Oderwitz

Oderwitz is a Saxon municipality in the district Görlitz in Upper Lusatia, Germany. It is located in the southeast of the Free State of Saxony near the border with the Czech Republic. It consists of the two districts Oberoderwitz and Niederoderwitz, in the historic tripartite division of the place also Mitteloderwitz is known.Culture and sightseeingBuildingsCommons for other images of the millCommons]] Oderwitz was once known for its many mills and even today it is known as the Windmill Village. Today, three windmills have been preserved, the Birkmühle, the Neumann-Mill and the Berndt-Mill. Two old watermills have also survived, the Bernhardt Mill and Lower Mill.As in other parts of Lusatia, there are many half-timbered houses − over 450 in the village. The studio of the homeland painter Max Langer can be found in Niederoderwitz.Due to the historic division and the size of the village, Oderwitz has two churches. Construction of the Niederoderwitz church began in 1719, and it was consecrated in 1726. It was built in Baroque style and has a richly decorated altar. The Oberoderwitz church was built from 1816 to 1821 in the architectural style of classicism.MemorialsTowards the end of World War II since January 1945 in what is now the district Niederoderwitz one outpost of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp existed, which mainly Jewish inmates were used for forced labor. Five of them were murdered in the spring of 1945 by SS men. A memorial recalls them in the cemetery. Another memorial in the cemetery commemorates Oderwitz citizens who have fallen in the Franco-German war.