Großrückerswalde

The district of Großrückerswalde is the main and administrative center of the community. It extends in a side valley of river Preßnitz starting from the formerly independent district Boden up to the height of the "Altes Gericht". Due to its location on the southern slope of the Marienberg plateau, the sun almost always shines in Großrückerswalde and the views of the Ore Mountain ridge from the gliding and motorised airfield on the Wolfsberg, from the Butterberg and from the Altes Gericht are unique. Großrückerswalde is a family place with a well-developed social infrastructure. All educational and childcare facilities are available here, from crèches to secondary schools. Großrückerswalde has a very well-developed club structure. They enrich life in the village just as much as innovative companies in the fields of mechanical and metal engineering, paper and plastics processing and laser technology, among others. Großrückerswalde is known for its Wehrkirche (fortified church) - one of the four remaining fortified churches in the Ore Mountains and a unique cultural and historical monument. It can be assumed that Großrückerswalde was founded between 1100 and 1200 in the course of the development of the Ore Mountains. The location on the former salt road, the so-called Kärrnerweg, which led across the Altes Gericht and was used by carters to transport salt from the Halle area to Bohemia was decisive for the development of the village. In 1386 Großrückerswalde appears for the first time in a document of the Saxon Margrave with the name "Rotgerswalde" as part of the dominion of the Lords of Waldenburg around Wolkenstein and Scharfenstein. This first mention is the basis for the story that a locator named Rotger (Rüdiger) founded the village and gave it his name. In the distinctive hedgerow landscape with the strips of trees and stones between the fields, which are referred to here as "edges", one can still clearly recognise the layout as a village of forest yardlands ("Waldhufen"). Individual farmsteads belonging to the farmsteads have also been preserved and are well worth seeing. In the centre of this old village were the feudal or hereditary court and the parish church, which was converted into a fortified church in the 15th century. Today, a modern new building stands on the site of the former feudal court. The village did not receive the name Großrückerswalde until 1820, while the then still independent manor continued to use the name Rückerswalde until it was incorporated into Großrückerswalde as an independent village in 1930 together with the settlements Niederdorf, Neue Häuser, Fichtenbach, Judenstein and Scheidebach.