Wegeleben () 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

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 ...

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 ...

. It is the administrative seat of the ''

Verbandsgemeinde A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...

'' ("collective municipality") Vorharz.

Geography

It is situated at the confluence of the Goldbach and Bode rivers, east of

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

. The municipal area comprises the villages of Adersleben, Deesdorf, and Rodersdorf. Wegeleben station is a stop on the Halberstadt–Vienenburg and

Magdeburg–Thale railway The Magdeburg–Thale railway is a predominantly single-track, non-electrified main line railway that connects Thale Central Station, Thale, in the northern Harz, with Magdeburg Central Station, Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt. Its eastern ...

lines.

History

Wegeleben in the Saxon Harzgau was the site of a fortress possibly erected at the behest of King

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...

during the Hungarian invasions in the 10th century. The castle later served as a residence of the Prince-Bishops of Halberstadt. The adjacent settlement was mentioned as a

(''civitas'') in the 13th century, when it had been fortified with

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

s and city gates. The ruling Ascanian counts ceded their fief in pawn to the Bishop of Halberstadt in 1288 and finally sold it in 1318. Ravaged by 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 ...

, Wegeleben with the Bishopric of Halberstadt passed to Brandenburg-Prussia in 1648. It was finally seized as a reverted fief by the

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...

king Frederick I in 1704. From 1815 it was incorporated into 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 ...

. The town received railway access in 1862. Until 2010 Wegeleben was part of the disbanded ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Bode-Holtemme.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (''Stadtrat'') as of 2014 local elections: * Christian Democratic Union: 10 * Free Democratic Party: 1 * Independents: 3

Notable people

* Wilhelm Schmidt (1858–1924), engineer and inventor *

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 ...

(1900–1945), Nazi official *

John Bura John Bura (; June 12, 1944 – January 17, 2023) was a bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the United States. He served as the Auxiliary Bishop of Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia from 2006 to 2019. From 2009 to 2014 ...

(1944–2023), bishop * Jürgen Pommerenke (born 1953), footballer

References

{{Authority control Towns in Saxony-Anhalt Towns in the Harz