Köthen (Anhalt)
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| Country | Germany |
| State | Saxony-Anhalt |
| District | Köthen |
| Population | 29,519 (2006) |
| Area | 78.42 km² |
| Population density | 387 /km² |
| Elevation | 80 m |
| Coordinates | 51°45′ N 11°58′ E |
| Postal code | 06366 |
| Area code | 03496 |
| Licence plate code | KÖT |
| Mayor | Kurt-Jürgen Zander (SPD) |
| Website | www.koethen-anhalt.de |
Köthen (Anhalt) is a small town in central Germany, about 30 km north of Halle.
Today, Köthen has one of the campuses of the regional university, a teacher-training institute, an airport, and major rail links. Lignite is mined, and sugar-beets are grown in the surrounding area. Industry includes high-tech engineering, as well as chemical, foodstuffs and textile productions.
Efforts are being made to counter the sinking population numbers (29,519 on Dec. 31, 2006, down from the 36,624 of 1971) by incorporating some outlying villages.
[edit] History
The first documentary mention of the city dates to 1115; in 1194 it was already known as a market town, becoming the seat of the counts of Anhalt. Köthen was chartered in 1200.
For over two centuries (1603-1847), it was the capital of the principality (since 1806 Duchy) of Anhalt-Köthen.
The town has long been known to classical music enthusiasts as the place of origin of Johann Sebastian Bach's best-known secular works, including the Brandenburg concertos and the Well-Tempered Clavier. Bach worked in Köthen from 1717 to 1723 as Kapellmeister for Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen. It is also the birthplace of the composer Carl Friedrich Abel who, together with Johann Christian Bach, founded the popular "Bach-Abel Concerts" in London, the first subscription concert series in England.
Köthen's castle has been fully restored except for a side wing bombed in 1944. Its Hall of Mirrors where Bach's music is now often performed is a popular attraction. It can actually be seen on DVD in the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra's recording of the concertos. Since 1967 an annual Bach Festival is held at Köthen, in the various halls of the castle as well as the local churches.
Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, practiced in Köthen from 1821 to 1834, and during this period he published many of his best-known works. In 1855 his disciple Arthur Lutze opened a palatial homeopathic clinic in town. Both the clinic and Hahnemann's home are now open to tourists.
[edit] Main sights
- St. James' Church (1400), with baptismal font designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen, crypt with sarcophagi of the reigning princes.
- St. Agnus Church (1699), where the composer Johann Sebastian Bach worshipped. "Last Supper" by Lucas Cranach the Younger (1565), portrait by Antoine Pesne (1713).
- Palace of the reigning princes (1597) -- now museum -- features a Versailles-style Hall of Mirrors (1722) as well as the actual rooms where much of J. S. Bach's secular music was first performed.
- Naumann Museum of ornithology.
- Prehistorical Museum.
- Homes of J. S. Bach, Eichendorff, Hahnemann.
