Halberstadt (; Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the 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 ...

in central

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 ...

, the capital of Harz district. Located north 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, it is known for its

old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

center, which was largely destroyed by Allied bombings in the late stages of

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 ...

after local Nazi leaders refused to surrender. The town was rebuilt in the following decades. In World War I Halberstadt was the site of a German military airbase and aircraft-manufacturing facilities. In World War II Halberstadt was a regional production center for

Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English language, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft manufacturer, aircraft and aircraft engine manufactu ...

aircraft, which also housed an SS forced labor camp. Halberstadt now includes the area where the Langenstein-Zwieberge concentration camp was situated. Today the city has around 450 timber framed houses in its city centre and timber framed old villages like Langenstein.

Geography

Halberstadt is situated between the Harz in the south and the Huy hills in the north on the Holtemme and Goldbach rivers, both left tributaries of the Bode. Halberstadt is the base of the Department of Public Management of the Hochschule Harz University of Applied Studies and Research. The town center retains many important historic buildings and much of its ancient townscape. Notable places in Halberstadt include

Halberstadt Cathedral The Halberstadt Cathedral or Church of St Stephen and St Sixtus () is a Gothic architecture, Gothic church in Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was the episcopal see of the Bishopric of Halberstadt, established by Emperor Charlemagne in 80 ...

, the Church of Our Lady (''Liebfrauenkirche'') and St Martin's, churches built in the 12th and 13th centuries. Halberstadt is the site of the first documented large, permanent

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

installation in 1361.Kennedy, Michael (Ed.) (2002). "Organ". In ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', p. 644. Oxford: Oxford University Press. The cathedral is notable among those in northern European towns in having retained its medieval treasury in virtually complete condition. Among its treasures are the oldest surviving tapestries in Europe, dating from the 12th century. The town is also a stop on the scenic German Timber-Frame Road.

Divisions

The town of Halberstadt consists of Halberstadt proper and the following ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions:Hauptsatzung der Stadt Halberstadt
March 2020. * Aspenstedt * Athenstedt * * * Langenstein * Sargstedt * Schachdorf Ströbeck These are all formerly independent municipalities: Emersleben was absorbed into Halberstadt in 1995, Klein Quenstedt in 1996 and Aspenstedt, Athenstedt, Langenstein, Sargstedt and Schachdorf Ströbeck in 2010.

History

In 814 the Carolingian emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

made the Christian mission in the German stem

duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony () was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...

the

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

of the Diocese of Halberstadt. It was granted market rights by King Otto III in 989. The town became the administrative centre of the Saxon Harzgau and an important trading location. The Halberstadt bishops had the Church of Our Lady erected from about 1005 onwards. In his fierce conflict with Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

, the forces of the Saxon duke Henry the Lion devastated the town in 1179. On Henry's downfall, the Halberstadt diocese was elevated to a

prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

ric about 1180. Its cathedral was rebuilt from 1236 and consecrated in 1491. Halberstadt, Quedlinburg and Aschersleben joined a league of towns (''Halberstädter Dreistädtebund'') in 1326; from 1387 the city was also a member of the

Hanse The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

. From 1479 the diocese was administered by the Archbishops of Magdeburg. While the Halberstadt citizens turned

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 ...

around 1540, the cathedral chapter elected Prince Henry Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel first Lutheran bishop in 1566. 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 ...

the town was occupied by the troops of Albrecht von Wallenstein in 1629 and temporarily re-Catholicized according to the imperial Edict of Restitution. According to the 1648

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

the prince-bishopric was finally secularized to the Principality of Halberstadt held by Brandenburg-Prussia. The first secular governor was Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal. In 1699,

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

religious refugees founded a French Reformed community in the town. Halberstadt became part of the newly established

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

in 1701. From 1747 Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim worked here as a government official and made his home an intellectual centre of the Enlightenment (''Aufklärung'') movement. Under the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit the town became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia, a Napoleonic client-state and administrative seat of the Westphalian Department of

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 ...

. On 29 July 1809 a Westphalian regiment was defeated by the Black Brunswickers under Prince Frederick William of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Battle of Halberstadt. After the defeat of Napoleon the town was restored to Prussia and subsequently administered within the Province of Saxony. From 1815 Halberstadt was home to the Prussian 7th (Magdeburg) Cuirassiers "von Seydlitz" regiment, with

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

in the rank of an officer à la suite from 1868. The town's economy was decisively promoted by the opening of the Magdeburg–Halberstadt Railway in 1843. The tramway was inaugurated in 1903. In 1912 the Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke aircraft manufacturer was founded followed by the opening of a military airbase, providing the German ''

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...

'' in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war it had to close down in accordance with the regulations of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, until in the course of the German re-armament, it opened again in 1935 as a branch of the

company in

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

. The aircraft factory was the site of an ''SS'' forced labor camp, one of several subcamps of Buchenwald; the production facilities and the nearby ''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

'' airbase were targets of Allied bombing during the '

Big Week Operation Argument, after the war dubbed Big Week, was a sequence of raids by the United States Army Air Forces and RAF Bomber Command from 20 to 25 February 1944, as part of the Combined Bomber Offensive against Nazi Germany. The objective o ...

' in February 1944. In the last days of

, in April 1945, US forces approached Halberstadt as they attacked remaining Nazi troops in the short-lived Harz pocket. They dropped leaflets instructing Halberstadt's Nazi ruler to fly a white flag on the town hall as a token of surrender. He refused, no white flag was raised and on 8 April 1945, 218 Flying Fortresses of the 8th Air Force, accompanied by 239 escort fighters, dropped 595 tons of bombs on the center of Halberstadt. This killed about 2,500 people and converted most of the old town into some 1.5 million cubic meters of rubble, which American troops briefly occupied three days later. Around 450 of 1600 timber framed houses survived in the city centre. By June 1945, the town and its garrison was handed over to the 3rd Shock Army of the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

forces. Halberstadt was part of newly established

from 1945 to 1952, after which it was within Bezirk Magdeburg in

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 ...

. During the Peaceful Revolution in Autumn 1989 St Martin's Church was a centre of the Swords to ploughshares movement. After the

reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...

Halberstadt became part of the restored state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Jewish culture

Halberstadt's Jewish community is mentioned in records from the 13th century and the town had a synagogue in 1464. In the early 18th century, Halberstadt had one of the largest

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

communities in central Europe and was known as a center of theology and learning after Berend Lehmann (1661–1730) founded a beth midrash there in 1703. The building, called the"Klaus", included a library and living quarters for scholars to study the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

. Lehmann also financed an impressive

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 ...

synagogue that was completed in 1712. Halberstadt's synagogue was ransacked and burned in the 9 November 1938 '' Kristallnacht''

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

. The synagogue's Torah scrolls were removed and burned in the street. On 18 November 1938, the local building authority ordered the demolition of the synagogue and required the Jewish community to pay the cost of the work. Today the Moses Mendelssohn Academy is based in the "Klaus", providing exhibitions, presentations, and information about

Jewish culture Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not simply a faith-based religion, but an orthopraxy and Ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, ...

One of the world's slowest, longest "concerts"

A performance of

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

's organ piece '' As Slow As Possible'' began in the Burchardikirche in Halberstadt in September 2001; the performance is scheduled to take 639 years. The concert began on 5 September 2001 with a rest lasting 17 months. On the dates of the sound changes the church is usually well visited.

Education

Halberstadt is site of the Harz University of Applied Studies.

Transport

The town can be reached via the Bundesstraße 6n (since 2019 called Bundesautobahn 36), 79, 81, and 245 federal highways. Halberstadt Hauptbahnhof is an important railway hub on the Magdeburg–Thale and Halle–Vienenburg lines, mainly served by Transdev Sachsen-Anhalt. operates the city's public transport system, comprising the Halberstadt tramway network of two lines, and six city bus lines.

Sport

Germania Halberstadt is a football club that plays in Halberstadt.

Notable people

* Caspar Abel, theologian, historian, and poet *

Albert of Saxony (philosopher) Albert of Saxony (Latin: ''Albertus de Saxonia''; c. 1320 – 8 July 1390) was a German philosopher and mathematician known for his contributions to logic and physics. He was bishop of Halberstadt from 1366 until his death. Life Albert was born a ...

, logician, physicist, and Bishop of Halberstadt from 1366 to 1399 * Gabriel Bach, (1927 - 2022), a German-born Israeli jurist, who was a judge of the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

and deputy prosecutor in the prosecution of Adolf Eichmann * Johann Christian Josef Abs, teacher and school administrator * August Binkebank, Trompeter der Halberstädter Kürassiere, Freiligraths ''Trompeter von Mars-la-Tour'' * Lily Braun, feminist writer * Wibke Bruhns, journalist and author, author of '' My Father's Country'' * Gottfried August Bürger, poet * Oscar Carré, Circus director, founder of the Carré Theatre * Karl Friedrich von Dacheröden, lawyer * Johann Augustus Eberhard, theologian and philosopher * Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, poet * Adalbert of Hamburg, Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen * Ferdinand Heine, ornithologist * Azriel Hildesheimer, rabbi * Gustav Eduard von Hindersin, general * Johann Georg Jacobi, poet * Israel Jacobson, philanthropist and father of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

* Alexander Kluge, film director and author * Issachar Berend Lehmann, banker, merchant, diplomatic agent and army contractor * Paul Laurentius, theologian * George Müller, Christian evangelist and administrator of orphanages * Emil D. Munch, American politician * Adolf Reubke, organ builder * Eberhard Graf von Schmettow, general * Jürgen Sparwasser, footballer and manager * Adolf Stoecker, theologian and politician * Friederike Vohs (1777–1860), operatic soprano * Friedrich Voss, composer and pianist * Helmut Weidling, general * Andreas Werckmeister, organist and music theorist, from 1696 to 1706 * Walter Wislicenus, astronomer * Carl Zillier, American politician *

Martin Bormann Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery, private secretary to Adolf Hitler, and a war criminal. Bormann gained immense power by using his position as Hitler ...

, private secretary to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

one of the fiercest criminals and anti-Semites of the 1900s

Twin towns – sister cities

Halberstadt is twinned with: *

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

, Slovakia *

Náchod Náchod (; ) is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It is known both as a tourist destination and centre of industry. The historic town centre with the castle complex is well preserved and i ...

, Czech Republic * Villars, France * Wolfsburg, Germany * Torredembarra, Spain

References

External links

Official Webpage

Moses Mendelssohn Akademie
* {{Authority control Towns in the Harz Historic Jewish communities Members of the Hanseatic League Holocaust locations in Germany