Pirna

Pirna is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a Große Kreisstadt. It is also known for the gassing of about 15,000 disabled people in Sonnenstein Castle between June 1940 and August 1941, killings which ceased after pressure was exerted on the authorities by the local population. Today, a small plaque at the base of Sonnenstein Castle and the Sonnenstein Memorial remembers the dead.GeographyGeographical locationPirna is located near the Sandstone Mountains in the Elbe valley, where the nearby rivers Wesenitz, in the north, and Gottleuba to the south, flow into the Elbe. Pirna is also called the "gate to the Saxon Switzerland" (Ger: Tor zur Sächsischen Schweiz). The Saxon wine region (Sächsische Weinstraße), stretches from Pirna over Pillnitz, Dresden, and Meissen to Diesbar-Seußlitz, was dedicated in 1992. In August 2002, the town suffered great damage in the widespread flooding in Europe at the time. This was particularly unfortunate as it undid many well-executed restoration schemes carried out post 1990 re-unification.