Nothaft: In the 13th century, the new village was established and took the name of the local
Egerland nobility:
Albertus Nothaft de Wildstein, who was occupying the area and moving in families from Bayern and Oberpfalz. In a deed from a century later, 1378, it was referred to as
Nuwenkirchen dictum Nothaft. Around 1274 the name was first recorded as
Neukirchen (new church). The new church building was mentioned in a deed from
Klosters Waldsassen, as
Chunradus de Newenkirchen. In 1357 (
Nuenkirchin) and 1360 (
stat) the place gained a market with the same rights as the neighbouring towns of
Adorf und
Oelsnitz. The market was founded by
Vögte von Plauen (either Heinrich der Ältere or Heinrich der Lange), who used it to establish a higher place in the pecking order, in their struggle with the
Wettiner dynasty. The town's instrument-making history stems from the 17th century arrival of a group of
Protestants fleeing religious persecution across the border in
Bohemia. Among them were some who already practised the instrument trade. By the 1900s, 80 percent of the world's musical instruments were made in this small town. The present spelling
Markneukirchen, that is
Mark without a
t, was fixed in 1858 by royal decree from
Dresden, so it would not be confused with other
Neukirchens. Under
communist rule, the businesses in the town were reorganised
collectively. The state managed trade with the outside world, and decided a production schedule for the instrument makers at the start of each year, rendering it a useful foreign-exchange income.
Local government reorganisation In 1994 Wohlhausen and Breitenfeld were subsumed into Markneukirchen (on January and 1 March, respectively), and Landwüst joined in 1999.
Erlbach became part of Markneukirchen in 2014.
Population Coat of arms The arms share with
Plauen und
Adorf the motif of the Plauen Vögte, that is a left-facing lion with doubled tail and aggressive tongue.
Partner towns •
Heusweiler (
Saarland)
Museums • The
Musical Instrument Museum of Markneukirchen was founded in 1883 by
Paul Otto Apian-Bennewitz a teacher and organist. At that time the manufacture of orchestral instruments was expanding due to increased trade with many European countries and with the United States. He envisaged a teaching collection of European and ethnic instruments. The collection now comprises more than 3,100 items from Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australia. The core collection consists of instruments from the immediate area that document the development of instruments from the 17th century to the present day. In the last 60 years, three million people have visited the museum in the
Paulus-Schlösschen, a late baroque town house.
Public transport Markneukirchen's first railway station was on the
Chemnitz-Aue-Adorf Line near Siebenbrunn. In 1909 the
Stichbahn railway from Siebenbrunn to Erlbach opened with a station near the post office and in the town centre. This closed in 1975 and Siebenbrunn on the
Vogtlandbahn became the nearest station again. == Education ==