Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the

Burgenlandkreis Burgenlandkreis () is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is . History The district was established as Landkreis Burgenland by the merger of the former Burgenlandkreis and Landkreis Weißenfels as part of the reform of 2007. ...

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. It is situated on the river

White Elster The White Elster (, ) is a river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into easte ...

, in the triangle of the federal states

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 ...

, and

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

History

First a Slavic pagan settlement later Christianized, Zeitz was first recorded under the

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

name ''Cici'' in the Synod of Ravenna in 967. Between 965 and 982, it was the chief fortress of the

March of Zeitz The March of Zeitz () was a march of the Holy Roman Empire. It was created by Emperor Otto I in the division of the ''marca Geronis'' in 965, following the death of Gero the Great. Its capital was Zeitz. Its first and only margrave was Wigger. In ...

. Zeitz was a bishop's residence between 968 and 1028, when it was moved to

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

. Beginning at the end of the 13th century, the bishops again resided in their castle at Zeitz. The Herrmannsschacht (built in 1889) is one of the oldest brown coal brickette factories in the world. The city was captured by Swedish troops 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 ...

and was given to

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

in 1644. It was the centre of

Saxe-Zeitz The Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz () was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1656–57 as a secundogeniture of the Electorate of Saxony, Electoral Saxon house of House of Wettin. Its capital was Zeitz. The territory fell back to the Wettin ...

between 1657 and 1718, before returning to the Electorate (which became the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

in 1806). In 1815, it was given to the

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 ...

, becoming district (kreis) centre of the Merseburg region (regierungsbezirk) of the

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 ...

until 1944, when it became part 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 ...

. It became a county free city between 1901 and 1950. It was occupied by U.S. troops on 27 April 1945 and was transferred to

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

control on 1 July 1945. It was a district centre in the Halle region of

state in 1945 – 1952 and again in 1990 – 1994, and in

Bezirk Halle The Bezirk Halle was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Halle. History The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. After 3 October 19 ...

between 1952 and 1990. It lost its status as county centre and became part of the Burgenlandkreis on 1 July 1994. A bombing target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, the

Brabag Brabag (Braunkohle Benzin AG) was a German firm, planned in 1933, and operating from 1934 until 1945, that distilled synthetic aviation fuel, diesel fuel, gasoline, lubricants, and paraffin wax from lignite. It was an industrial cartel firm closel ...

plant northeast of Zeitz used

lignite coal Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...

for the production of

synthetic fuel Synthetic fuel or synfuel is a liquid fuel, or sometimes Fuel gas, gaseous fuel, obtained from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, in which the syngas was derived from gasification of solid feedstocks such as coal or biomass or by ...

s –

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

was provided by the nearby Wille subcamp of

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

in Rehmsdorf and Gleina. In the middle of the 1960s work started on the "Zeitz-Ost" residential area, and in the mid-1980s, housing estates such as the "Völkerfreundschaft" () were built. On 18 August 1976, the Protestant clergyman

Oskar Brüsewitz Oskar Brüsewitz (May 30, 1929 – 22 August 1976) was an East German Lutheran pastor who committed public self-immolation on August 18, 1976, to protest the repression of religion in the Communist state of East Germany. He died four days ...

from Rippicha burnt himself to death in front of the Michaeliskirche. This was a protest against the DDR system. The town was an industrial centre until

German Reunification 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 East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

made many companies in eastern Germany uncompetitive, and 20,000 people lost jobs or moved to other employment. The town still has a large sugar factory, and the nearby

lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...

mines ( Profen and Schleenhain) and

Lippendorf Power Station Lippendorf Power Station is a lignite-fired power station in Lippendorf, which is located in the municipality of Neukieritzsch, near Leipzig in Saxony, Germany. The power plant is owned and operated by Vattenfall Europe. It has a heating capac ...

, together employing 2,000 people from Zeitz. On 1 July 2009 Zeitz absorbed the former municipalities

Döbris Döbris is a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Zeitz Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situate ...

Geußnitz Geußnitz is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Zeitz Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. ...

Kayna Kayna is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Zeitz Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It ...

Nonnewitz Nonnewitz is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Zeitz Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. ...

and

Würchwitz Würchwitz is a village and former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Zeitz. It is the only place in the world that produces Milbenkäse (''mite cheese''), a German sp ...

. On 1 January 2010 it absorbed Luckenau and Theißen.

Geography

The town Zeitz consists of Zeitz proper and the following ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions:Hauptsatzung der Stadt Zeitz
October 2019. *

* Luckenau *

*Pirkau * Theißen *

*Zangenberg

Climate

Zeitz has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb'';

Trewartha Glenn Thomas Trewartha (1896 – 1984) was an American geographer of Cornish American descent. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with a Ph.D. in 1924. He taught at the University of Wisconsin. He gave an address to th ...

: ''Dobk''). The annual precipitation is , and the precipitation in summer is about twice that in winter. The Zeitz weather station has recorded the following extreme values: * Highest Temperature on 13 August 2003. * Lowest Temperature on 14 January 1987. * Wettest Year in 2002. * Driest Year in 1982. * Highest Daily Precipitation: on 21 July 1992. * Earliest Snowfall: 14 October 2015. * Latest Snowfall: 28 April 1985.

Main sights

Zeitz sights are predominantly situated along the

Romanesque Road The Romanesque Road () is a scenic route in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt in central-east Germany. It is part of the Transromanica network, a major European Cultural Route since 2006. Route The route takes the form of a figure-of-eight, ...

(point 52). * ''

Schloss Moritzburg Moritzburg Castle () or Moritzburg Palace is a Baroque architecture, Baroque palace in Moritzburg, Saxony, Moritzburg, in the German state of Saxony, about northwest of the Saxon capital, Dresden. The castle has four round towers and lies on a ...

'', 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 ...

-style castle with the . The 10th century crypt displays 17th century tin coffins including that of

Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz (28 March 1619 – 4 December 1681) was a duke of Saxe-Zeitz and member of the House of Wettin. Born in Dresden, he was the youngest surviving son of John George I, Elector of Saxony, and his second wife Magdalene Sibylle ...

. * ''Michaeliskirche'' (1154), originally a Romanesque basilica and contains a 1517 original of

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 ...

's 95 Theses. * Town Hall (1509, rebuilt in 1909). It is a Gothic structure that, together with restored houses and 3 market-places, provides Zeitz' medieval appearance. * ''Herrmannsschacht'', a technical monument in a former brick factory.

Twin towns – sister cities

Zeitz is twinned with: * Darkhan, Mongolia (1989) *

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

, Germany (1990) *

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

, Russia (1995) * Tosu, Japan (1998) *

Prescott Prescott may refer to: People Given name * Prescott E. Bloom, American lawyer and politician * Prescott Bush, American banker and politician * Samuel Prescott Bush, American industrialist * Prescott F. Hall, American lawyer, author and eugenicist ...

, United States (2014)

Notable people

Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz (9 October 1666 in Moritzburg – 23 August 1725 in Regensburg), was a German prince of the House of Wettin. He was also a cardinal of the Catholic Church. Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz was a Teutonic Knigh ...

(1666–1725), Archbishop of

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

Anna Magdalena Bach Anna Magdalena Bach (''née'' Wilcke; 22 September 1701 – 27 February 1760) was a German professional singer and the second wife of Johann Sebastian Bach. Biography Anna Magdalena Wilcke was born at Zeitz, in the Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz. Wh ...

(1701–1760), second wife of J. S. Bach *

Clemens Denhardt Clemens Andreas Denhardt (1852–1928) and his brother Gustav Denhardt (1856–1917), born in Zeitz, Province of Saxony, were distinguished German people, German explorers of Africa at the time of the Scramble for Africa. In association with the ...

(1852–1929), Africa explorer *

Gustav Denhardt Gustav Denhardt (16 June 1856 in Zeitz – 17 July 1917 in Leipzig) and his brother Clemens Andreas Denhardt (3 August 1852 – 7 June 1928), born in Zeitz, Saxony-Anhalt, were distinguished German explorers of Africa at the time of the Scramble ...

(1856–1917), African explorer * Kurt Floericke (1869–1934), natural scientist, naturalist and author *

Ewald André Dupont Ewald André Dupont (25 December 1891 – 12 December 1956) was a German film director, one of the pioneers of the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. He was often credited as E. A. Dupont. Early life and career Born in Zeitz, Saxony and rai ...

(1891–1956), film director and screenwriter * Walter Krüger (1892-1973), general * Heinrich Troeger (1901–1975), jurist and SPD politician *

Ewald Riebschläger Ewald Riebschläger (24 October 1904 – 29 October 1993) was a German diver who won two gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the European championships of 1927–1934. He competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics () ...

(1904–1993), water jumper, European Champion * Karl Walther (1905–1981), painter *

Gotthard Handrick Gotthard Handrick (25 October 1908 – 30 May 1978) was a German Olympic athlete and German fighter pilot during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Career Handrick was born on 25 October 1908 in Zittau, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxon ...

(1908–1978), fighter pilot and athlete, Olympic champion *

Fritz Gödicke Fritz Gödicke (21 October 1919 – 28 April 2009) was an East German Association football, footballer and manager. In 1951 Gödicke was the shared winner (together with fellow footballer Werner Oberländer) in a poll conducted by the East Germ ...

(1919–2009), football coach *

Horst Wende Horst Wende (5 November 1919 – 23 January 1996) was a German bandleader, arranger and composer. He made easy-listening records under his own name as well as under the name Roberto Delgado. He was part of the wave of German-based easy-listening art ...

(1919–1996), bandleader, arranger and composer *

Heinz-Günther Lehmann Heinz-Günther Lehmann (6 March 1923 – 24 June 2006) was a German swimmer who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, we ...

(1923–2006), swimmer, European champion * Manfred Kaiser (1929–2017), footballer and coach *

Rudolf Drößler Rudolf Drößler (18 May 1934 – 23 November 2022) was a German specialized book author and science-journalist. Life Rudolf Drößler spent his childhood in the German city Zeitz, where he made his general qualification for university entra ...

(1934 – 2022), author and science journalist *

Bernd Bauchspiess Bernd is a Low German short form of the given name Bernhard (English Bernard). List of persons with given name Bernd The following people share the name Bernd. *Bernd Brückler (born 1981), Austrian hockey player * Bernd Cullmann (1939–2025), G ...

(born 1939), footballer *

Hans Zierold Hans Zierold (born 16 April 1938) is a retired German swimmer. He competed at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics in three events in total. In 1956 he finished fifth in the 400 m and 4×200 m freestyle events, whereas in 1960 he placed seventh in ...

(born 1938), swimmer *

Klaus Trummer Klaus Trummer (born 24 February 1945 in Zeitz) is a former East German slalom canoeist who competed in the early to mid-1970s. He won six medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with four golds (C-2: 1971, 1975; C-2 team:1971, ...

(born 1945), canoeist * Jürgen Kretschmer (born 1947), canoeist * Martina Falke (born 1951), canoeist

References

External links

* {{Authority control Burgenlandkreis Oil campaign of World War II