Bautzen, Germany

In 1346, Budissin became a member of the Lusatian League, an alliance of Upper Lusatian cities, also including Görlitz, Kamenz, Lauban, Löbau and Zittau. In 1429 and 1431, it was unsuccessfully besieged by the Hussites. In 1547, the town was subjected to the Upper Lusatian Pönfall, a punitive measure imposed by Ferdinand I in his capacity as King of Bohemia after political disobedience during the Schmalkaldic War, which resulted in the loss of self-governing privileges. In 1634, it was destroyed by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War. In 1635, Budissin fell to the Electorate of Saxony, whose Prince-electors were also Polish kings in personal union from 1697 to 1763. One of two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through the town at that time.

During the Napoleonic Wars, it was the site of the Battle of Bautzen (1813). In 1868, the name was officially changed from Budissin to the more Germanized form Bautzen.

In 1839, the Sorbian student organization Societas Slavica Budissenensis was founded in the city. In 1845, the Sorbian national anthem was publicly performed for the first time in the city. The Sorbian House (Upper Sorbian: Serbski Dom), a Sorbian cultural centre, was opened in the city in 1904.

After the Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933, many political prisoners were held in the Bautzen I and Bautzen II prisons, built in 1904 and 1906, respectively. During the Kristallnacht in 1938, local Jews were persecuted and Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed. During World War II, in 1942–1943, the Nazis conducted three trials of members of the Polish resistance at the local court, sentencing thirteen to death. The AL Bautzen subcamp of the Groß-Rosen concentration camp operated in Bautzen. At least 600 men, mostly Poles, but also of other nationalities, were imprisoned there, about 310 of whom died. Ernst Thälmann was imprisoned there before being deported to Buchenwald. In April 1945, the Germans evacuated many prisoners on foot to Nixdorf, where they were liberated by Polish troops on 8 May 1945, while the remaining prisoners were liberated in Bautzen by the Soviets on 20 April 1945. Between 21 and 30 April 1945, the Battle of Bautzen was fought which resulted in the town being recaptured by the German army. This meant Bautzen and its surroundings stayed in German hands until Germany's capitulation.

From 1952 to 1990, Bautzen was part of the Bezirk Dresden of East Germany. Bautzen was infamous throughout East Germany for its two penitentiaries. "Bautzen I" was used as an official prison, soon to be nicknamed Gelbes Elend ("Yellow Misery") due to its outer colour, whereas the more secretive "Bautzen II" was used as a facility to hold political prisoners, dissidents and prisoners of conscience. Today, Bautzen I is known as the Bautzen Correctional Institution and is used to hold prisoners who are awaiting trial. Bautzen II which was also operated by the GDR's Ministry for State Security, has served as an open memorial since 1993, operated by the Saxon Memorials Foundation. It is accessible to the public. Guided tours are provided and occasionally, films are screened. A permanent exhibition depicts the misery suffered by occupants; visitors may tour detention cells, the isolation area and the yards where prisoners were allowed to exercise.

In 2002 the city commemorated its 1000th birthday. In 2010 it was hit by a flood. In July 2026, a lithium-ion battery energy storage facility caught fire, burning for several days. Firefighters cooled the affected battery containers with up to 5,000 litres (1,100 imp gal; 1,300 US gal) of water per minute, drawing water from the Spree River to reduce strain on the municipal water supply. The incident led to evacuations and public warnings for residents to keep windows and doors closed.