Gadegast is a village and a former municipality in

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

district in

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 ...

. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town

Zahna-Elster Zahna-Elster () is a town in the Wittenberg (district), district of Wittenberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2011 by the merger of the former municipalities Zahna, Dietrichsdorf, Elster (Elbe), Gadegast, Leetza, Listerfehrd ...

. The municipality belonged to the administrative municipality (''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'') of

Elbaue-Fläming Elbaue-Fläming was a ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' ("administrative community") in the district of Wittenberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was situated on the right bank of the Elbe, north and east of Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Luthe ...

Geography

Gadegast lies about 17 km east of

Lutherstadt Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German federal c ...

History

Gadegast had its first documentary mention in 1385. In 1508, the name was written ''Gathegast'', and in 1550 ''Gategast''. The community lay until 1815 in the Saxon ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' of Seyda, whereafter it became

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, ...

n. In 1550, 32 men who owned property lived in the community, among them 18 gardeners who were directly under the ''Amt's'' authority. The village had its own court seat and judge. Moreover, it had its own parish

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

. Also at that time, Gadegast bordered on the villages of Schadewalde, Mellnitz, Zallmsdorf and Seyda. From 1815 to 1944, Gadegast was part of the

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

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 ...

and from 1944 to 1945 of the Province of

Halle-Merseburg The Province of Halle-Merseburg () was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1944 to 1945. The provincial capital was the city Merseburg. Halle-Merseburg was created on 1 July 1944, out of Regierungsbezirk Merseburg, an administrative ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Gadegast was incorporated into the Province (since 1947, State) of

from 1945 to 1952 and the

Bezirk Cottbus Cottbus was a Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic, district () of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The administrative seat and main town was Cottbus. History The district was established, along with the othe ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

from 1952 to 1990. Since 1990, Gadegast has been part of

, since 2011 as a part of

Economy and transportation

Federal Highway (''Bundesstraße'') B 187 between Jessen and

lies 11 km to the south of the community.

References

Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Zahna-Elster {{Wittenberg-geo-stub