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Saxony is the tenth largest of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of 18,413 square kilometres (7,109 sq mi), and the sixth most populous, with more than 4 million inhabitants. The term Saxony has been in use for more than a millennium.
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Saxony, Land (state), eastern Germany. Poland lies to the east of Saxony, and the Czech Republic lies to the south. Saxony also borders the German states of Saxony-Anhalt to the northwest, Brandenburg to the north, Bavaria to the southwest, and Thuringia to the west. The capital is Dresden. Area 7,109 square miles (18,413 square km). Pop. (2011) 4,...
Present-day Saxony is composed largely of hill and mountain country, with only its northernmost portions and the area around Leipzig descending into the great North European Plain. The chief mountain range is the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge), which stretch for about 100 miles (160 km) along the state’s southern border and reach elevations of more than 4,000 feet (1,200 metres). In the west and southwest are subsidiary groups of this range, while the northeastern angle of the state features the mountains of Upper Lusatia (Lausitz). South of this group, and along both banks of the Elbe River, extends a picturesque region of hills and deep gorges known as the Saxon Switzerland, the site of a national park. The upper course of the Elbe River flows from southeast to northwest through the state. The Mulde, a tributary of the Elbe, is the second largest river in Saxony. More than half of Saxony’s land area is used for agriculture, and about one-fourth is forested. The region’s climate is generally temperate, though the mountain country has a harsher one.
Saxony is one of the most densely populated and populous states in eastern Germany, although since the mid-20th century its population has declined. Between 1960 and the turn of the 21st century, the number of inhabitants declined by one-fifth. More than nine-tenths of the population is ethnically German; there is a small indigenous ethnic minority, the Sorbs, and there is also a relatively small foreign population.
Northern Saxony occupies one of the most fertile parts of eastern Germany and is highly developed agriculturally, though fertility diminishes toward the Ore Mountains of the south. Wheat, barley, rape, sugar beets, fodder crops, peas, apples, butter, and cheese are the principal agricultural products, while cattle raising is important on the extensive pastures of the Ore Mountains. Forestry is also of some importance.
Saxony long had important mineral production in the Ore Mountains, including the production of uranium, but the latter has ceased, and expensive clean-up projects were undertaken across the region to reduce the contamination of mining and waste sites, especially around Aue and Zwickau. Currently lignite is the only major industrial resource still mined in significant quantities, and both production and employment in this once important sector were dramatically reduced after German unification. Lignite is mined both in northeastern Saxony in the Lusatia field near Hoyerswerda and around Leipzig in the Central German field. One clear advantage of the decreased mining and use of lignite in Saxony and the wider region has been a dramatic improvement in air quality.
Although the Saxon economy, especially manufacturing, suffered severe cutbacks after unification, it remains one of the largest economies in eastern Germany and one of the few in which ‘‘new economy’’ sectors such as microelectronics have experienced considerable growth. Nevertheless, unemployment in the state has been significant since the mid-1990s. Major manufacturing sectors in Saxony include electronics, machinery, pharmaceuticals, auto and auto parts production, food processing, publishing, and textiles. The chief manufacturing industry was once textile production, focused on Chemnitz and Zwickau, as well as many smaller urban centres. While some production in this sector continues, employment has declined drastically. Dresden, the state’s largest city in terms of area, is the production site of many types of precision optical and electrical equipment. There are also silicon-chip-production facilities in Dresden. Leipzig, the most populous city in the state, is a centre of printing and publishing, heavy engineering, and auto manufacturing. Automaking has also been important in Mosel, near Zwickau. Meissen is an important and historic centre for the production of porcelain and other ceramics, and some production of traditional wooden toys and Christmas decorations continues in towns in the Ore Mountains, most notably Seiffen.
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History of Germany. Topics. Early history. Middle Ages. Early Modern period. Unification. German Reich. Contemporary Germany. Germany portal. History portal. v. t. e. The history of Saxony began with a small tribe living on the North Sea between the Elbe and Eider River in what is now Holstein.
Melissa Snell. Updated on January 22, 2020. The Saxons were an early Germanic tribe that would play a significant role in both post-Roman Britain and early medieval Europe. From the first few centuries B.C. up until about 800 C.E., the Saxons occupied parts of northern Europe, with many of them settling along the Baltic coast.
15 giu 2023 · The Saxons were a Germanic people of the region north of the Elbe River stretching from Holstein (in modern-day Germany) to the North Sea. The Saxons who migrated to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries CE along with the Angles, Frisians, and Jutes came to be known as Anglo-Saxons to differentiate them from those on the continent.
- Joshua J. Mark
- Who were the Saxons?The Saxons were a Germanic people who inhabited the area of modern-day Germany on the coast of the North Sea.
- What is the difference between Saxons and Anglo-Saxons?The term 'Anglo-Saxon' refers to those Saxons who migrated from Germania to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries CE and only came into use after 10...
- What happened to the Saxons who remained in Germania?The Saxons who remained in Saxony in Germania were defeated by Charlemagne of the Franks in 804 CE and were afterwards assimilated into the wider p...
- What happened to the Anglo-Saxons in Britain?The Anglo-Saxons in Britain were united under the leadership of Alfred the Great (r. 871-899 CE) and assimilated with the Britons and others.
8 mar 2024 · Saxony. Category: Geography & Travel. German: Sachsen. French: Saxe. Major Events: Seven Years' War. Congress of Vienna. War of the Grand Alliance. Battle of Breitenfeld. Seven Weeks' War. (Show more) Key People: Henry III. Jakob Bohme. Georgius Agricola. Samuel, Freiherr von Pufendorf. Friedrich Ferdinand, Graf von Beust. (Show more)
4 mar 2024 · Saxon, member of a Germanic people who in ancient times lived in the area of modern Schleswig and along the Baltic coast. During the 5th century CE the Saxons spread rapidly through north Germany and along the coasts of Gaul and Britain. Learn more about Saxons in this article.
