a town in the kingdom of Saxony, 9 m. N. of Zwickau and 37 S. of Leipzig by rail. Pop. (1905), 26,005. It contains a fine medieval church (Evangelical). It is one of the most important industrial centres of Germany for the manufacture of woollen and mixed cloths, and in these products has a large export trade, especially to America and the Far East. There are also extensive dyeworks, tanneries and machine factories.
See Leopold, Chronik and Beschreibung der Fabrikand Handelstadt Meerane (1863).