Saalburg-Ebersdorf

Saalburg-Ebersdorf
Ebersdorf Castle
Saalburg-Ebersdorf
Location of Saalburg-Ebersdorf within Saale-Orla-Kreis district
Coordinates: 50°29′30″N 11°42′0″E / 50.49167°N 11.70000°E / 50.49167; 11.70000Coordinates: 50°29′30″N 11°42′0″E / 50.49167°N 11.70000°E / 50.49167; 11.70000
Country	Germany
State	Thuringia
District	Saale-Orla-Kreis
Government
• Mayor	Volker Ortwig
Area
• Total	71.87 km2 (27.75 sq mi)
Elevation	431 m (1,414 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	3,479
• Density	48/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	07929, 07368
Dialling codes	036647, 036651
Vehicle registration	SOK
Website	www.saalburg-ebersdorf.de

Saalburg-Ebersdorf is a town in the Saale-Orla-Kreis district, in Thuringia, Germany close to the Bavarian border. It is situated on the river Saale, 10 km southwest of Schleiz, 30 km west of Plauen and 30 km north-west of Hof.

The town is an administrative union of two large villages (Saalburg and Ebersdorf) lying either side of the Saale river near the Bleilochtalsperre as well as several smaller villages in between and around them.

The earliest records of the towns and villages of Saalburg-Ebersdorf are from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They lay on and around the historical trade route between Nuremberg and Leipzig.

Saalburg and Ebersdorf became increasingly important in the seventeenth century as regional seats of the Counts von Reuss.

Saalburg was established under the Lobdaburger reign in around 1313. Some ruins from this early settlement remain today, including a 3-meter-high remnant of the city wall.

From 1647-1666, Saalburg was the seat of the state of Reuss-Saalburg.

Saalburg subsequently became part of the state of Reuss-Greiz (or Reuss Elder Line).

Ebersdorf dates its foundation to 1401.

In 1678, the state of Reuss-Lobenstein was partitioned and the state of Reuss-Ebersdorf was created under Heinrich X. Schloss Ebersdorf was built in 1692-1694 to house the court of the new state.

Under the influence of the Reuss Princes, Ebersdorf became a centre of Pietism in Germany. The related Moravian faith also took a minority hold in Ebersdorf after the marriage of Erdmuthe Dorothea Reuss-Ebersdorf to Nicolaus Zinzendorf.

The Moravian Church (pictured) was built in 1746. The classical west facade of Schloss Ebersdorf, shown in the main photo above, was designed by Christian Friedrich Schuricht and was completed in 1792.