municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of
Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; 'Oak-field') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called , 'lower Eichsfeld') and northwest of the state of Thuringia (, 'upper Eichsfeld') in the south of the Harz mountains in Germany ...
in
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
,
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 ...
. Its agricultural land is some of the most productive in the district and it therefore does not have any wooded areas.
Geography
Gernrode is located in Upper
Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; 'Oak-field') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called , 'lower Eichsfeld') and northwest of the state of Thuringia (, 'upper Eichsfeld') in the south of the Harz mountains in Germany ...
in the southern foothills 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 ...
. It lies on both sides of the River Wipper, between the Dün and the
Ohm Hills
The Ohm Hills (, ) are a small range of hills up to high and about 50 km² in area. They are part of the Lower Eichsfeld region and are located in the county of Landkreis Eichsfeld, Eichsfeld, North Thuringia, Germany.
Geography
The Ohm H ...
The ending ''-rode'' indicates that the village was founded sometime between the 8th and the 12th centuries. It is first mentioned, as ''Germenroth'', in a document which may date to 1267. At this time it was governed by Haarburg, later by Haarburg-Worbis. During the Middle Ages, the course of the Wipper was changed, making possible the construction of 3 mills in the village. From 1586, Germenrode and Kirchworbis constituted a combined parish. In 1632, 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 ...
, troops from Weimar burnt down the church and the majority of the houses. The Catholic Church of St. Stephen, built in 1654 (and enlarged in 1932) has 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 ...
altar and is one of the largest and finest in Eichsfeld. The parish registers go back to 1662. In 1656, the population was reduced by war and plague to 382. The village recovered through migration from surrounding areas.
In 1802, with the rest of the then County of Eichsfeld, Gernrode became part of
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, ...
and during the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
was temporarily part of the
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...
. In the 18th century, the town's economy benefited from flax processing, which was later commemorated in the municipal arms. In 1810, Gernrode had 820 residents.
In 1867, with the construction of the segment of the Halle–Kassel railway between
Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to:
*Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany
** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district
** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city
*Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen)
* Narost, ...
and Arenshausen, Gernrode became the site of one of the 3 stations in Eichsfeld, which, however, was later renamed after Niederorschel because of confusion with
Gernrode
Gernrode () is a historic town and former municipality in the Harz (district), Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2014, it has been part of Quedlinburg.Heinrich Ernemann (1850-1928), industrialist.
* Rolf Berend (born 1943), politician.