Aken (Elbe) () is a town in the district of

Anhalt-Bitterfeld Anhalt-Bitterfeld is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its capital is Köthen (Anhalt). Its area is . History This district was established by merging the former districts of Bitterfeld, Köthen and a large part of Anhalt-Zerbst as part ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

, Germany. The town is located at the left bank of the river

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

Geography

Aken is located at the Middle Elbe, approximately west of Dessau-Rosslau in extended lowlands within the Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe. Approximately west of Aken, the

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

river enters the Middle Elbe.

Divisions

The town of Aken consists of Aken proper and the following ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions:Hauptsatzung der Stadt Aken (Elbe)
§ 14, 24 September 2014. *Kleinzerbst *Kühren *Mennewitz *Susigke

Population

History

The

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

''Gloworp'' was first mentioned in the 12th century. The town itself probably was a foundation from lower rhenish settlers from

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

which is spelled Aken in the Dutch language. Aken, a rectangular settlement with a regular system of streets, was first documented in 1219, naming the mayor Waltherus de Aken. In 1270 Aken received its town charter as ''Civitas''. The name Aken could be based on the Latin word ''Aqua'' (location at or near the water). Aken developed into a prosperous town due to its inland harbour on river

which was enlarged and modernized after 1889.

Town twinning

Erwitte Erwitte () is a town in the Soest (district), district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Erwitte is situated approximately 8 km south of Lippstadt and 15 km east of Soest, Germany, Soest. Neighbouring municipali ...

(

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

) since June 17, 1991 * Anor (

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) since April 24, 1993

Culture and sights

* historical

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

dating from 1490 * two medieval churches: St. Nicholas and St. Mary, both of them built in the 12th century * "Stone Kemenate" (heated residential building) from the 13th century with

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es * town wall from the Middle Ages with 3 remaining towers: Dessauer Torturm, Köthener Torturm, Burgtorturm * traditional skippers' houses and fisherman's houses, especially in Fischerstraße * passenger navigation on the river Elbe * Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe

Notable persons

Honorary citizens

* Friedrich Wilhelm Steinbrecht,

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in Lützow Free Corps * 2001: Otto Benecke, head of museum of local history * 2015: Hansjochen Müller, mayor from 1990 - 2015 * 2016: Christian Holmes, first Englishman to do an Anmeldung in Aken.

Notable people born in Aken

August Ludwig Hülsen August Ludwig Hülsen (3 March 1765 – 24 September 1809), also known by the pseudonym Hegekern, was a German philosopher, writer and pedagogue of early German Romanticism. His thought played a role in the development of German idealism. Life H ...

, (1765–1809), German philosopher of the early romance * Theodor von Sickel, (1826–1908), German-Austrian historian *Diana Vellguth, entertainer *Christian Reike, performer * Emilie Winkelmann (1875–1951), architect *Karl Witte (1893–1966), bishop in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

See *Karl Bischoff (1905–1983),

Germanist German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, German literature, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on Culture ...

and university teacher * Bernd Dießner, (born 1946), German athlete

Resident who influenced the history of the city

* Friedrich Ernst Arnold Werner Nolopp (A teacher, conductor and composer) File:AkenBahnhof1.jpg, Railway station File:Aken,Marienkirche.jpg, St. Mary's Church File:AkenStadtmauerKaiserstr.1.jpg, Medieval city wall seen from Kaiserstrasse File:AkenStadtmauerElbstr.2.jpg, Medieval city wall at Elbstrasse File:AkenDessauerTurm1.jpg, Tower Dessauer Torturm File:AkenSchifferhäuser2a.jpg, Traditional skippers' houses in Fischerstraße File:AkenSchifferhäuser3a.jpg, Traditional skippers' houses in Fischerstraße File:Aken,Nikolaikirche.jpg, St. Nicholas Church File:AkenTrafo2a.jpg, Wall painting referring to the foundation of Aken File:AkenTrafoGemälde1a.jpg, Wall painting referring to the founder of Aken

References

External links

Official homepage
*

{{Authority control Towns in Saxony-Anhalt Anhalt-Bitterfeld Populated riverside places in Germany Populated places on the Elbe