Situated along the Elbe River is a town of eleven villages known as Zeithain. Not too much goes on in it today, except for the everyday comings and goings of its 6000+ residents.
That’s not to say that they don’t live in some very pretty real estate, mind you. Most people out there wouldn’t mind waking up to wide open spaces and little country lanes — at least I’d like to think so.
Take the village of Gohlis, for instance. It’s a hamlet of cobble stoned streets, framed with red tiled houses and white picket fences. It’s like the American Dream — in Germany… ;-)
Promnitz got its start as a 12th century village; now it’s a town with pretty homes, and village women ride along on bicycles. Seems like the right spot for it since Zeithain lies along the Elberadweg (Elbe Bicycle Trail).
Kreinitz is just as pretty, and where you can see the church spire from a distance since not much else is built as tall. Metropolis it isn’t — Old World picture perfect it is.
At one point in history it wasn’t so idyllic. During World War II, Zeithain was the site of Stalag IV-B — and now the Gedenkstätte Ehrenhain Zeithain (Zeithain Memorial Grove) stand in honor of the POWs who were forced to be here.
Anyone on a quest for history can go further back than just the mid-20th century. The Church of St. Lorenz has been here for centuries. And while nowhere near as old, the Bockwindmühle in the village of Zschepa is still a piece of history in itself.
Still, the real charm of Zeithain lies in its small villages; with its bike trails, graceful churches, and open fields. Yeah, sure, I wouldn’t mind waking up to that kind of lovely everyday — wouldn’t you?
