Once upon a time in Zöbigker a small village south of Leipzig stood a manor house. This manor house was more than just a home. It was the heart of Zöbigker for centuries. The history of Zöbigker is deeply intertwined with the history of its manor house.
The first documented lords of Zöbigker were members of the Pflugk family in the mid-14th century. They also owned Großzschocher Knauthain and Gautzsch. Under their rule Zöbigker became a manor house at the end of the 14th century. Before that it was an outlying farm of Prödel.
From the Pflugks it passed to the von Gehofen family in 1543 through inheritance. Then in 1612 it was sold to Otto von Dieskau. In 1687 Friedrich Wilhelm Marschall of Herrengosserstedt purchased Zöbigker. He had the manor house rebuilt. This proved financially disastrous.
In 1714 Leipzig’s chief postmaster Johann Jakob Kees the Younger acquired the Zöbigker estate. He used compensation money he received from the nationalization of the Saxon postal service. Kees had the manor house and park redesigned in the style of Leipzig Baroque by David Schatz. This was completed by 1724.
He also renovated the village mill and church. He added a garden nursery an inn and a new brewery and malting house. The Kees family remained owners of the Zöbigker estate until 1945. Despite selling the fields to the Aktiengesellschaft Sächsische Werke (ASW) in 1926 for the upcoming brown coal mining.
Initially Zöbigker’s church was an independent parish church. However from 1752 it became a branch church of neighboring Gautzsch. The population of Zöbigker remained almost constant from the 16th to the 18th century. Then it steadily increased from 226 in 1834 to 834 in 1925.
Despite never burning down during wars Zöbigker suffered from passing armies. This happened during the Thirty Years’ War and the Battle of Nations near Leipzig. In 1680 the plague was brought in from Leipzig. It claimed over 100 lives in Zöbigker and Prödel. The church was badly damaged by a lightning strike in 1733 and robbed in 1808 losing 1000 thalers.
In 1926 the neighboring village Prödel was incorporated. The development of the area east of Koburger Straße began in 1926 with the “Landhaussiedlung Zöbigker” project. By 1930 the population had risen to about 1300. Only two farms remained in the village.
On April 1 1937 Zöbigker along with Großstädteln was incorporated into the city of Markkleeberg. This was founded in 1934. Markkleeberg’s population increased by about 3000. On May 16 1942 a fire caused by overheating of the organ’s motor destroyed Zöbigker’s church. War and the following years under the GDR regime halted reconstruction. Now it is being converted into a bicycle church.
Zöbigker was on the edge of the expanding Zwenkau brown coal mine. From the mid-1970s it lay directly on its northern edge suffering from dust and noise. In 1980 the Cospuden open-cast mine opened directly on Zöbigker’s western edge. The entire castle park the surrounding floodplain the mill the “Damhirsch” excursion restaurant and the estate’s farm buildings were lost. The castle stood derelict at the edge of the mine.
Mining ceased in 1992. Then the Cospuden Lake was flooded. The location at the lake became highly sought after. New lake villas and houses were built. The castle was reconstructed with apartments. A 9-hole golf course was created between the lake and Koburger Straße. Residential areas with single and multi-family houses were developed east of Koburger Straße.
Today Zöbigker is a vibrant part of Markkleeberg. It offers a marina shops cafes a tourist information office and a renovated castle. It stands as a testament to Zöbigker’s rich and resilient history.