was Hoyer von Vredeberg. In 1371 it was designated an official market town. Before this Hoyerswerda was a very little town with few structures, but the city then grew under the leadership of the new mayor Karl IV. It received municipal rights from Freiherr von Duba on 19 December 1423, as well as the right to elect its own council. In the 17th century, the city experienced many problems due to the 30 Years War. The Number of inhabitants dropped drastically, but recovered by the end of the century. In 1624, Hoyerswerda became the capital of the Spremberg district. A few years later the district took the name Hoyerswerda because of the growing importance of the city. In the middle of this century Hoyerswerda had become the largest town in the Lusatian region. In the 18th century the Polish King and Elector of Saxony, Augustus II the Strong, gave the Duchy of Hoyerswerda to Ursula Katharina Lubomirska, who helped the town develop trade and manufacturing. In 1737, King Augustus III of Poland bought the town from Lubomirska. The King used to stop in the Hoyerswerda Castle during his travels from Dresden to Warsaw. The Battle of Hoyerswerda occurred nearby in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. In 1815 Hoyerswerda became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Initially it was administered as part of the of the Province of Brandenburg, but in 1825 the southern part was split off to form and attached to the Province of Silesia. In 1871, with Prussia, it became part of the German Empire. In 1873 a new railway between Hoyerswerda and Ruhland opened. It had a positive effect on the economic development of the city. In 1912, the Domowina, the organisation of the Sorbs, was founded in the city. In 1918, the Sorbs protested here against the policy of Germanisation. The town became part of the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia in 1919. Recent history At the end of the Second World War the town was declared a core centre of German defence and was therefore heavily damaged. The invading Soviet Red Army set the town on fire. It became part of Saxony again after the war, but from 1952, it was administered by the Bezirk (Region) of Cottbus, until 1990, when the states of East Germany were abolished. During the GDR period, Hoyerswerda became an important industrial town. The lignite processing enterprise "Schwarze Pumpe"