Weißenfels

Weißenfels (IPA: [ˈvaɪsənˌfɛls]; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately 30 km (20 mi) south of Halle.

History

 Electorate of Saxony 1485-1656
Saxe-Weissenfels 1656-1746
 Electorate of Saxony 1746-1806
Kingdom of Saxony 1806-1815
 Kingdom of Prussia 1815-1871
 German Empire 1871-1918
 Weimar Republic 1918-1933
 Nazi Germany 1933-1945
 Allied-occupied Germany 1945-1949
 East Germany 1949-1990
 Germany 1990-present

Perhaps the first mention of the area, before the town itself was founded occurred in 806 CE, when Charles the Younger (Karl der Jüngere), King of the Franks, fought and killed two West Slavic Knezy (princes) nearby: duke Miliduch of the Sorbs and Nessyta (possibly also a Sorbian leader). Miliduch had led a Sorbian invasion of Austrasia.

The settlement arose around a castle on a ford crossing the Saale and received municipal rights in 1185. During the Thirty Years' War, the town was badly damaged and the population fell from 2200 to 960. On 7 November 1632 the body of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was first laid out at Weißenfels after he had been killed the day before at the Battle of Lützen.

Weißenfels (district)

Weißenfels was a district (Kreis) in the south of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Neighboring districts were (from south clockwise) Burgenlandkreis, Merseburg-Querfurt and the Saxon district Leipziger Land.

History

Near the small town Goseck archaeologists discovered in 1999 the oldest solar observatory in Europe, beating Stonehenge by more than 2000 years. Around 5000 BC the circular trench with a diameter of 75 meters was surrounded with wood palisades, with three openings which allowed to measure the date of the spring and autumn equinox. Excavations on the site are planned to continue until 2007.

The district in today's borders was created in 1994, when the two previous districts Weissenfels and Hohenmölsen were merged.

Geography

The main river in the district is the Saale, with viticulture along the river valley. In the east of the district is the lignite open pit mining area of Hohenmölsen.

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities

External links