Riesa is a town in the district of Meißen in the Free State of Saxony,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is located at the river
ElbeThe Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
, approx. 40 km northwest of
DresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
.
The world's first 110 kV power line was inaugurated between Riesa and
LauchhammerLauchhammer is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, approx. 17 km west of Senftenberg, and 50 km north of Dresden....
in 1912.
Riesa has a 25m tall iron sculpture of an oak trunk, named "Elbquelle", by
Jörg ImmendorffJörg Immendorff was one of the best known contemporary German painters; he was also a sculptor, stage designer and art professor.- Life and work :...
. There are many other names for the Elbquelle, for example "Rostige Eiche", which means "rusty oak". Many inhabitants of Riesa call the sculpture "Rostige Eiche", because it looks rusty.
In the city of Riesa there are two famous churches. The minster St. Marien arose in the year 1261 in addition to the Benedictine Abbey. The Trinitatis Church was later constructed, completion in the year 1897.
Riesa is also known for the Erdgasarena, a large hall which hosted the European Sumo Wrestling Championship in October 2003 and the World Sumo Wrestling Championship in October 2004.
Riesa is well-known for its pasta, which is produced in the Teigwaren Fabrik Riesa . Another symbol of Riesa are the "Riesaer Zündhölzer", the matches which were traditionally manufactured there.
Notable people from Riesa include the former
footballerAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
Ulf Kirsten.
Riesa has a football club, TSV Stahl Riesa. The club's crest is blue and white, as are the club colours.
During the 1980s Riesa was the headquarters of the
Group of Soviet Forces in GermanyThe Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany....
's
9th Tank DivisionThe 9th Tank Division was a division of the Red Army that saw action briefly in 1941. It was formed in the Central Asian Military District in the summer of 1940. In April 1941 the Division joined the newly formed 27th Mechanised Corps...
.
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