{{for|the river of Brandenburg and Saxony, Germany|Pulsnitz (river)}} {{Infobox German location |name = Pulsnitz |type = Stadt |image_coa = Wappen_Pulsnitz.svg |image_skyline = 20070518215DR Pulsnitz Neues Schloß Rehabilitationsklinik.jpg |image_caption = New Palace in Pulsnitz |coordinates = {{coord|51|10|54|N|14|0|47|E|format=dms|display=it}} |image_plan = Pulsnitz in BZ.svg |state = Sachsen |district = Bautzen |Verwaltungsgemeinschaft = Pulsnitz |elevation = 290 |area = 26.75 |postal_code = 01896 |area_code = 035955 |licence = BZ |Gemeindeschlüssel = 14625450 |divisions = 5 |website = [http://www.pulsnitz.de www.pulsnitz.de] |mayor = Barbara Lüke<ref>[https://wahlen.sachsen.de/buergermeisterwahl-wahlergebnisse-2023.php Wahlergebnisse 2023], Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen. Retrieved 6 July 2023.</ref> |leader_term = 2023–30 |party = Independent }} '''Pulsnitz''' ({{IPA|de|ˈpʊlsnɪts|-|De-Pulsnitz.ogg}}; {{langx|hsb|Połčnica}}, {{IPA|hsb|ˈpɔwtʃnʲitsa|pron}}) is a town in the district of Bautzen, in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. It is situated on the small river Pulsnitz, 11 km southwest of Kamenz, and 24 km northeast of the centre of Dresden.
==History== Initially a Sorbian stronghold and settlement, it was first mentioned in 1225.<ref name=pul>{{cite web|url=http://pulsnitz.de/pulsnitz/content/8/20081008094618.asp|title=Historie 1200 - 1700|website=Stadt Pulsnitz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421083839/http://pulsnitz.de/pulsnitz/content/8/20081008094618.asp|access-date=24 November 2023|archive-date=21 April 2016}}</ref> It was granted town rights in 1375.<ref name=pul/> It was raided by the Hussites in 1429.<ref name=pul/>
Pulsnitz became famous for its Pfefferkuchen, a type of Christmas cookie, when in 1558 the bakers of Pulsnitz received permission to bake them. Today there are still eight ''Pfefferküchlereien'' bakeries. In 1745 the ''Pfefferküchler'' Tobias Thomas was known to be practising his craft in Pulsnitz as well as in Toruń, Poland, where the famous Toruń gingerbread were made. Pulsnitz is informally known as ''Pfefferkuchenstadt'' meaning "Gingerbread Town".
Other crafts also developed, with a linen weavers' guild founded in 1597, and the first local potter mentioned in 1653.<ref name=pul/>
During the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648 the town suffered four fires, and in 1633 and 1680 it was hit by epidemics.<ref name=pul/>
The first Protestant missionary to arrive in India, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg was born in Pulsnitz on July 10, 1682.<ref>[http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/z/ziegenbalg.shtml Bautz.de]</ref>
During the final stages of World War II, in April 1945, the Polish Second Army captured the town.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ganzel|first=Karol|year=1955|title=Wyzwolenie Śląska|magazine=Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka|language=pl|volume=10|issue=1-2|publisher=Ossolineum|location=Wrocław|page=79}}</ref>
The town Pulsnitz absorbed the former municipality Friedersdorf in 1994, and Oberlichtenau in 2009.<ref>{{HOV|Pulsnitz}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Marktplatz Pulsnitz - mit altem Rathaus.jpg|Market square with old town hall File:Pfefferkuchen Museum Pulsnitz - Haus des Gastes - Marktplatz.jpg|Pepper Cake Museum Pulsnitz - House of the Guest - Market Square File:Pulsnitz Ernst Rietschel Denkmal.jpg|Town hall File:Rietschel denkmal pulsnitz.jpg|Memorial for Ernst Rietschel File:Pulsnitzer pfefferkuchen.jpg|''Pulsnitzer Spitzen'' File:Pfefferkuchen.JPG|''Pulsnitzer Pfefferkuchen'' File:Pulsnitz Postmeilensäule.jpg|Post milestone from 1731 </gallery>
=== Notable people === thumb|upright=0.7|Ernst Rietschel
* Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (1682-1719), first Protestant missionary and Indian linguist * Ernst Rietschel, one of the most important sculptors of his time * Julius Kühn, an important agricultural scientist, he founded the first agricultural institute to be taken seriously at a German university * Curt Haase, politician (NSDAP) * Klaus Staeck, graphic artist * Linda Wenzel
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{in lang|de}} {{official website|http://www.pulsnitz.de}}
{{Cities and towns in Bautzen (district)}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Pulsnitz Category:Populated places in Bautzen (district) Category:West Lusatia