz is located on a 100 meter high plains that of the Röder is crossed. The city is located on the Saxon side of today's Saxon - Brandenburg border and the former Saxon - Prussian border. By Groeditz leads the Elsterwerda-Grödel raft Channel (Floßgraben) that for the supply of the Dresden-Meissen Elbe Valley with wood from the Schrade forest was created and later to a location-promoting compound of iron-processing plants Riesa, Groeditz and Lauchhammer was (1947 shipping set).

Gröditz includes not only the core city's districts but also Nauwalde, Nieska, Reppis, Spansberg and Schweinfurth.

The town was first mentioned in 1363, but was at least since the late 12th century and was inhabited Slavic (the Röderaue has been inhabited since the 1st century). Erected in 1748 Elsterwerda-Grödel raft Channel, by a Bomätscher (Treidler, ship puller) powered waterway, formed the basis for the later industrialization. Graf Detlev Carl von Einsiedel bought 1779 Groditzer mill and founded at this location Gröditzer ironworks (Lauchhammer plant), in 1825, the foundation stone for the construction of a blast furnace, which was taken 1827 in operation.

During the World War II, there was a forced labor camp in the Lauchhammer works of the Central German steel plants of the Flick Group, in which 4000 prisoners of war, women and men from the countries occupied by Germany forced labor had to do in the gun production. Moreover, there was from October 1944 to April 1945 a Outdoor stock of Flossenbürg with more than 1000 concentration camp prisoners, including 300 Jews. The extremely inhumane living conditions led to the deaths of many forced laborers.