Editing Plauen (section)

{{short description|Town in Saxony, Germany}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Plauen (Dresden)|Plauen]], a former town which is now a district of [[Dresden]]}}
{{See also|E. O. Plauen}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{expand German|topic=geo|date=January 2022|Plauen}}
{{Infobox German place 
|type=Stadt
|image_coa=Plauen_Coat_of_arms.svg
| image_skyline            = {{multiple image
| border = infobox
| perrow = 1/2/2/1
| total_width = 280
| align = center
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Plauen i.V. Zentrum.jpg
| caption1 = View over the city centre
| image2 = Plauen, Altes und Neues Rathaus, 004.jpg
| caption2 = Old and new city hall
| image3 = Plauen, Altes Rathaus, 006.jpg
| caption3 = Astronomical clock of the city hall
| image4 = Plauen Johanniskirche vom Rathausturm.jpg
| caption4 = St John's Church
| image5 = Elstertalbruecke 01 09.jpg
| caption5 = [[Elster Viaduct]]
| image6 = PL-Markt-1.jpg
| caption6 = Old market square }}
|coordinates={{coord|50|29|N|12|07|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan=Plauen in V.svg
|state=Sachsen
|district=Vogtlandkreis
|elevation=412
|area=102.11
|postal_code=08523;-5;-7;-9
|area_code=03741
|licence=V, AE, OVL, PL, RC
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 14523320
|divisions         = 5 city boroughs with 38 parts
|website           = {{URL|www.plauen.de}}
|mayor             = Steffen Zenner<ref name=mayor>[https://wahlen.sachsen.de/download/Buergermeister/statistik-sachsen_wahlen_buergermeister_uebersicht_aktuell.xlsx Gewählte Bürgermeisterinnen und Bürgermeister im Freistaat Sachsen, Stand: 17. Juli 2022], Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2021&ndash;28
|Bürgermeistertitel= Oberbürgermeister
|party             = CDU
}}

'''Plauen''' ({{IPA|de|ˈplaʊən|-|De-Plauen.ogg}};<ref>{{cite book|last1=Krech|first1=Eva-Maria|last2=Stock|first2=Eberhard|last3=Hirschfeld|first3=Ursula|last4=Anders|first4=Lutz Christian|title=Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch|url=https://archive.org/details/deutschesausspra00krec|url-access=limited|language=German|year=2009|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|location=Berlin|isbn=978-3-11-018202-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/deutschesausspra00krec/page/n839 828]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mangold|first=Max|title=Das Aussprachewörterbuch|language=German|year=2005|publisher=Dudenverlag|edition=6th|location=Mannheim|isbn=9783411040667|page=635}}</ref> {{langx|hsb|Pławno}}; {{langx|cs|Plavno}}) is a town in [[Saxony]], [[Germany]] with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after [[Leipzig]], [[Dresden]], [[Chemnitz]] and [[Zwickau]], the second-largest city of the [[Vogtland]] after [[Gera]], as well as the largest city in the Saxon Vogtland region (''Sächsisches Vogtland'').

The city lies on the upper reaches of the [[White Elster]] River, a tributary of the [[Saale]], in the Central Vogtlandian Hill Country. Plauen is the southwesternmost city of a string of cities sitting in the densely populated foreland of the [[Elster Mountains|Elster]] and [[Ore Mountains]], stretching from Plauen in the southwest via Zwickau, Chemnitz and [[Freiberg]] to Dresden in the northeast. It is the county seat of the [[Vogtland District]]. Plauen directly borders [[Greiz]] in [[Thuringia]] to the north, and it is also situated near the Saxon border with [[Bavaria]] ([[Franconia]]) and the [[Czech Republic]] ([[Bohemia]]).

Plauen and the surrounding Saxon Vogtland are known as the historic center of the German [[embroidery]] and [[lace]] industry, and the products of the region are protected under the label ''{{Ill|Plauener Spitze|de}}'' ("Plauen Lace"). The [[Elster Viaduct]] (''Elstertalbrücke''), spanning the valley of the White Elster between Plauen and [[Pöhl]], is the second-largest bridge built out of bricks in the world, after the [[Göltzsch Viaduct]].

Despite its location in Saxony the regional [[Vogtlandian]] dialect spoken in Plauen is a variety of [[East Franconian]] (with [[Upper Saxon|Saxon]] influences) related to the dialects of neighbouring Franconia in Bavaria. The name of the city as well as the names of many of its neighborhoods and boroughs are of [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] origin.