was established in 1955 (it is today in the federal state of Brandenburg). From 1957, the demand for new living space rose dramatically. In the following years, 10 new living areas were established with tens of thousands of apartments being built. In 1981, the city reached its maximum number of inhabitants, with 71,054 residents. At that time, more children per inhabitant were born in Hoyerswerda than anywhere else in the GDR. Upon reunification in 1990, the people of the city decided to become part of the reconstituted state of Saxony. With the end of the GDR and the reorganisation of the East German economy, many enterprises in the industrial region of Hoyerswerda were scaled down or closed. In 1991 multiple xenophobic attacks targeted immigrant workers from the Far East as well as asylum seekers from Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. A hostel accommodating asylum seekers was attacked and petrol bombs were thrown. Media coverage of the unrest shocked many in Germany and abroad, provoking much public debate. Between 1993 and 1998, several smaller villages became part of the city, but the number of overall inhabitants declined rapidly, from about 70,000 people in the 1980s to about 35,000 people by the end of 2012. There have been attempts to renovate the city. Many of the apartment blocks built during the time of the GDR have been demolished or renovated. This project, like others, was financed with money from the EU and the Federal Republic of Germany. Its role as an independently ruled town ("Kreisfreie Stadt") in Saxony disappeared in 2008 with the reshaping of the regional administration of Saxony. Sights Main sights include: the Hoyerswerda castle the Market Square (Markt) in the Old Town, including: the Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) an 18th-century Polish-Saxon post milestone with coats of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Electorate of Saxony and the monogram of King Augustus II the Strong the Sorbian Fountain (Sorbenbrunnen) from 1980 the St. John's Church (Johanneskirche) the former seat of the Domowina, built in 1885 the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus), built in 1904 Planetarium Hoyerswerda, founded in the 1960s the Lusatian Square (Lausitzer Platz) in the New Town with the Lusatian Hall (Lausitzhalle/Łužiska Hala) the ZCOM Zuse-Computer-Museum Seats in the Local council (Stadtrat) Elections in 2014: CDU: 10 seats The Left: 8 seats Free voters: 5 seats SPD: 4 seats AH: 2 seats NPD: 1 seat Total: