Greiz is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of state capital Erfurt, on the river White Elster.
Greiz has a large park in its center (Fürstlich Greizer Park) which is classified as an English garden. Thomasstraße, Burgstraße, Marktstraße, Waldstraße, and Leonhardtstraße with their Jugendstil houses are well known examples of that architectural style. Prof.-Dr.-Friedrich-Schneider-Straße 4 is one of the earliest examples of Art Deco architecture (built in 1911).
As with other nearby settlements, the place name (originally Grouts) is of Slavic origin and means gord. The first documented mention of the settlement dates from 1209. The prime location of Greiz on the confluence of the White Elster river and its tributary Göltzsch helped to make it a fast-growing town. It was recognized as a town in the 13th century. Later the House of Reuss, a ruling German dynasty whose male members were all named Heinrich, built 2 castles in Greiz: the “Oberes Schloss” (Upper Castle) and the “Unteres Schloss” (Lower Castle). Both were built by famous architects and are still considered unique. Greiz became the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz (until 1918).
In addition to a chemical works and a disused paper factory there are mechanical engineering operations, plastics manufacturing businesses, wood machining enterprises, medical technology, suppliers to the automobile industry, printing houses and breweries. In recent years various high tech businesses (sensor technology, climate simulators, micro-chip production) and environmental technology companies developed.
[caption id="attachment_151377" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Lappeenranta Harbour - Photo by Petritap[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Lappeenranta is a city and municipality that resides on the shore of the lake Saimaa in South-Eastern Finland, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the Russian border. It belongs to the region of South Karelia. With approximately 72,000 inhabitants Lappeenranta is the 13th largest city in Finland. The neighboring municipality of Joutseno was consolidated with Lappeenranta on January 1, 2009, and the nei...
