Zwickau is a town in Saxony and the capital of the Zwickau district. It is situated in a valley at the foot of the Erzgebirge mountains, is part of Central Germany and is geographically linked to the urban areas of Leipzig-Halle and Chemnitz; the town has 100,000 inhabitants. From 1834 until 1952 Zwickau was the seat of the government of the south-western region of Saxony. Zwickau is the centre of the Saxon automotive industry, with a tradition over one hundred years old, including car makers Horch, Auto Union and Volkswagen; the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau trains automotive engineers. The valley of the 166-kilometre long Zwickauer Mulde river stretches from the Vogtland to Colditz Castle at the other end; the Silver Road, Saxony's longest tourist route, connects Dresden with Zwickau. Zwickau can be reached by car via the nearby Autobahns A4 and A72, the main railway station, via a public airfield which takes light aircraft, by bike along river Zwickauer Mulde on the so-called Mulderadweg.

The region around Zwickau was settled by Slavs as early as the 7th century AD. The name Zwickau is a Germanization of the Sorbian toponym Šwikawa, which derives from Svarozič, the Slavic Sun and fire god. In the 10th century, German settlers began arriving and the native Slavs were Christianized. A trading place known as terretorio Zcwickaw was mentioned in 1118; the settlement received a town charter in 1212, hosted Franciscans and Cistercians during the 13th century. Zwickau was a free imperial city from 1290–1323, but was subsequently granted to the Margraviate of Meissen. Although regional mining began in 1316, extensive mining increased with the discovery of silver in the Schneeberg in 1470; because of the silver ore deposits in the Erzgebirge, Zwickau developed in the 15th and 16th centuries and grew to be an important economic and cultural centre of Saxony. Its nine churches include the Gothic church of St. Mary, with a spire 285 ft. high and a bell weighing 51 tons. The church contains an altar with wood carvings, eight paintings by Michael Wohlgemuth and a pietà in carved and painted wood by Peter Breuer.

The late Gothic church of St. Catharine has an altar piece ascribed to Lucas Cranach the elder, is remembered because Thomas Müntzer was once pastor there; the town hall was rebuilt many times since. The municipal archives include documents dating back to the 13th century. Early printed books from the Middle Ages, historical documents and books are kept in the Town Archives, in the School Library founded by scholars and by the town clerk Stephan Roth during the Reformation.in In 1520 Martin Luther dedicated his treatise "On the Freedom of the Christian Man" to his friend Hermann Muehlpfort, the Lord Mayor of Zwickau. The Anabaptist movement of 1525 began at Zwickau under the inspiration of the "Zwickau prophets". After Wittenberg, it became the first city in Europe to join the Lutheran Reformation; the late Gothic was built in 1522 -- 24 and is now converted into a theatre. The city was damaged during the Thirty Years' War; the old city of Zwickau, perched on a hill, is surrounded by heights with extensive forests and a municipal park.

Near the town are the Hartenstein area, for example, with Stein and Wolfsbrunn castles and the Prinzenhöhle cav, as well as the Auersberg peak and the winter sports areas around Johanngeorgenstadt and the Vogtland. In the Old Town the Cathedral and the Gewandhaus originate in the 16th century and when Schneeberg silver was traded. In the 19th century the city's economy was driven by industrial coal mining and by automobile manufacturing. On 17 April 1945, US troops entered the city, they handed Zwickau to the Soviet Red Army. Between 1944 and 2003, the city had a population of over 100,000. A major employer is Volkswagen which assembles its Golf and Phaeton models in the Zwickau-Mosel vehicle plant. Coal mining is mentioned as early as 1348. However, mining on an industrial scale first started in the early 19th century; the coal mines of Zwickau and the neighbouring Oelsnitz-Lugau coalfield contributed to the industrialisation of the region and the town. In 1885 Carl Wolf invented an improved gas-detecting safety mining-lamp.

He held the first world patent for it. Together with his business partner Friemann he founded the "Wolf" factory. Coal mining ceased in 1978. About 230 million tonnes had been mined to a depth of over 1,000 metres. In 1992 Zwickau's last coke oven plant was closed. Many industrial branches developed in the town in the wake of the coal mining industry: mining equipment and steel works, machinery in addition to chemical, paper, dyestuffs, wire goods, tinware and curtains. There were steam saw-mills and glass polishing works, iron-foundries, breweries. In 1904 the Horch automobile plant was founded, followed by the Audi factory in 1909. In 1932 both brands retained their independent trademarks; the Auto Union racing cars, developed by Ferdinand Porsche and Robert Eberan von Eberhorst, driven by Bernd Rosemeyer, Hans Stuck, Tazio Nuvolari, Ernst von Delius, became well known all over the world. During World War II, the Nazi government operated a satellite camp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp in Zwickau, sited near the Horch Auto Union plant.

The Nazi administration built a hard labour prison camp at Osterstein Castle

The 1st Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and Spanish–American War. Companies "A" to "G" of the 1st Illinois Cavalry were mustered into service at Alton, Illinois, on July 3, 1861. Among their initial officers was future Washington philanthropist David P. Jenkins, who served as the regiment's first major. Companies "I," "H" and "K" were mustered at Alton at dates and never served with the main body of the regiment; the original companies served as guards for supply trains and depots until mustered out on July 14, 1862. The remaining companies served independently; the last company was mustered out on December 27, 1862. Company H of the regiment was named "Noleman's Cavalry" after Robert D. Noleman; this company was organized at Centralia and mustered into service of the United States on June 14, 1861, for a period of one year. The group was first rendezvoused at Cairo, but soon were transferred to Bird's Point, Missouri.

They fought in the Battle of Belmont on November 7, 1861, thereafter scouted through southeastern Missouri and western Kentucky during the winter of 1861–62. On March 2, 1862, the group, joined by then-Colonel James D. Morgan, led the pursuit of Confederate Brigadier General M. Jeff Thompson in southeastern Missouri, they did capture artillery. Col. Morgan praised the group's perseverance and Gen. Thompson recalled, "The cavalry are a perfect set of daredevils, all officers wearing feathers on their hats." From February to April 1862 the company joined Brigadier General John Pope in the Union effort to take New Madrid, or Kentucky Bend, on the Mississippi River. Their engagements included the Battle of Island Number Ten and the Confederate surrender after that battle at Tiptonville, Tennessee. After the fall of New Madrid the group proceeded down the Mississippi River, in June 1862 their company were the first U. S. troops to enter the city of Memphis. In July 1862 they were ordered to St. Louis to be mustered out of service.

During their year of service Company H captured 167 prisoners, 209 horses and mules, numerous guns and ammunition. The regiment suffered 17 enlisted men who were killed in action or who died of their wounds and 26 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 43 fatalities. Colonel Thomas A. Marshall – mustered out July 14, 1862, with the main body of the regiment. Constituted 1 July 1897 in the Illinois National Guard as a squadron of cavalry and organized from existing troops. Expanded and mustered into Federal service 21 May 1898 at Springfield as the 1st Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. Reorganized in 1899 in the Illinois National Guard as a squadron of cavalry. Mustered into Federal service 27 June 1916. Non-Chicago elements of the regiment converted and re-designated 24 June 1917 as the 3d Field Artillery. Drafted into Federal service 5 August 1917. Reorganized and re-designated on 21 September 1917 as the 124th Field Artillery and assigned to the 33rd Division. Demobilized 8 June 1919 at Camp Grant, Illinois.

Reorganized 20 October 1922 in the Illinois National Guard as the 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry, an element of the 22nd Cavalry Division. Reorganized 1 September 1940 wholly in the Illinois National Guard as the 106th Cavalry and relieved from assignment to the 22d Cavalry Division concurrently re-designated as the 1st Squadron of the 23d Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron [constituted 1 January 1940 and organized in part by transfer of personnel from Troop F and Machine Gun Troop, 106th Cavalry, re-designated as the 2d Squadron. Inducted into Federal service 25 November 1940 at home stations. Regiment broken up its elements reorganized and re-designated. List of Illinois Civil War Units Illinois in the American Civil War 106th Cavalry Regiment Dyer, Frederick H.. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Madison, Wisconsin: Dyer Publishing Co. Reprint, Frederick H.. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Dayton, OH: National Historical Society. Pope, Jeffrey Lynn and Leonid E. Kondratiuk. Armor-Cavalry Regiments.

DIANE Publishing. Pp. 21–22. ISBN 0-7881-8206-4. "Centralia Cavalry Company". Tennessee State Library & Archives. Retrieved November 26, 2013; the Civil War Archive U. S. War Department. A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series 1. Washington: Government Printing Office

Adelheid "Heidi" Schmid is a retired German fencer who competed at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympics in the individual and team foil events. She won an individual gold in 1960 and a team bronze medal in 1964. Schmid took fencing. One year 14 years old, she finished third in the German youth championships, she became female German champion in foil fencing in 1957, 1959, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968. On 1 September 1960 Heidi Schmid won the Olympic gold medal in Palazzo dei Congressi in Rome, after defeating Maria Vicol from Romania with a 4:3 score. Four years she was part of the German team that received a bronze medal in the team competition; the team qualified from pool C, defeated France in the quarterfinal, lost to the Hungarian team in the semifinal, defeated Italy in the bronze final. In 1961 Schmid became the world champion and student world champion in foil, was selected German sportswoman of the year. In addition, she won an individual silver medal at the 1957 world championships, two team silver medals.

After retiring from competitions Schmid worked as a music teacher. She married a fellow teacher Hans Grundmann. German sportswoman of the year 1961. Honorary member of her home club TSV Schwaben Augsburg from 1995. Heidi Schmid at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com