Plauen in the context of "Chemnitz"

Gera (German pronunciation: [ˈɡeːʁa] ) is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the Thüringer Städtekette, an almost straight string of cities consisting of the six largest Thuringian cities from Eisenach in the west, via Gotha, Erfurt, Weimar and Jena to Gera in the east. Gera is the largest city in the Vogtland, and one of its historical capitals along with Plauen, Greiz and Weida. The city lies in the East Thuringian Hill Country, in the wide valley of the White Elster, between Greiz (upstream) and Leipzig (downstream). Gera is located in the Central German Metropolitan Region, approximately 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Saxony's largest city of Leipzig, 80 km (50 miles) east of Thuringia's capital Erfurt, 120 km (75 miles) west of Saxony's capital Dresden and 90 km (56 miles) north of Bavaria's city of Hof (Saale).

First mentioned in 995 and developing into a city during the 13th century, Gera has historical significance as being one of the main residences of the Ducal House of Reuss and subsequently the capital of the Principality of Reuss-Gera (1848-1918) and of the People's State of Reuss (1918-1920), one of the many microstates the Thuringian region consisted of, before they were unified to form Thuringia in 1920.

Franconia (German: Franken [ˈfʁaŋkn̩] ; East Franconian: Franggn [ˈfrɑŋɡŋ̍]; Bavarian: Frankn) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (Ostfränkisch). Franconia is made up of the three Regierungsbezirke (governmental districts) of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia in Bavaria, the adjacent, Franconian-speaking South Thuringia, south of the Thuringian Forest—which constitutes the language boundary between Franconian and Thuringian—and the eastern parts of Heilbronn-Franconia in Baden-Württemberg.

Those parts of the Vogtland lying in Saxony (largest city: Plauen) are sometimes regarded as Franconian as well, because the Vogtlandian dialects are mostly East Franconian. The inhabitants of Saxon Vogtland, however, mostly do not consider themselves Franconian. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the Hessian-speaking parts of Lower Franconia west of the Spessart (largest city: Aschaffenburg) do consider themselves Franconian, although not speaking the dialect. Heilbronn-Franconia's largest city of Heilbronn and its surrounding areas are South Franconian-speaking, and therefore only sometimes regarded as Franconian. In Hesse, the east of the Fulda District is Franconian-speaking, and parts of the Oden Forest District are sometimes regarded as Franconian for historical reasons, but a Franconian identity did not develop there.

Vogtland (German: [ˈfoːktlant] ; Czech: Fojtsko) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euroregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former leadership by the Vögte ("advocates" or "lords protector") of Weida, Gera and Plauen.

The White Elster (German: Weiße Elster [ˌvaɪsə ˈʔɛlstɐ] ; Czech: Bílý Halštrov) is a 257-kilometre-long (160 mi) river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into eastern Germany where it cuts through the Vogtland in (according to the Encyclopædia Britannica) a "deep and picturesque valley". In Germany it flows through the states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. The White Elster flows through the cities of Plauen, Greiz, Gera, Zeitz, Pegau and Leipzig, and into the river Saale in Halle.

Zwickau (German pronunciation: [ˈtsvɪkaʊ] ; Upper Sorbian: Šwikawa) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,.

The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: Zwickauer Mulde; progression: Mulde→ Elbe→ North Sea), and lies in a string of cities sitting in the densely populated foreland of the Elster and Ore Mountains stretching from Plauen in the southwest via Zwickau, Chemnitz and Freiberg to Dresden in the northeast. Zwickau is the seat of the Zwickau District, the most densely populated district in the new states of Germany.

Freiberg (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁaɪbɛʁk] ) is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany, with around 41,000 inhabitants. The city lies in the foreland of the Ore Mountains, in the Saxon urbanization axis, which runs along the northern edge of the Elster and Ore Mountains, stretching from Plauen in the southwest via Zwickau, Chemnitz and Freiberg to Dresden in the northeast. It sits on the Freiberger Mulde, a tributary of the Mulde River. It is a Große Kreisstadt (large district town), and the administrative seat of Landkreis Mittelsachsen (district Central Saxony). Freiberg is connected to Dresden by the S3 line of the Dresden S-Bahn.

The entire historic center of the Silver City is under monument protection, and together with local monuments of mining history such as the Reiche Zeche ore mine, it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří Mining Region since 2019 due to its exceptional testimony to the development of mining techniques across many centuries.

Hermann Vogel (16 October 1854 – 22 February 1921) was a German illustrator.

Vogel was born in Plauen, Kingdom of Saxony, as the son of a master builder. From 1874–75 he studied at the art academy of Dresden.

Via Imperii (Imperial Road) was one of the most important of a class of roads known collectively as imperial roads (German: Reichsstraßen) of the Holy Roman Empire. This old trade route ran in a south–north direction from Venice on the Adriatic Sea and Verona in the Kingdom of Italy across the Brenner Pass through Germany to the Baltic coast passing the following cities:

• Innsbruck in the County of Tyrol
• Augsburg in the Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg
• the Imperial city of Nuremberg
• Bayreuth, Berneck, Münchberg and Hof in the Principality of Bayreuth
• Plauen, Mylau and Reichenbach in the Vogtland region
• Zwickau, Altenburg, Regis, Borna, Markkleeberg and Connewitz in the Margraviate of Meissen
• Leipzig – intersection with east–west Via Regia
• Wittenberg in Saxe-Wittenberg
• Cölln/Berlin, capital of Brandenburg
• Bernau bei Berlin
• Stettin in the Duchy of Pomerania

The cities on the route held the privilege of staple right, merchants were obliged to use the toll road and in turn enjoyed protection by the Imperial authority under the terms of the Landfrieden.