Rodewisch is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated 3 km north of Auerbach (Vogtland), and 20 km east of Plauen. Sputnik 1 was seen for the first time in the world in Rodewisch. Rodewisch was first mentioned in 1411 and has been a town since 1924. Today's town was formed in 1859 by the merger of the three districts of Obergöltzsch, Untergöltzsch and Niederauerbach. Rodewisch has two hospitals and a planetarium. Until 1926 there was a large brass works in the town, which was the largest in northern Germany. Röthenbach and Rützengrün have belonged to Rodewisch since 1994 and 1992 respectively.
Demographics
Historical population:
1834: 2,643
1871: 3,455
1910: 9,494
1939: 11,237
1960: 12,828
1971: 10,196
1981: 9,513
1998: 8,241
1999: 8,105
2000: 7,904
2001: 7,793
2002: 7,762
2003: 7,670
2004: 7,654
2005: 7,562
2007: 7,366
2008: 7,235
2011: 6,769
2012: 6,714
2013: 6,650
Notable people born in Rodewisch
Falko Götz (born 1962), football player and manager
Siegbert Hummel (1908–2001), Tibetologist and cultural historian