DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Freistaat Sachsen	Saxony
Landkreis: Bautzen

map →

Kamenz is situated at an elevation of 173 m in the Lausitz region of Germany's state of Saxony. The municipality has a population of about 18,200 (2005).

At the location of today's old town a castle has been build to secure the crossing of route Via Regia and river Schwarze Elster at the end of the 12th century. The Via Regia was an important trade route between Belgium and Silesia. In 1225 the town was mentioned the first time and in 1319 it became independent. The League of six towns of Upper Lusatia ("Oberlausitzer Sechsstädtebund": Bautzen, Zittau, Görlitz, Kamenz, Löbau and Lauban (Lubań, PL)) has been founded by Kamenz and five other Lusatian towns for protection against robber barons in 1346. In 1707 a fire destroyed large parts of the old town. The philosopher and poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was born in Kamenz in 1729.
[Text adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamenz]

The Town Hall [top picture] was built in 1848–1849 in Italian Renaissance revival style. The architect was Carl August Schramm, a native of Zittau.

The bottom left picture on glass no. 2304 shows a view of the Hutberg-Hotel. The Hutberg (297 m), located in the outskirts of Kamenz, is a popular destination for day excursions.

The bottom right picture on the glass shows a view of the Realschule (secondary modern school).

The picture on glass no. 2569 [near left] shows the barracks of the 13th Royal Saxon Infantry Regiment no. 178. The regiment was founded in 1897.