Greiz

Greiz, a town of Germany, capital of the principality of Reuss-Greiz (Reuss the Elder), in a pleasant valley on the right bank of the White Elster, near the borders of Saxony, and 66 m. by rail S. from Leipzig. Pop. (1875) 12,657; (1905) 23,114. It consists of two parts, the old town on the right bank and the new town on the left bank of the river; it is rapidly growing and is regularly laid out. The principal buildings are the palace of the prince of Reuss-Greiz, surrounded by a fine park, the old château on a rocky hill overlooking the town, the summer palace with a fine garden, the old town church dating from 1225 and possessing a beautiful tower, the town hall, the governmental buildings and statues of the emperor William I. and of Bismarck. There are classical and modern schools and a school of textile industry. The industries are considerable, and include dyeing, tanning and the manufacture of woollen, cotton, shawls, coverlets and paper. Greiz (formerly Grewcz) is apparently a town of Slav origin. From the 12th century it was governed by advocati (Vögte), but in 1236 it came into the possession of Gera, and in 1550 of the younger line of the house of Plauen. It was wholly destroyed by fire in 1494, and almost totally in 1802.

See Wilke, Greiz und seine Umgebung (1875), and Jahresberichte des Vereins für Greizer Geschichte (1894, seq.)

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