Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

state of

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 ...

Geography

It is situated at the northern rim of the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

mountain range, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the Harz (district), district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg becam ...

. The municipal area comprises the villages of Asmusstedt, Badeborn, Opperode, Radisleben, and

Rieder Rieder is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 December 2013, it is part of the town Ballenstedt. Between 1 January 2011 and 19 February 2013, it was part of the town Quedlinburg. There ...

. Ballenstedt is a stop on the scenic Romanesque Road.

History

The

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

count

Esico of Ballenstedt Esico of Ballenstedt (died around 1060) is the progenitor of the House of Ascania, (i.e., the oldest known member of his dynasty). Esico was the count of Ballenstedt (r. 1036-1060), and his possessions became the nucleus of the later Principality ...

(c. 1000–1059/60) was mentioned in a 1030 entry in the medieval chronicles of the

Annalista Saxo The Annalista Saxo ("Saxon annalist") is the anonymous author of an important imperial chronicle, believed to have originated in the mid-12th century at Nienburg Abbey in the Duchy of Saxony. General The chronicle of the "Annalista Saxo" is a ...

and in a 1036 deed issued by Emperor Conrad II. He was a son of one Count Adalbert, who held the office of a ''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

'' of

Nienburg Abbey Nienburg Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery in Nienburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. History Abbey Nienburg was for centuries on the extreme eastern edge of the settled territory of Germany. With the aim of converting the then Sorbian popu ...

, and Hidda, a daughter of Margrave Odo I of the Saxon Ostmark. Esico, whose sister

Uta Uta or UTA may refer to: Universities *University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States *University of Texas at Austin, in the United States *University of Tarapacá, in Chile *University of Tampere, in Finland Sports * FC UTA Arad, a R ...

married Margrave Eckard II of Meissen is considered the progenitor of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Principality of Anhalt, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ' ...

. He had a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

erected in Ballenstedt, dedicated to Saints Pancras and

Abundius Abundius (also Abondius, Abundias, or Abbondio; early fifth century – 469), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Abundius, was a bishop of Como, Northern Italy. Biography Abundius was born at Thessalonica. Around 448 Abundius became the ...

, in the presence of Emperor Henry III in 1046. Ballenstedt church was mentioned in a charter of 1073 by Henry IV in which the emperor confirmed to the church the possession of 21 ''mansi'' previously granted by his father Henry III. In 1123 Otto the Rich together with his son

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...

, who would become the first ruler of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, established a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery at the site. Albert and was buried at the crypt of the abbey church in 1070; a monument for him is located in the town's park. Albert's grandson Henry I became the first Prince of Anhalt in 1218. In 1512 the citizens of Ballenstedt were vested with

brewing right In the Middle Ages, the brewing right or ''gruit right'' was one of the privileges granted by the land owner or territorial ruler. Sometimes this right was linked to a plot or a house, called a " beer court"; sometimes the right was held by a h ...

s by the Ascanian prince Wolfgang of Anhalt-Köthen. After Wolfgang met with

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

at the 1521

Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms of 1521 ( ) was an Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City o ...

, he became one of the first

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

rulers in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Ballenstedt Abbey was stormed and plundered during the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

, whereafter Prince Wolfgang had the monastery secularised in 1525. He chose Ballenstedt as a residence and granted it

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1543. It received city walls in 1551; a town hall was first mentioned in 1582. As the Anhalt princes supported King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, Ballenstedt was raided and plundered by Imperial troops under

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...

in 1626.

After the war, the town and the former monastery were rebuilt as a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

summer residence by the Ascanian princes of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subd ...

. In 1765 the enlightened prince Frederick Albert completely moved his residence from

Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeb ...

to Ballenstedt Castle and induced a time of prosperity, including the erection of a castle theatre in 1788, the oldest theatre in Saxony-Anhalt and the domain of composers like

Albert Lortzing Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French ''opéra comique'', which ...

and

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

. A part of the re-unified

Duchy of Anhalt The Duchy of Anhalt () was a historical German duchy. The duchy was located between the Harz Mountains in the west and the River Elbe and beyond to the Fläming Heath in the east. The territory was once ruled by the House of Ascania, and is now ...

from 1863 on, Ballenstedt became known as a residential town for the well-to-do retired like Princess Friederike of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, who died at Ballenstedt Castle in 1902, or the painter and author Wilhelm von Kügelgen, whose house is now a museum.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly () as of 2004 elections: * Christian Democratic Union: 8 (41.2%) * The Left: 4 (18.2%) *

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

: 3 (12.6%) * Free Democratic Party: 3 (12.5%) *

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

: 1 (7.5%) *Independent: 1 (5.4%) The coat of arms is derived from the insignia of the Counts of Ballenstedt, which is also the origin of the

coat of arms of Saxony The coat of arms of the present-day German free state of Saxony shows a tenfold horizontally-partitioned ('' Barry of ten'') field of black (''sable'') and gold/yellow ('' or'') stripes,

. It was first manifested in 1560 after Ballenstedt received town rights.

Places of interest

* Ballenstedt Castle: Baroque three-winged building, renovated in the 18th century, grave of

* Castle Park: created by

Peter Joseph Lenné Peter Joseph Lenné (the Younger) (29 September 1789 – 23 January 1866) was a Prussian gardener and landscape architect. As director general of the Royal Prussian palaces and parks in Potsdam and Berlin, his work shaped the development of 1 ...

; castle and castle park belong to the Saxony-Anhalt Garden Dreams project * Ballenstedt Castle Theatre: played by

and

* Großer Gasthof castle hotel: originally built in 1733 as an

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, converted in 1756 by the Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ducal master builder, Martin Peltier de Belfort, into a guest house * Local History Museum, opposite the Großer Gasthof in the upper part of the avenue * Kügelgen House, Kügelgenstr. 35a * Yellow House (''Gelbes Haus''), on the exit to the town towards

, built as a roadside toll house * Allee: representative, a kilometre long approach to the castle, centre point of the town * Old Town Hall (''Altes Rathaus''): timber-framed building erected in 1683 * New Town Hall (''Neues Rathaus''): representative building, built in 1906 based on a design by Berlin architect

Alfred Messel Alfred Messel (22 July 1853 – 24 March 1909) was a German architect at the turning point to the 20th century, creating a new style for buildings which bridged the transition from historicism to modernism. Messel was able to combine the structure ...

* St. Nicholas' Church: Late Gothic church, built in 1326, burnt down in 1498, rebuilt in 1501 * Town wall, can still be seen in ''Wallstraße'' * Wall towers along the town wall (Oberturm, Unterturm, Marktturm – the latter is accessible, key in the restaurant opposite) * Swimming baths, built 1907–08 * Teufelsmauer (Harz) * Gegensteine nature reserve * Bismarck Tower, Opperode * Roseburg (castle) * Oberhof Ballenstedt

Transport

Ballenstedt is located at the ''

Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...

'' (federal highway) 185, leading to the ''Bundesstraße 6'' and the ''

Bundesautobahn 14 is an autobahn in eastern Germany. The route comprises two disconnected sections: * The old A 241. A North–south route in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern which runs from Wismar to Schwerin. * The original A 14. A West–east route whi ...

''. Train service was suspended in 2003. A small asphalt runway is about 5 km (3 mi) outside the town.

Notable people

Born in Ballenstedt

Uta von Ballenstedt Uta von Ballenstedt ( — 23 October before 1046), a member of the House of Ascania, was Margravine of Meissen from 1038 until 1046, by marriage to Margrave Eckard II. She is also called Uta of Naumburg as the subject of a famous donor portrait ...

(1000 - before 1046), founder of the

Naumburg Cathedral Naumburg Cathedral (, ), located in Naumburg, Germany, is the former cathedral of the Bishopric of Naumburg-Zeitz. The church building, most of which dates back to the 13th century, is a renowned landmark of the German late Romanesque architecture, ...

* Johann Arndt (1555–1621), theologian * Pauline zur Lippe (1769–1820), regent of the Principality of Lippe * Caroline Bardua (1781–1864), painter Wilhelmine Luise Prinzessin von Preussen

Wilhelmine Luise Prinzessin von Preussen

Princess Louise of Anhalt-Bernburg Princess Luise of Anhalt-Bernburg (30 October 1799 – 9 December 1882), also known as Princess Friedrich of Prussia (after her husband, Prince Friedrich of Prussia) was a German princess. Early life As the daughter of Alexius Frederick Ch ...

(1799–1882), Princess of Prussia * Gustav Strube (1867–1953), composer * Wilhelm von Krosigk (1871–1953), officer of Imperial Navy, ship commander,

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

* Wilhelm Thiele (1897–1990), politician (NSDAP) * Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt (1898–1983), Princess * Eduard, Prince of Anhalt (born 1941), since 1963 head of the house Anhalt-Ascania * Justus Pfaue (1942–2014), novelist and screenwriter * Eckhard Lesse (born 1948), long-distance runner

Died in Ballenstedt

* Karl Christian Agthe, composer, born 16 June 1762 in Hettstedt, died 27 November 1797 * Wilhelm von Kügelgen, painter, born 20 November 1802 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, died 25 May 1867 * Wilhelm Vöge, art historian, born 16 February 1868 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, died 30 December 1952.

Twin towns

Kronberg im Taunus Kronberg im Taunus (, ) is a town in the Hochtaunuskreis district, Hesse, Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Before 1866, it was in the Duchy of Nassau; in that year the whole Duchy w ...

, Germany

References

External links

*
Ballenstedt-Blog.de (german)

Ballenstedt-Blog.de (english)
{{Authority control Towns in the Harz Harz (district) 1030s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1030 establishments in Europe Populated places established in the 11th century