Mansfeld (), sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of
Mansfeld-Südharz
Mansfeld-Südharz is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is .
History
The district was established by merging the former districts of Sangerhausen and Mansfelder Land as part of the reform of 2007. In the German parliament, the Bu ...
, 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 ...
.
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 ...
reformator
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 ...
grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places in Germany to be designated a ''
Lutherstadt'' for this reason.
Geography
It is situated east 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 on the river
Wipper, a left tributary of the
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 ...
, about northwest of
Halle. Together with neighbouring
Eisleben, it is part of the historic
Mansfeld Land region, roughly corresponding to the former district of
Mansfelder Land which in 2007 merged into present Mansfeld-Südharz district.
Mansfeld station is a stop on the Mansfeldbahn railway line (''Wipperliese''), a
branch
A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins.
History and etymology
In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...
of the
Berlin-Blankenheim railway, running from
Klostermansfeld to
Wippra.
Town districts
The township currently comprises 15 districts (''Ortschaften''):
[Hauptsatzung der Stadt Mansfeld]
July 2019.
The former municipalities Annarode, Biesenrode, Gorenzen, Großörner, Möllendorf, Piskaborn, Siebigerode and Vatterode were merged into Mansfeld in 2005, Abberode, Braunschwende, Friesdorf, Hermerode, Molmerswende and Ritzgerode in 2009.
Statistisches Bundesamt
The Federal Statistical Office (, shortened ''Destatis'') is a federal authority of Germany. It reports to the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
The Office is responsible for collecting, processing, presenting and analysing statistical informati ...
History
The House of Mansfeld, whose members belonged to 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 ...
nobility and served as counts in the Hassegau
The Hassegau was a medieval shire (''Gau (territory), Gau'') ...
, was first documented in a 973 deed. The counts built Mansfeld Castle, whose foundations date back to the late 11th century, when one Hoyer of Mansfeld served as field marshal to Emperor Henry V. The first reference of the fortress coincides with the extinction of the elder line in 1229. The estates were inherited by the Lords of Querfurt, who also adopted the comital title, calling themselves Counts of Mansfeld from that time on.
The settlement of Mansfeld received 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 1400, and grew through the development of copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
and silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
mining, an activity in which Hans Luder from Möhra, father to 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 ...
and Mansfeld citizen from 1484, was employed as a master smelter. Luther's family had arrived into a modest prosperity, he himself attended the local school between 1488 and 1496. The building known as "Luther's School" had to be torn down and rebuilt in 2000 due to structural problems. His parents' house is preserved and today a museum. Luther also acted as an altar server
An altar server is a laity, lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helping bring up the gifts, and bringi ...
at the St George parish church.
The Counts of Mansfeld had already lost Imperial immediacy
In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...
in 1580. When the comital line finally became extinct in 1780, the estates around Mansfeld were incorporated into the Prussian Duchy of Magdeburg. The town retained the status of an independent city (''Immediatstadt''), it was temporarily part of the Napoleonic 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, ...
and after the 1815 Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
belonged to the Prussian 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 ...
.
Politics
Seats in the town's assembly (''Stadtrat'') as of 2014 local elections:
*Christian Democratic Union of Germany
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( , CDU ) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is the major party of the centre-right in German politics. Friedrich Merz has been federal chairman of the CDU since 31 ...
(CDU): 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 ...
(SPD): 4
* The Left: 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 ...
: 8
*Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
: 1
Notable people
*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 ...
Religious revolutionary, leader of Protestant revolution, philosopher
* Johann Wigand (–1587), Lutheran cleric
* Johann Karl Ehrenfried Kegel (1784–1863), agronomist and explorer of the Kamchatka Peninsula
* Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn (1809–1864), botanist and geologist
* Arthur Gaebelein (1891–1964), footballer
* Wolfgang Zeller (1893–1967), composer
References
{{Authority control
Martin Luther
Towns in the Harz
Mansfeld
Mansfeld-Südharz