Markkleeberg

Geschichte

Markkleeberg is a town in the Leipzig district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is on the river Pleiße, approximately 7 km south of Leipzig.HistoryThe town now called Markkleeberg has its origins in several towns that have been merged over the years. The center of modern-day Markkleeberg used to be called Oetzsch. It was merged with the smaller outlying district Markkleeberg in 1911 and renamed Oetzsch-Markkleeberg. Oetzsch-Markkleeberg was in turn merged with Gautzsch and the whole town was called "Markkleeberg", although Markkleeberg was the smallest, because it sounded most Germanic at a time of Nazi-led Germanisation.The etymology of Markkleeberg may be 'clover hill market town '.The name of Oetzsch has most likely a Wendish origin. In 1316 it was mentioned in a document as "Euschiz". The village originally had the form of a Rundling.In 1813 much of the Battle of Leipzig took place where today's Markkleeberg is situated.During 1944-1945, a forced labor camp for women was established in the town, initially a subcamp of the Ravensbrück concentration camp and later of Buchenwald. In early April 1945 the surviving inmates were transferred to the Mauthausen-Gusen camp in Austria.Today, Markkleeberg is a growing town, thanks to its proximity to Leipzig.Historical population(Source since 1998: Statistical bureau of Saxony)