It is believed that Bernsbach was founded about 1200 by
Frankish settlers. It had its first documentary mention in 1240 under the name
Wernhardispach. About 1460, it was named in the gazetteer compiled by the
Zwickau Franciscans as
Pernsbach. At this time, Bernsbach belonged to the
Grünhain Monastery, after whose dissolution in 1536 it passed to the
Amt of Grünhain. In 1874, the community was assigned to the
Amt court of Schwarzenberg, and since 1950 it has belonged to the court district of Aue. From 1679 to 1681, a church was built in the middle of the community, thereby splitting Bernsbach from the neighbouring community of Beierfeld, to whose parish it had hitherto belonged. During the community’s
mining heyday, the Ore Mountains yielded forth
iron,
silver and
sulphur. The
ores were processed at a
smelter. About 1538, hammer millers and tinners settled in the upper village, thereby bringing their skills at crafting metal by hand to what was once purely a farming community. To supply the ovens with fuel,
charburners, among others, came to town. Further skilled trades had also set up shop in town by the 17th century, among them cutlers and
lace tatters. In the years around 1800, there was also to be found in Bernsbach the craft of making official stamps and coats of arms. With the coming of the
railway line from
Zwönitz to
Scheibenberg in 1900 also came another upswing in the resident economy. The old traditions of making
blackplate and
tinplate as well as ironware manufacturing are still honoured in Bernsbach today. From 1952 to 1990, Bernsbach was part of the
Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt of
East Germany. In 1987, the community celebrated 750 years of existence, based on a mention from the year 1237.
Population development All following figures are for 31 December in the given year. : Source:
Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen == Partner towns ==