Schwarzbach (Elterlein)

Weapon of Schwarzbach, Saxony, Germany

Schwarzbach is a village situated in the Ore Mountains in Saxony, Germany. Together with Hermannsdorf and Burgstädtel it is part of the town Elterlein.

The name 'Schwarzbach' means 'Black Stream' in German. First mentioned as "Swartzpach" in a document in 1240, the background of the name is vague. One assumption is that there was a peat-cutting site in the village that dyed the water of the stream black. Others say that in former times the forest reached until the streambank so the water appears black.

Schwarzbach is situated in a valley of the eponymous stream, that flow through the village from north to south. The town Elterlein borders on Schwarzbach in the north, Hermannsdorf in the northeast, Scheibenberg in the southeast, Markersbach in the south, Langenberg in the southwest, Waschleithe in the west and Grünhain in the northwest.

First documentary evidence of Schwarzbach in 1240

Village of Schwarzbach

In the end of the 12th century, Franconian farmers came in the Schwarzbach valley and settled down. The first documentary evidence of the existence of a village called ‘Swartzpach’ was found in 1240, when Schwarzbach was given to the monastery Grünhain. After a destruction by a fire in 1322, pope John XXII ordered a rebuild of the village. In the 16th century, many inhabitants made their money in the mining branch (Berggeschrey). Mines and hammer mills arose around Schwarzbach. In the 19th century, the main source of income was the flax cultivation and lace-making. In 1837, the inhabitants at last get an own church. The “Dorfkirche Schwarzbach” was built on a little hill in the village and is a classicistic building. In 1996, Schwarzbach was incorporated to Elterlein. Today, the village is characterized by old farmhouses and new one family houses.

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