A brief history of Pirna
| 1233 | First reference to Pirna in the records |
| 1245 | Pirna gets town privileges, the Margrave of Meißen rules over the town |
| 1269 | First documentary evidence of Pirna castle |
| 1293 | Pirna becomes part of Bohemia |
| um 1300 | A Dominican monastery is established |
| 1325 | King John of Bohemia renews town privileges, especially staple right |
| 1404/05 | Pirna becomes part of the Margravate of Meißen during the Dohna Feud (Electorate of Meißen from 1423) |
| um 1465 | Johann Tetzel, Dominican friar and preacher, is born in Pirna |
| 1502 – 1546 | St. Marien church is built, an excellent example of late Gothic religious architecture |
| 1539 | The Reformation reaches Pirna |
| 1629 | Over 2,000 Protestant refugees come to Pirna following recatholisation in Bohemia |
| 1639 | Disaster strikes after Swedish soldiers conquer the town |
| 1679 | Johann Heinrich Stremel sets up a permanent printing works |
| 1719 | The grand wedding of the Elector and Maria Josepha, daughter of the Austrian Emperor, begins in Pirna |
| 1753/55 | Bernardo Bellotto, also known under the name Canaletto, paints eleven large vedute of the town |
| 1811 | The Sonnenstein Royal Saxon mental home and care facility opens |
| 1813 | Napoleon I visits the town and reopens Sonnenstein as a castle |
| 1848 | The railway line from Dresden to Pirna opens on 31st July |
| 1875 | The first bridge over the Elbe is completed |
| Ende 19. Jh. | The town grows larger as industry develops, the population increases and the garrison is expanded |
| 1923 | Copitz is incorporated and other towns follow |
| 1940/41 | 13,720 mentally-ill patients and at least 1,031 prisoners are murdered at the Sonnenstein Euthanasia Centre |
| 1945 | The town is bombed on 19th April and at least 203 people are killed |
| 1965 – 1983 | Large-scale prefab housing is constructed, forming Sonnenstein residential estate Mass influx due to Wismut uranium mining The old town lies neglected |
| 1990 | Extensive urban redevelopment starts, the historical buildings in the old town are saved |
| 1997 | Pirna becomes a major district town (“Große Kreisstadt”) |
| 1999 | The second bridge over the Elbe officially opens (Sachsenbrücke) |
| 2002 | Major damage is caused by the worst flooding on record as the Elbe breaks its banks in August |
| 2005 | Pirna is connected to the A 17 motorway |
| 2017 | Construction starts on the 172 n bypass to the south of Pirna, moving traffic away from the city centre |