Oschatz is much more than the medieval village it once was. It’s a world class town that loves to party, especially with all things outdoors.
Oschatz was host to the 2006 Horticultural Show and every September hosts 10,000 revelers at the Harvest Celebration, as well as the Autumn Music Fest and yearly Flower Festival.
That’s not to say that Oschatz forgets is medieval roots and has found a balance from its history to its future.
The best place to start is the Oschatzer Leisure Center located at New Market 2. Here’s where you’ll find wonderful tourist information to plan your trip.
To learn a bit about Oschatz’s history, head over to the Urban and Balance Museum. The “Balance” part of the museum is a large collection of scales. The museum owns an amazingly accurate medieval salt scale, as salt was quite a valuable commodity of the time.
Located near the museum is the town’s watchtower, standing some 25 meters high. Tower guards used to live here through the years from 1377 when the tower was built until the 1970’s. Hopefully, the tower watchman gained respect through the centuries since in medieval times, it was considered an honorless position.
One position of honor in town was held by no other than Martin Luther, when he brought the Reformation to Oschatz in the 1530’s. Letters by Luther and his followers, Melanchthon and Justus Jones, are housed in Oschatz’s archives.
The New Market Well was here in the time of Luther as it’s been here since 1539. The town has also been in possession of one of the most important medieval books called the Saxonian Mirrors (written in the 1300’s). The City Museum, located near the New Market Well, explains so much of the town’s history, it even includes a torture chamber from the 1570’s.
Without a doubt, Schloss Osterland in its day had its own dungeon and torture chamber, but now the 13th century castle lies in ruins. You’ll be able to see these ruins on one of the town’s many walking and cycling tracks.
In a more modern period of history, Oschatz is the final resting place of 19 Jewish women who died on a “death march” in April 1945 along with Erich Vogel, a famous resistance fighter. A monument in their memory stands in the cemetery where they’re buried.
Last but not least, a visit to the Homeland Zoo, which the city opened in 1989, will complete a wonderful stay in Oschatz. In fact, it must be on purpose that “Oschatz” translates to “Oh Dear”! ;-)
