Elstra

Elstra/Halštrow
Town
Town hall
Coat of arms
Location of Elstra/Halštrow within Bautzen district
Elstra/Halštrow Elstra/Halštrow
Coordinates: 51°13′15″N 14°7′51″E
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Bautzen
Subdivisions	13
Government
• Mayor (2022–29)	Frank Wachholz
Area
• Total	32.65 km2 (12.61 sq mi)
Elevation	200 m (700 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	2,702
• Density	83/km2 (210/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	01920
Dialling codes	035793
Vehicle registration	BZ, BIW, HY, KM
Website	www.elstra.de

Elstra (German: [ˈɛlstʁaː] ) or Halštrow (Upper Sorbian, pronounced [ˈhalʃtʁɔf]) is a town in the district of Bautzen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Schwarze Elster, 6 kilometres southeast of Kamenz, and 34 kilometres northeast of Dresden. The name "Elstra" stems from the river Schwarze Elster, which rises in the district Kindisch.

The city has only about 2,000 citizens and is one of the smallest cities in Germany. The whole municipality has 2,807 citizens (in 2016). It is part of the officially recognized Sorbian settlement area.

Due to the town name's similarity to the word "Elster" (German for magpie), magpies are often used in the town's self-identity.

Personalities

• Georg Derlitzki (1889-1958), important agricultural scientist and economist
• Karl Schön (1923-1994), politician (SPD), born in Elstra
• Otto Garten (1902-2000), artist, born in Elstra
• Karl Eberhard (1820-1907), architect