# Schleiz

Schleiz (German pronunciation: ) is a town in the district of Saale-Orla-Kreis in Thuringia, Germany. The former municipality Crispendorf was merged into Schleiz in January 2019, and Burgk in December 2019.

## Location

Schleiz is in the Thuringian Vogtland area, an area of wooded hills on the borders of Thuringia, Saxony, Bavaria and the Czech Republic. The city is located in a valley with the river Wisenta near the motorway A 9 (Berlin – München).

### Neighboring parishes

| Crispendorf (6 km) | Görkwitz (2 km) | Oettersdorf (3 km) | Löhma (5 km) | Kirschkau (6 km) | Zeulenroda-Triebes (14 km) |
| Remptendorf (12 km) | | Pausa (13 km) |
| | Saalburg-Ebersdorf (12 km) | Tanna (10 km) | Mühltroff (9 km) |
Distances calculated as between town centers.

### Subdivisions

Schleiz includes the following subdivisions:
* Möschlitz
* Grochwitz
* Oberböhmsdorf
* Lössau
* Langenbuch
* Wüstendittersdorf
* Dröswein
* Gräfenwarth
* Oschitz
* Heinrichsruh
* Crispendorf
* Burgk

## History

Schleiz can be traced back to a settlement established about 1200 ("Altstadt") and a separate "Neustadt" that was established next to it. The "Neustadt" had a castle and a city wall. Until 2 December 1482 they were totally separate communities after which they combined to one city. There was a settlement of the Teutonic Order here, and for some years previous to 1848 the town was the capital of the small principality of Reuss-Schleiz. In the vicinity a battle was fought, between the French and the Prussians on 9 October 1806.
Within the German Empire (1871-1918), Schleiz was part of the Principality of Reuss-Gera.

### 20th Century

During World War II hundreds of women and men from several nations, including the Soviet Union were transported to Schleiz as forced laborers. At least 60 of them died there.
The palace was destroyed April 1945.

## Climate

Climate data for Schleiz (1991–2020 normals) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1.6 (34.9) | 3.2 (37.8) | 7.2 (45.0) | 12.9 (55.2) | 16.7 (62.1) | 20.5 (68.9) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.5 (72.5) | 17.7 (63.9) | 12.3 (54.1) | 6.1 (43.0) | 2.8 (37.0) | 12.2 (54.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −0.7 (30.7) | 0.2 (32.4) | 3.4 (38.1) | 8.0 (46.4) | 12.0 (53.6) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.6 (63.7) | 17.4 (63.3) | 13.2 (55.8) | 8.6 (47.5) | 3.5 (38.3) | 0.8 (33.4) | 8.4 (47.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −3.1 (26.4) | −2.6 (27.3) | −0.1 (31.8) | 3.1 (37.6) | 6.8 (44.2) | 10.5 (50.9) | 12.5 (54.5) | 12.2 (54.0) | 9.0 (48.2) | 5.4 (41.7) | 1.2 (34.2) | −1.6 (29.1) | 4.4 (39.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 32.9 (1.30) | 30.0 (1.18) | 40.0 (1.57) | 39.4 (1.55) | 64.6 (2.54) | 73.7 (2.90) | 89.9 (3.54) | 72.3 (2.85) | 58.2 (2.29) | 46.0 (1.81) | 43.0 (1.69) | 43.0 (1.69) | 649.8 (25.58) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 16.9 | 15.2 | 17.1 | 13.3 | 14.8 | 14.2 | 15.2 | 14.3 | 12.7 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 18.0 | 183.6 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 87.4 | 83.2 | 79.3 | 72.0 | 72.6 | 73.5 | 71.9 | 71.7 | 77.7 | 84.4 | 89.2 | 88.5 | 79.3 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 57.4 | 78.1 | 121.2 | 180.8 | 205.6 | 205.0 | 219.6 | 210.4 | 160.6 | 110.1 | 58.5 | 47.9 | 1,673.8 |
| Source: World Meteorological Organization ||||||||||||||

## Population

Trend of population figures:
| 1834 — 1995 1834 - 4619 1890 - 4928 1933 - 6505 1939 - 6828 1960 - 7933 1994 - 8567 1995 - 9163 | 1996 — 2002 1996 - 9528 1997 - 9375 1998 - 9389 1999 - 9336 2000 - 9309 2001 - 9268 2002 - 9223 | 2003 — 2009 2003 - 9100 2004 - 9069 2005 - 9012 2006 - 8932 2007 - 8868 2008 - 8824 2009 - 8717 |

## Recreation

Schleiz is also the site of the Schleizer Triangle motor racing track.

## Notable people

* Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682–1719), alchemist and co-inventor of European porcelain
* Heinrich Gottfried Piegler (1797–1849), probably the largest manufacturer of Döbereiner's lamps
* Richard Barthold (1855-1932), US-american politician
* Kurt Holzschuher (1873-1945), owner of the oldest factory in Schleiz (Gebr. Holzschuher) and German politician (DVP)
* Theodor Piegler (1904-1991), great-grandson of H.G. Piegler, co-owner of the internationally active metal goods factory for hairdressing articles "Gebr. Piegler" in Nuremberg
* Joachim Blechschmidt (1912-1943), German pilot and fighter ace in World War II
* Bernhard Klee (born 1936), conductor
* Juergen K. Klimpke (born 1963), mayor of the city of Schleiz from 2012-2018, member of political committees of the city of Schleiz, author ("Schleizer Heimathefte"), founding member and longtime chairman of the "Geschichts- und Heimatverein zu Schleiz e.V." and photographer