Meerane

Meerane
Meerane
Town
	Saint Martins Church
	Coat of arms
	Location of Meerane within Zwickau district
	Meerane Meerane
	Coordinates: 50°51′7″N 12°27′49″E / 50.85194°N 12.46361°E
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Zwickau
Municipal assoc.	Meerane-Schönberg
Subdivisions	Kernstadt, 4 Ortsteile
Government
• Mayor (2022–29)	Jörg Schmeißer (CDU)
Area
• Total	19.77 km2 (7.63 sq mi)
Elevation	253 m (830 ft)
Population (2022-12-31)
• Total	13,888
• Density	700/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	08393
Dialling codes	03764
Vehicle registration	Z
Website	www.meerane.de

Meerane (German: [meˈʁaːnə] ^ⓘ) is a town in the Zwickau district of Saxony, Germany. It lies midway between the towns of Altenburg and Zwickau, west of Chemnitz.

As of 31 December 2015, there were 14,851 inhabitants.^[3] The population has declined from a peak of over 26,000 in the 1940s.

Meerane was once important for the manufacture of woollen and mixed cloths; associated industries such as dyeworks, tanneries and machine factories were also located there.

History

The first documented mention of the settlement was in reference to the death of Vladislav II, who died in 1174 after a stay of four months at 'Burg Mare'.

The Sorbian word "Mer" means "border", and the placename most likely refers to the borderlands between Slavic and Germanic speaking peoples at that time. The place also bordered the section of the Via Imperii between Altenburg and Zwickau.

Population Development

In 1546 there were 193 inhabitants, in 1583 120 property holders and in 1750 100 houses in the town and 159 houses in the vicinity.^[4]

Historical population (from 1960 on 31 December):

Historical population

1834 to 1946

1834 – 4,172
1875 – 21,277
1880 – 22,293
1885 – 22,013
1890 – 22,446
1910 – 25,470
1933 – 24,855
1939 – 24,447
1946 – 26,804

1950 to 2002

1950 – 26,519
1960 – 24,520
1981 – 22,194
1984 – 21,260
1995 – 19,606
1997 – 19,390
1999 – 19,001
2001 – 18,439
2002 – 18,173

2003 to 2012

2003 – 17,745
2004 – 17,513
2005 – 17,244
2006 – 16,937
2007 – 16,752
2008 – 16,517
2009 – 16,287
2010 – 16,115
2011 – 15,942
2012 – 15,226

from 2013

2013 – 15,003
2014 – 14,850
2015 – 14,851
2016 – 14,659
2017 – 14,481
2018 – 14,208
2019 – 14,001
2020 – 13,934

Data source from 1998: Statistics Bureau of Saxony

Transportation

Meerane station is the train station of the parish.

Religion

Since the time of the Reformation, the population is principally Evangelical-Lutheran. In 1925, 22,576 inhabitants identified as Evangelisch, 14 as Reformed Church, 260 als Roman Catholic, 17 Jews and 1,227 as "other".^[4]