History

History of Hermsdorf

(Authors: Mrs. B. Schmidt (†), former district mayor) Additions by Mr. H. Janko (district mayor)

The village was first mentioned in documents in 1364 as Herbrandesdorf, in 1533 as Hermersdorf, in 1564 as Hernsdorf and from 1664 as Hermsdorf. It lies on a gentle plateau hollow surrounded by flat hills at the source of the small Schnauder river.

Hermsdorf is one of the many places in Germany with the same name (in the Federal Republic of Germany alone, the place name appears 15 times) and appears to be of German origin.

Like Giebelroth in Saxony-Anhalt, Hermsdorf has always belonged to the parish of Heuckewalde. Then as now, the bereaved were buried in the Heuckewalde cemetery.

From 1750 to 1970, children from Hermsdorf attended the school and kindergarten in Heuckewalde. The kindergarten was rebuilt and extended in 1970.

In 1922, a war memorial for the fallen of the First World War was erected in Hermsdorf together with Heuckewalde. The then small communities suffered the loss of 35 war victims.

In 1995, the village of Hermsdorf and the municipality of Heuckewalde launched a fundraising campaign for a memorial plaque to the victims of the Second World War (49 war victims). Thanks to the generosity of the citizens, the memorial was restored and a memorial plaque was erected. On

May 7, 1995, the memorial plaque was ceremoniously inaugurated.

The volunteer fire department was founded in Hermsdorf in 1934. It was and still is very active and contributes a great deal to the social life of the district.

Due to the constant rainfall of liquid manure, the domestic wells could no longer be used.
In 1985, the citizens built a water pipe through the village in an NAW operation and were thus able to connect to the central water supply.
Before 1990, Hermsdorf was mainly used for agriculture, and there were still a few craft businesses and mobile traders.
Much has changed in the district since 1990. For example, the access road from the B2 to the village and the road from the village to the 4 estate houses have been completely upgraded.
On November 6, 1993, the ground-breaking ceremony for the "Am Vogelherd" industrial estate took place. It covers 30 hectares and is located directly on the B2.
1993 saw the start of construction of the fully biological sewage treatment plant, which was built jointly with the neighboring municipality of Heuckewalde. It was completed in 1994.
On November 12, 1994, the development of the residential area "Am Hermsdorfer Anger" began. Apart from a few building plots, the residential area has been built on and the "new residents" have settled in well.
Thanks to the interest-free loan from the ABM program, the former community hall was repaired. New windows were installed, the roof was re-roofed and the exterior plaster was renewed.

After the Hermsdorf fire department association was founded, the former village community center, which was built from a chicken coop in 1984, was taken over and renovated by the fire department association.
With the incorporation into the city of Gera, Hermsdorf also received a direct bus connection. The village can be reached via bus routes 229 and 208. To our delight, a passenger shelter was also installed. Since 2002, the bus route has been extended so that there is now a connection to Zeitz several times a day.
There is a lively village life in Hermsdorf, with a children's carnival, maypole planting, village and children's festivals, the St. Martin's procession and a pensioners' Christmas party taking place every year.
In 2014, Hermsdorf celebrated the "650 years of Hermsdorf" anniversary. In this context, a memorial stone was erected at the traffic circle. This memorial stone was supplemented in 2021 by an information board with historical information.