Bockau

Geschichte

Bockau is a community in the district of Erzgebirgskreis in the Free State of Saxony in Germany. The community is known for growing and researching herbs. Owing to its centuries-old cultivation of angelica, whose roots are used in making liqueurs, Bockau is also known locally by the nickname Wurzelbucke (Wurzel is German for “root”).GeographyLocationThe place lies in the western Ore Mountains in a sheltered hollow in a side valley off the Zwickauer Mulde valley, stretching up to the Ochsenkopf bei Jägerhaus, an 823-m-high mountain.Neighbouring communitiesBordering on Bockau are Aue, Lauter, Schwarzenberg, Sosa and Zschorlau.HistoryIn the late 15th century, farmers began gathering medicinal herbs from meadows and woods and to ply a trade with them. Important to the herbal lore were, among others, spignel, lovage, angelica, valerian and rhubarb. From the roots’ essential oils they mixed medicinal tinctures, essences and pills. Not least of all, they burnt schnaps. The research establishment grew out of this. Later, herbs were grown in dedicated fields, with angelica plants even being grown as late as 1989. The roots were exported to several European countries and overseas. With the changes in the East Bloc, local herb growers were left to themselves and their herbs.