Riesa

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Town in Saxony, Germany

title: "Riesa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["riesa", "meissen-(district)", "populated-riverside-places-in-germany", "populated-places-on-the-elbe"] description: "Town in Saxony, Germany" topic_path: "geography/germany" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riesa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town in Saxony, Germany ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox German location"]

FieldValue
image_photoRiesa-Elbansicht.jpg
image_captionRiesa with the Trinitatis Church near the Elbe River in July 2008
typeStadt
image_coaWappen_riesa.png
coordinates
image_planRiesa in MEI.svg
stateSachsen
districtMeißen
elevation109
area58.91
postal_code01587, 01589, 01591, 01594
area_code03525
licenceMEI, GRH, RG, RIE
Gemeindeschlüssel14627230
divisions16
websitewww.riesa.de
mayorMarco Müller
leader_term2021–28
partyCDU
::

|image_photo = Riesa-Elbansicht.jpg |image_caption = Riesa with the Trinitatis Church near the Elbe River in July 2008 |type = Stadt |image_coa = Wappen_riesa.png |coordinates = |image_plan = Riesa in MEI.svg |state = Sachsen |district = Meißen |elevation = 109 |area = 58.91 |postal_code = 01587, 01589, 01591, 01594 |area_code = 03525 |licence = MEI, GRH, RG, RIE |Gemeindeschlüssel = 14627230 |divisions = 16 |website = www.riesa.de |mayor = Marco Müller |leader_term = 2021–28 |party = CDU

Riesa (; ) is a town in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, approximately 40 km northwest of Dresden.

History

The name Riesa is derived from Slavic Riezowe. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears first in October 1119 in a document from Pope Callixtus II.

The world's first 110 kV power line was installed between Riesa and Lauchhammer in 1912. Between 1952 and 1994, Riesa was the seat of a district.

During the 1980s, Riesa was the headquarters of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany's 9th Tank Division.

On the 11th of January 2025 the far-right party AfD held their federal party conference in Riesa. Around 12,000 people protested the conference and blocked entrances to the town.

Population history

The town grew from the start of the 20th century due to industrialisation. The population declined after German Reunification in 1989. The local steel works shut and the population fell from 52,000 to 31,000.

|align=none|cols=2 |1575|350 |1834|1631 |1849|2679 |1875|5707 |1880|6259 |1900|13491 |1933|26248 |1939|29963 |1946|34406 |1950|36150 |1960|36769 |1981|51857 |1995|42429 |2000|39367 |2005|36221 |2010|33351 |2015|31541 |2019|29754

Sights

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Riesa_Elbe_Trinitatis_church_1897_profile_of_entrance_side_district_Meißen_Saxony_photo_2008_Wolfgang_Pehlemann_Wiesbaden_Germany_IMG_0022.jpg" caption="Trinitatis Church"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Riesa_elbquelle_immendorff.jpg" caption=""Rusty Oak""] ::

Riesa has a 25 m tall, 234 tonne, cast-iron (GGG 40) sculpture of an oak trunk, named Elbquelle, which means source of the Elbe, by Jörg Immendorff, erected in 1999. Local folk call the sculpture by many other names, most notably "Rostige Eiche", which means "Rusty Oak".

In Riesa there are two notable churches. The minster St. Marien was built in 1261 as an addition to the Benedictine Abbey. The Trinitatis Church was completed in 1897.

Culture

Riesa is well known locally for its pasta, which is produced at Teigwaren Riesa GmbH. Another symbol of Riesa are the Riesaer Zündhölzer, the matches which were traditionally manufactured there.

The steel production in Riesa is also well known.

Sport

Riesa is home to a football club, BSG Stahl Riesa, featuring a blue and white crest, which also represents the club colors. They compete in the Landesliga Sachsen, the sixth tier of German football.

Riesa is known locally for the SACHSENarena, a large hall that hosted the European Sumo Wrestling Championship in October 2003 and the World Sumo Wrestling Championship in October 2004. Since 2015, it has also been the home of the International Darts Open, one of the many events on the Professional Darts Corporation's European Tour.

Twin towns – sister cities

Riesa is twinned with:

Transport

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Empfangshalle,_Bahnhof_Riesa_Bahnhofstraße_50.JPG" caption="Railway station"] ::

Riesa railway station is located north of the town's centre, it offers both regional and long-distance services.

Riesa is located on Bundesstraße 169, which ensures access to federal motorways A 14 (close to Döbeln, approx. 25 km) and A 13 (close to Ruhland, approx. 50 km).

Notable people

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-E0119-0011-002,_Dieter_Noll.jpg" caption="Dieter Noll"] ::

Associated with the town

References

References

  1. [https://wahlen.sachsen.de/buergermeisterwahl-2021-wahlergebnisse.php Wahlergebnisse 2021], Freistaat Sachsen, accessed 10 July 2021.
  2. "Germany: Thousands protest AfD party conference in Saxony – DW – 01/11/2025".
  3. "Partnerstädte". Riesa.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

riesameissen-(district)populated-riverside-places-in-germanypopulated-places-on-the-elbe