1879 Construction of the Commandant’s Headquarters (Kommandanturgebäude).

1879/1900 Construction of a further 56 buildings, including eight Officers’ Barracks, 16 Enlisted Men’s Barracks,11 Kitchen Buildings,as well as various ancillary buildings.

1895 Completion of the waterworks with water tower (capacity: 500 m³) for the supply of the barracks camp. The waterworks was taken out of operation approximately 90 years later, in the mid-1980s. Establishment of the independent estate district (Gutsbezirk) “Truppenübungsplatz Zeithain”.

1896 First Imperial Parade (Kaiserparade) in Zeithain on 3 September. A large grandstand measuring approximately 200 metres in length with around 7,000 seats was erected. On both sides, an additional 400 metres of standing room was provided. These facilities offered the many spectators from all parts of Saxony and the neighbouring Prussian border districts a clear view of the impressive parade.

1897 Installation of a telephone connection between the Zeithain camp and Röderau railway station.

1898 Construction of the camp railway station and a military hospital; installation of electric lighting in the Officers’ Mess and the hospital; construction of the Haidehäuser infantry firing range (Infanterieschießplatz Haidehäuser).

1900 – 1916 Construction of a further 30 buildings, including enlisted men’s barracks, officers’ barracks, stables, Civil Servants’ Residence No. II (“1900”) and No. III, the Labour Detachment Barracks (Arbeitskommando-Kaserne), and the Milchtrinkhalle “Kaffee Finke”

1901 The military training area now covers approximately 4,000 hectares.

1903 Second Imperial Parade in Zeithain on 2 September

1905/14 Formation of various military units: Uhlan Regiment No. 21 (Ulanenregiment Nr. 21) on 1 October 1905, stationed in Chemnitz from 30 November 1905 onward; Foot Artillery Battalion No. 19 (Fußartillerie-Bataillon Nr. 19) on 1 October 1912; Telegraph Battalion No. 7 (Telegraphenbataillon Nr. 7) on 1 October 1913

1905 The Zeithain camp comprised approximately 140 buildings

1906 First Royal Parade (Königsparade) in Zeithain on 18 May

1906/07 Extension of the firing ranges to the west and north

1908 Second Royal Parade in Zeithain on 20 August

1910 Third Royal Parade in Zeithain on 19 August

1912 Third Imperial Parade in Zeithain on 29 August

1913/15 Construction of a barracks building for the labour detachment (Arbeitskommando) to accommodate up to 100 men

1914 Construction of the "Milchtrinkhalle" known as “Kaffee Finke"

1914 2. August – Mobilisation at the Zeithain military training area; the camp was divided into two reserve military hospitals, A and B

1914 First burial at the hastily established “Heroes’ Cemetery” (Heldenfriedhof); by 1919 approximately 300 soldiers had been buried there. Today the site is known as the Waldfriedhof On 13 September, the first train carrying around 300 wounded soldiers arrived

1915 Construction of Reserve Military Hospital C, established as an isolation hospital and known as “C Camp” (C-Lager).

1916/1917 Construction of a munitions factory with shell-filling plant, as well as Munitions Depot I on Gohliser Straße; Munitions Depot II between the waterworks and Zeithain; and Munitions Depot III between the waterworks and Lichtensee.

1918/1919 Following the November Revolution of 1918, the troops and military hospitals were dissolved. All ammunition and military equipment were destroyed, and the ammunition houses, powder magazines and storage buildings were demolished. On the basis of the Treaty of Versailles, the training area was demilitarised.

1920 The Zeithain camp became a Heimkehrerlager for returnees from Poland, Russia and Ukraine.

1921/1937 Enlisted men’s and officers’ barracks as well as other buildings were converted into residential housing. Shops and businesses settled in the area. At the end of 1920, schooling began in Barracks No. 13.

1930 Commemorative reunion as part of the „Zweihundertjahrfeier des Lustlagers von August dem Starken“ (200th Anniversary of the Lustlager of Augustus II the Strong)

1934/1936 Construction of the “Forest Camp” (Waldlager) north of the waterworks for training purposes of the SA and later the Wehrmacht; from 1941 to 1945 it served as a reserve military hospital for prisoners of war from Stalag 304

1936 The former training area, including the barracks camp and Forest Camp, was taken over by Military District Administration IV (Wehrkreisverwaltung IV) for use by the Wehrmacht. Rental and lease contracts were terminated; all non-military residents were required to leave

1939 (late August) Mobilisation on the eve of the invasion of Poland and the beginning of the Second World War

1941 Establishment of the prisoner-of-war camp Stalag 304 west of Jacobsthal railway station. More than 20,000 prisoners of war died by the end of the war and were buried in mass graves at four cemeteries

1945 (April) The Wehrmacht withdrew westwards. Stalag 304 was liberated. The barracks camp became a garrison of the Red Army, and the training area continued to be used for military purposes

1945 (Autumn) Expellees (Umsiedler) temporarily occupied the barracks of the Forest Camp until early 1946, when the newly founded settlement of Neudorf was established

1950/1990 C Camp was used by the Barracked People’s Police (Kasernierte Volkspolizei) until 1956 and thereafter by the National People’s Army (Nationale Volksarmee)

1954 Conversion of the former Forest Camp into a pig-fattening facility, operated until 1990; subsequently used as the municipal building yard of Zeithain

1990 The Bundeswehr took over the barracks (former C Camp) from the National People’s Army. From 2007 onward, the last Bundeswehr unit was withdrawn; the site has since been maintained without stationed personnel

1992 Units of the Red Army left the camp and the Zeithain training area via the camp railway station by rail transport

1998/2005 Dismantling of the buildings, facilities and installations of the barracks camp and training area, except for ten buildings, carried out by the Development and Utilisation Company Zeithain Ltd. (Entwicklungs- und Verwertungsgesellschaft Zeithain mbH, EVGZ)

2005 (June) Festive weekend marking the “275th Anniversary of the Lustlager of Augustus the Strong”, attended by well over 10,000 visitors

2008/2009 Construction of the first solar field near the obelisk: area 25 hectares; 56,000 modules; capacity 12.00 MWp; connected to the grid from May 2009

2016/2017 Installation of a second solar field in the north-eastern section of the former barracks camp on an area of 2 × 25 hectares. Further extensions are planned

2030 (June) 300th Anniversary of the Lustlager of Augustus II the Strong

compiled by: Olaf Kaube, Neudorf
Illustrations / Photos: Olaf Kaube, Neudorf