Bitterfeld-Wolfen () 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 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is situated in south-eastern Saxony-Anhalt, west of the river

Mulde The Mulde () is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and is long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde (running through Zwickau) and the Freiberger Mulde (wit ...

, in an area dominated by

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

and

lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...

mining. The town was formed by merger of the towns of

Bitterfeld Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Hall ...

and Wolfen and the municipalities of Greppin, Holzweißig and Thalheim on 1 July 2007.

Geography

Bitterfeld-Wolfen is northeast of

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...

and about north of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Eastward lies the Muldestausee lake, southward the Goitzsche lake with docks and westwards the lido of Sandersdorf. The town lies in a nature reserve, Bitterfelder Bergbaurevier.

Neighbouring municipalities

Adjoining municipalities are from the north and clockwise

Raguhn-Jeßnitz Raguhn-Jeßnitz is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2010 by the merger of the former municipalities Altjeßnitz, Jeßnitz, Marke, Raguhn, Retzau, Schierau, Thurland and Torna ...

Muldestausee Muldestausee is a municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2010 by the merger of the former municipalities Burgkemnitz, Friedersdorf, Gossa, Gröbern, Krina, Mühlbeck, Muldens ...

Delitzsch Delitzsch (; Slavic: ''delč'' or ''delcz'' for hill) is a town in Saxony in Germany, 20 km north of Leipzig and 30 km east of Halle (Saale). With 24,850 inhabitants at the end of 2015, it is the largest town in the district of Nordsach ...

Sandersdorf-Brehna Sandersdorf-Brehna is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north ...

and

Zörbig Zörbig () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km west of Bitterfeld, and 20 km northeast of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale). Zörbig is well known for its molas ...

Climate

The average air temperature in Bitterfeld is and the yearly rainfall .

History

Town fusion

On 1 July 2007 the independent towns of Wolfen and

and the municipalities of Greppin, Thalheim and Holzweißig were merged to form the present-day town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. Bobbau was absorbed in September 2009.

Historical Population

(of the present-day town) ¹ Census results
² 2011 Census
³ Source: Bitterfeld-Wolfen Town Hall Source: Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt

Bitterfeld

Bitterfeld has approximately 15,000 inhabitants (2006). It was first documented in 1224. Part of the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

, it came to the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...

in 1815. Until the administrative reform of 2007 it was the capital of the district of Bitterfeld.

Wolfen

Wolfen has approximately 24,000 inhabitants (2006). It is located north of Bitterfeld. Wolfen was first documented around 1400. The discovery of

in 1846 and the construction of an

Agfa Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa) is a Belgian-German multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, and distributes Analog photography, analogue and digital imaging products, software, and systems. The company began as a dye manufacturer in 1867 ...

dye factory in 1895 brought industry and population growth.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bitterfeld-Wolfen is twinned with: *

Vierzon Vierzon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Cher (department), Cher departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher (river), Cher with some light industry and a ...

, France (1959) *

Villefontaine Villefontaine () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Geography The Bourbre flows northwest through the northeastern part of the commune. Population Twin towns – sister citie ...

, France (1990) *

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum ...

, Germany (1994) * Dzerzhinsk, Russia (1996) *

Kamienna Góra Kamienna Góra (, ) is a town in south-western Poland with 18,235 inhabitants (2023). It is the seat of Kamienna Góra County, and also of the rural district called Gmina Kamienna Góra, although it is not part of the territory of the latter (t ...

, Poland (2006) *

Marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

, Germany (2007)

References

{{Authority control Anhalt-Bitterfeld