Bautzen, Upper Sorbian Budyšin (listen)ⓘ/?, until 3 June 1868 officially Budissin (see place name), is a large district town in eastern Saxony. The town lies on the Spree and is the district seat of the Bautzen district named after it. With about 38,000 inhabitants, Bautzen is both the largest city in the district and the second largest in Upper Lusatia, as well as its historic capital.
The city in the south of the Sorbian settlement area is considered the political and cultural centre of the Sorbs and is the seat of numerous Sorbian institutions. The city is part of the Euroregion Neisse.
Geography
Ancient water art, St Michael's Church and the Spree
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Location
The town on the Spree lies about 50 kilometres east of Dresden at the transition of the Lusatian uplands to the lowlands in the north in the natural area of the Upper Lusatian Slope. To the north of the town is the Bautzen dam, completed in 1974, and on its site were formerly the villages of Malsitz (Małsecy) and Nimschütz (Hněwsecy) in the Spree valley. About eight kilometres south of the town, the Spree River emerges from the Lusatian mountains between the Drohmberg (Lubin) in the east and the Mönchswalder Berg (Mnišonc in Upper Sorbian) in the west.
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Geology and soil
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The bedrock in the area of the city of Bautzen is formed by the Lusatian granodiorite. In some places, this is close to the surface in the area of hilltops and hills, and in the valley incision of the Spree it appears in the form of open rock formations. During the Elster and Saale ice ages, meltwater sands overlaid the bedrock. Particularly in the Salzenforst area, gravels and sands therefore occur close to the surface. Both the Lusatian granodiorite and the gravels and sands are used for mining in the urban area of Bautzen.
The soils in the urban area have developed mainly from the loess loam. The predominant soils are loess-parabraun soils, which are free of waterlogging, and the average number of arable fields is between 50 and 60. NHN, the highest point of the historic urban area is located on the meat market between the cathedral and the town hall. This elevation was formerly known as Irrenberg. The highest elevation of the entire present-day urban area is 268 m above sea level. NHN is the Chorberg near the village of Salzenforst. At 154.2 m a.s.l. NHN, the lowest point of the urban area is located on the Spree below the Bautzen dam directly at the city border with Malschwitz.[2]
Extension of the urban area
The ancient town of Bautzen extends on the rocky plateau above the Spree, with the Ortenburg Castle at its top. It is bounded by the city wall. The later built newer parts of the city in the east of the city are enclosed by the city wall. After its demolition, the city initially spread further east and to the other bank of the Spree in the west. However, west of the Spree there is only a small part of the enclosed urban development. In the 1970s, the new housing estates Gesundbrunnen and Allendeviertel (both in the east) were built. Since 1990, several neighbouring villages have been incorporated (see section on incorporations).
Neighbouring municipalities
The town is bordered by Radibor, Großdubrau and Malschwitz to the north, Kubschütz to the east, Großpostwitz, Obergurig and Doberschau-Gaußig to the south, and Göda to the west. All neighbouring municipalities belong to the district of Bautzen.
City division
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The districts of Bautzen.
Bautzen consists since 2020 of 29 districts, previously 25. The actual core city with almost 35,000 inhabitants consists of the districts (population figures as of 31 December 2024; statistical report of the Bautzen city administration).
Innerstadt (Nutřkowne město) - The historic core of Bautzen, delimited by the (former) course of the outer city wall; includes the area of the historic inner city (14th century extension area of the city. It is largely delimited by the course of the outer city wall, which still exists in large sections in a looped form) to the east and south of the Old Town proper - population 5,457.
Northeast Ring (Sewjerowuchodny wobkruh) - Adjoins the Old Town to the north and east and consists of large sections of 19th and early 20th century town houses. Following City Council Decision No 192/11/06 of 29 November 2006, the former Stadtmitte district was merged together with areas north of the Old Town and is Bautzen's most populous district - 10,428 inhabitants.
Gesundbrunnen (Strowotna studnja) - New development area in the north-east of the city from the 1970s. Following City Council Decision No. 192/11/06 of 29 November 2006, parts of the area north of Bautzen's Old Town, which until then had been part of the Gesundbrunnen district, were separated and merged with the Stadtmitte district to form the "Nordostring" district. The Gesundbrunnen district is no longer the most populous in the city after that - 6,207 inhabitants.
Südvorstadt (Južne předměsto) - Adjoins the city centre south of the Görlitz-Dresden railway line - 1,749 inhabitants.
Westvorstadt (Zapadne předměsto) - Represents the part of the city proper west of the Spree; often referred to as "Neustadt"; according to the official division of the Bautzen city administration, the historic village of Seidau immediately north of Innenstadt and Ortenburg on the Spree belongs to Westvorstadt - 3.245 inhabitants.
Ostvorstadt (Wuchodne předměsto) - Adjoins the city centre to the south-east and consists mainly of 19th and early 20th century burgher houses and some 1930s housing estates, the Strehla (Třělany) settlement and the new housing estate "Allendeviertel" - 5,762 inhabitants.
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The following districts are rural in character and are located on the outskirts of the city:
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Teichnitz - consists of the incorporated villages of Teichnitz (Ćichońca) and New Teichnitz (Nowa Ćichońca) in the north of the urban area; 251 inhabitants.
Nadelwitz - district in the east of the city, consisting of the village of Nadelwitz (Nadźanecy) and larger areas of farmland and forest; 286 inhabitants.
Boblitz (Bobolcy) - hamlet near Oberkaina; counted to it until 2020, 30 inhabitants.
Burk (Bórk) - village in the north-eastern part of the city on the banks of the Bautzen dam; 463 inhabitants.
Oberkaina (Hornja Kina) - district in the south of the city; 775 inhabitants.
Oehna (Wownjow) - village on the Bautzen reservoir; by 2020 part of Teichnitz, 64 inhabitants.
Neumalsitz (Nowe Małsecy) - settlement on the Bautzen reservoir; by 2020 part of Teichnitz, 20 inhabitants.
Niederkaina - District and locality in north-eastern Bautzen; consists of the villages of Niederkaina (Delnja Kina) and Basankwitz (Bozankecy), both located on the Albrechtsbach stream; 436 inhabitants.
Stiebitz - Consists of the villages of Stiebitz (Sćijecy) and Rattwitz (Ratarjecy) in the western part of the city; 576 inhabitants.
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The following districts were combined to form the Kleinwelka district until 2007:
Kleinwelka (Mały Wjelkow) - formerly an independent commune in the north of the urban area; 719 inhabitants.
Großwelka (Wulki Wjelkow) - immediately adjacent to Kleinwelka to the west; 261 inhabitants.
Lubachau (Lubochow) - village west of the Bautzen dam; 81 inhabitants.
Kleinseidau (Zajdow) - south of Kleinwelka, physically contiguous with it; 175 inhabitants.
These districts in the north-west of the urban area were part of the municipality of Salzenforst-Bolbritz until 1994 and were combined to form the district of the same name until 2007:
Bloaschütz (Błohašecy, 104 inhabitants) - site of the Bautzen-Salzenforst industrial estate,
Bolbritz (Bolborcy, 124 inhabitants),
Döberkitz (Debrikecy, 52 inhabitants),
Löschau (Lešawa, 22 inhabitants),
Niederuhna (Delni Wunjow, 26 inhabitants) - to become Oberuhna by 2020,
Oberuhna (Horni Wunjow, 65 inhabitants),
Salzforst (Słona Boršć, 272 inhabitants),
Schmochtitz (Smochćicy, 47 inhabitants),
Temritz (Ćemjercy, 65 inhabitants),
The district of Auritz (Wuricy) in the south-east of the city was reorganised from Kubschütz to Bautzen in 1999 and is now a district consisting of the village of Auritz and part of Jenkwitz (Jenkecy) with a population of 412.
Bautzen, also known as Budyšin, is a large district town in eastern Saxony with a population of around 38,000. As the political and cultural centre of the Sorbs, it is the seat of numerous Sorbian institutions. The town is situated on the River Spree and is part of the Euroregion Neisse. The urban area comprises 29 districts.
