A cityscape of the thuringian small town Greiz, uniting the Upper Castle and the Lower Castle in a riverside view along the Weisse Elster river. From the 14th century to 1918 Greiz was the residence city of the Principality of the Reuss Elder Line (which was the smallest monarchy of all the small states of the german empire – the so called Kleinstaaterei – when it was founded in 1871).
The Upper Castle, which can be seen in the background on the left, had been a castle since the early 13th century and was turned into a residence in the late 17th century. The Lower Castle (middle) was errected as a new residence in the 16th century. It burnt down during the city fire of 1802 and was quickly rebuilt in neo-classical style. Behind the Lower Castle we see the tower of the city church St. Marien and right of it the former Lyzeum (gymnasium) built in 1874. Today it houses the Lessing School and the public library of Greiz.
Greiz was presented in week 21 of our 101cityscapes project.
