Köthen (Anhalt)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Köthen | |
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| Coat of arms | Location |
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| Administration | |
| Country |  Germany |
|---|---|
| State | Saxony-Anhalt |
| District | Anhalt-Bitterfeld |
| Mayor | Kurt-Jürgen Zander (SPD) |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 78.42 km² (30.3 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 80 m (262 ft) |
| Population | 29,667 (31/12/2006) |
| - Density | 378 /km² (980 /sq mi) |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | ABI |
| Postal code | 06366 |
| Area code | 03496 |
| Website | www.koethen-anhalt.de |
| Location of the town of Köthen within Anhalt-Bitterfeld district | |
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Köthen is a city in Germany. It is the capital of the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, about 30 km north of Halle.
Köthen is the location of the main campus of the regional technical university Hochschule Anhalt which is especially strong in information technology. The city is conveniently located at the hub of major rail links.
Köthen is situated in a fertile area with rich black soil suitable to the cultivation of sugar-beets. Industry includes high-tech engineering, manufacture of cranes, as well as chemicals, printing, and foodstuffs.
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
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The area of Köthen is unusually rich in archaeological findings. The earliest signs of human habitation go back to the early stone age about 250,000 years ago, and evidence of every succeeding historical period may be found in the collections of the local Prehistorical Museum.
The first documentary mention of "Cothene" dates to 1115; in 1194 it was already known as a market town, becoming a seat of the princes of Anhalt. Köthen was chartered in 1200. For over two centuries (1603-1847), it was the capital of the independent principality (from 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 small side wing bombed in 1944. Its Hall of Mirrors where Bach's music is now often performed is a popular attraction. It can be seen on DVD in the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra's recording of the concertos. Since 1967 a bi-annual Bach Festival has been held at Köthen, in the various halls of the castle as well as the local churches. Another concert hall is currently under construction.
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. The city has become the national center of homeopathy, location of congresses and of the new European Homeopathic Library.
[edit] Main sights
- St. James' Church (1400), with baptismal font designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen; crypt with sarcophagi of the reigning princes; organ by Friedrich Ladegast
- St. Agnus Church (1699), where Johann Sebastian Bach worshipped. "Last Supper" by Lucas Cranach the Younger (1565); donor's portrait by Antoine Pesne (1713); organ by Wilhelm Rühlmann
- 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.
- Historical Museum for city and district.
- Prehistorical Museum.
- Homes of Eichendorff and Hahnemann.
