Großenhain
Großenhain (also written as Grossenhain; ) is a Große Kreisstadt (German for major district town) in the district of Meissen, Saxony, Germany. It was originally known as Hayne. The current name simply means "big Hayne" History. Großenhain was originally a Sorbian settlement, and remains an area where this language is spoken. It was first mentioned in 1205. It was for a time occupied by the Bohemians, by whom it was strongly fortified. It afterwards came into the possession of the margraves of Meissen, from whom it was taken in 1312 by the margraves of Brandenburg. In the middle-ages, Großenhain  was one of the most powerful towns in Saxony. It suffered considerably in all the great German wars, and in 1744 was nearly destroyed by fire. The fire destroyed the church which was then replaced by the current Marienkirche, which echoes internally echoes the Frauenkirche in nearby Dresden. On May 16, 1813, a battle took place here between the French (Napoleon's army) and the Russians. A military airfield was created near the town, opening in February 1914. From 1945 to 1993 the air base of the Soviet Air Force was located at this airfield. On the territory of the  base there was also a secret Soviet military unit serving nuclear weapons stored at the base. On May 27, 1973 an aircraft technician senior lieutenant Yevgeny Vronsky hijacked a fighter-bomber Su-7BM # 52 from this base to the Federal Republic of Germany. Before that Vronsky had no experience in piloting aircraft. Nevertheless he safely crossed the border of the Federal Republic of Germany and after that was safely ejected. The plane crashed into a forest near the city of Braunschweig. Kulturzentrum Grossenhain (the culture centre) was recently created, cleverly converting the ruined fragments of Schloss Grossenhain into a modern building . On May 24, 2010, Großenhain was hit by an rain-wrapped F3 tornado which killed 1 & injured 40 others. This event made sirens sound for 60 seconds in and around Großenhain. The fatality was a 6 year old girl who were killed by a downed tree. Geography. Großenhain is located on the river Röder, northwest of Dresden, and east of Riesa. It is also situated on Via Regia from Görlitz to Santiago de Compostela. Divisions. The town Großenhain consists of Großenhain proper and the following "Ortschaften" or municipal divisions: These "Ortschaften" correspond with former municipalities or their divisions, that were  absorbed into Großenhain between 1994 and 2010. The localities Großraschütz, Kleinraschütz, Mülbitz, Naundorf, Zschauitz and Zschieschen are former municipalities that were absorbed into Großenhain between 1913 and 1961. Infrastructure. There are two train stations in Großenhain. The "Großenhain Berliner Bahnhof" had been out of service since 2002, leaving only the "Großenhain Cottbusser Bahnhof", served by trains from Dresden to Elsterwerda, Cottbus and Hoyerswerda. Großenhain is accessible by car via Bundesstraße 98 and Bundesstraße 101.