Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg
View over castle
Coat of arms
Quedlinburg
Location of Quedlinburg within Harz district
Coordinates: 51°47′30″N 11°8′50″E / 51.79167°N 11.14722°E / 51.79167; 11.14722Coordinates: 51°47′30″N 11°8′50″E / 51.79167°N 11.14722°E / 51.79167; 11.14722
Country	Germany
State	Saxony-Anhalt
District	Harz
Subdivisions	7 Stadtteile
Government
• Mayor	Eberhard Brecht (SPD)
Area
• Total	120.42 km2 (46.49 sq mi)
Elevation	123 m (404 ft)
Population (2012-12-31)[1]
• Total	25,391
• Density	210/km2 (550/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	06484, 06485
Dialling codes	03946, 039485
Vehicle registration	HZ, QLB
Website	www.quedlinburg.de

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Collegiate Church, Castle, and Old Town of Quedlinburg
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
The market square of Quedlinburg.
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iv
Reference	535
UNESCO region	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	1994 (18th Session)

Quedlinburg (German pronunciation: [ˈkveːdlɪnbʊʁk]) is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list.

Until 2007 it was the capital of the district of Quedlinburg. Some places in town with Romanesque architecture are part of the holiday route Romanesque Road, such as St. Servatius' church at the castles hill, St. Wigbert's church down the valley and St Marie's church on the Montsion's hill (Münzenberg).

History

The town of Quedlinburg is known since at least the early 9th century, when a settlement known as Gross Orden existed at the eastern bank of the river Bode. As such the city is first mentioned in 922, as part of a donation by Henry the Fowler. The records of this donation were collected at the abbey of Corvey.

After Henry's death in 936, his widow Saint Mathilda founded a religious community for women ("Frauenstift") on the castle hill, where daughters of the higher nobility were educated. The main task of this collegiate foundation, Quedlinburg Abbey (where the Annals of Quedlinburg were compiled), was to pray for the memory of King Henry and the rulers that came after him. The first abbess was Mathilde, granddaughter of Henry and Saint Mathilde.

The Quedlinburg castle complex, founded by Henry the Fowler and built up by Otto I the Great in 936, was an imperial palatinate of the Saxon emperors. The palatinate, including the male convent, was in the valley, where nowadays the Roman Catholic Church of St Wiperti is situated, while the women's convent was located on the castle hill.

In 961 and 963 a Canon's monastery was established in St. Wiperti, south of the castle hill. It was abandoned in the 16th century, and at one time the church, which boasts a magnificent crypt from the 10th century, was even used as a barn and a pigsty before being restored in the 1950s.

In 973, shortly before the death of emperor Otto I the Great, a Reichstag (Imperial Convention) was held at the imperial court in which Mieszko, duke of Poland, and Boleslav, duke of Bohemia, as well as numerous other nobles from as far away as Byzantium and Bulgaria, gathered to pay homage to the emperor. In the occasion Otto the Great introduced his new daughter-in-law Theophanu, a Byzantine princess whose marriage to Otto II brought hope for recognition and continued peace between the rulers of the Eastern and Western empires.

In 994 Otto III granted the right of market, tax and coining and established the first market place to the north of the castle hill.

The town became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1426. Quedlinburg Abbey frequently disputed the independence of Quedlinburg, which sought the aid of the Bishopric of Halberstadt. In 1477 Abbess Hedwig, aided by her brothers Ernest and Albert, broke the resistance of the town and expelled the bishop's forces. Quedlinburg was forced to leave the Hanseatic League and was subsequently protected by the Electorate of Saxony. Both town and abbey converted to Lutheranism in 1539 during the Protestant Reformation.

In 1697 Elector Frederick Augustus I of Saxony sold his rights to Quedlinburg to Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg for 240,000 thalers. Quedlinburg Abbey contested Brandenburg-Prussia's claims throughout the 18th century, however. The abbey was secularized in 1802 during the German Mediatisation and Quedlinburg passed to the Kingdom of Prussia as part of the Principality of Quedlinburg.(? -- this might be Halberstadt as there is no evidence that Quedlinburg ever became a principality) Part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Westphalia from 1807–13, it was included within the new Prussian Province of Saxony in 1815. In all this time, great ladies ruled Quedlinburg as abbesses without "taking the veil"; they were free to marry. The last of these great ladies was a Swedish princess, an early fighter for women's rights, Sofia Albertina.

During the Nazi regime, the memory of Henry I became a sort of cult, as Heinrich Himmler saw himself as the reincarnation of the "most German of all German" rulers. The collegiate church and castle were to be turned into a shrine for Nazi Germany. The Nazi Party tried to create a new religion. The cathedral was closed from 1938 and during the war. The local crematory was kept busy burning the victims of the Langenstein-Zwieberge concentration camp. Liberation in 1945 brought back the Protestant bishop and the church bells, and the Nazi style eagle was taken down from the tower. Georg Ay was local party chief from 1931 until the end of the war.

Quedlinburg was administered within Bezirk Halle while part of the Communist East Germany from 1949 to 1990. It became part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt upon German reunification in 1990.

During Quedlinburg's Communist era as part of the GDR (1949–1990), restoration specialists from Poland were called in during the 1980s to carry out repairs on the old architecture. As in all German cities the Altstadt old city medieval sections, are the most popular attractions of any town. Now Quedlinburg is a center of restoration of Fachwerk houses.

During the last months of World War II, the United States Military occupied Quedlinburg. In the 1980s, upon the death of one of the US Military men, the Theft of medieval art from Quedlinburg came to light.

Main sights

In the innermost parts of the town a wide selection of half-timbered buildings from at least five different centuries are to be found (including a 14th-century structure, one of Germany's oldest), while around the outer fringes of the old town there are wonderful examples of Jugendstil buildings, dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Since December 1994 the old town of Quedlinburg and the castle mount with the collegiate church are listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.^[2] Quedlinburg is one of the best-preserved medieval and renaissance towns in Europe, having escaped major damage in World War II.

In 2006 the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen Selketal branch was extended into Quedlinburg from Gernrode giving access to the historic steam narrow gauge railway, Alexisbad and high Harz plateau.

The castle and the cathedral still towers above the city the way they dominated the town in early Middle Ages. The cathedral is a prime example of German Romanesque style. The Domschatz, the cathedral treasure containing ancient Christian religious artefacts and books, was stolen by an American soldier and finally brought back to Quedlinburg in 1993 and is again on display here.

Geography

The town is located north of the Harz mountains approximatively 123 meters above sea level. The nearest mountains reach 181 meters above sea level. The biggest part of the town is located in the western part of the river Bodes bed. This river comes from the Harz mountains and flows into the river Saale and further into the river Elbe. The municipal area of Quedlinburg is 120.42 km²: before the incorporation of the two (previously independent) municipalities of Gernrode and Bad Suderode in January 2014 it was only 78.14 km².

Climate

Quedlinburg has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification) resulting from Prevailing Westerlies, blowing from the high pressure area in the central Atlantic towards Scandinavia. Snowfall occurs almost every winter. January and February are the coldest months of the year, with an average temperature of 0.1 °C and 0.4 °C. July and August are the hottest months, with an average temperature of 17.8 °C (63 °F) and 17.2 °C. The average annual precipitation is close to 438 millimetres with rain occurring usually from May to September. This precipitation is one of the lowest in Germany, which has an annual average close to 700 millimetres. In August 2010 Quedlinburg was the driest place in Germany with only 72,4 liter per square-meter.^[3]

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1786	8,382	—
1807	10,476	+25.0%
1820	11,507	+9.8%
1830	12,001	+4.3%
1840	13,431	+11.9%
1852	13,886	+3.4%
1861	14,835	+6.8%
1871	16,800	+13.2%
1880	18,437	+9.7%
1890	20,761	+12.6%
1900	23,378	+12.6%
1910	27,233	+16.5%
1919	28,190	+3.5%
1939	30,320	+7.6%
1946	35,142	+15.9%
1950	35,555	+1.2%
1955	33,125	−6.8%
1960	30,965	−6.5%
1965	30,840	−0.4%
1970	30,829	−0.0%
1975	29,711	−3.6%
1980	28,585	−3.8%
1985	29,394	+2.8%
1990	28,663	−2.5%
1995	25,844	−9.8%
2000	24,114	−6.7%
2005	22,607	−6.2%
2009*	21,203	−6.2%
Source:[6]

Transport

Air

The nearest airports to Quedlinburg are Hannover 120 km north-west, and Leipzig/Halle Airport 90 km south-east. Much closer, but only served by a few airlines, is Magdeburg-Cochstedt. An airfield is located at Ballenstedt-Assmussstedt for general aviation.

Train

Regional trains run on the standard gauge Magdeburg–Thale line by Deutsche Bahn and the private company Connex connect Quedlinburg with Magdeburg, Thale and Halberstadt.

In 2006 the Selke Valley branch of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways was extended into Quedlinburg from Gernrode, giving access to the historic steam narrow gauge railway, Alexisbad and high Harz plateau.

Bus

Quedlinburg is connected by regional buses to the surrounding villages and small towns.

Additionally there are also buses to Berlin, run by the company BerlinLinienBus.

Notable people

Jordanus of Quedlinburg was a 14th-century preacher and monk wrote texts about contemporary devoutness.

In 18th century Dorothea Erxleben was the first female medical doctor in Germany.^[7] Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock was a contemporary German poet of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Sister cities

Quedlinburg is twinned with:

• Aulnoye-Aymeries, France, since 1961
• Herford, Germany, since 1991
• Celle, Germany, since 1991
• Hameln, Germany, since 1991
• Hann. Münden, Germany, since 1991

References

Further reading

• Honan, William H. (1997). Treasure Hunt. A New York Times Reporter Tracks the Quedlinburg Hoard. New York: Fromm International Publishing Corporation. ISBN 0-88064-174-6. 
• Kogelfranz, Siegfried; Willi A. Korte (1994). Quedlinburg – Texas and Back. Black Marketeering with Looted Art.  Cite uses deprecated parameters (help)

External links

Find more about Quedlinburg at Wikipedia's sister projects
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Media from Commons
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Learning resources from Wikiversity

• The city's website (German)
• UNESCO page on Quedlinburg
• Pictures and information about timber frame homes in Quedlinburg (German)
• The Quedlinberg Art Affair
• around 3000 recent photos from Quedlinburg

	Halberstadt	Oschersleben	Magdeburg
	Blankenburg		Aschersleben
	Quedlinburg
	Nordhausen	Sangerhausen	Halle

v t e World Heritage Sites in Germany For official site names, see each article or the List of World Heritage Sites in Germany. Northern Fagus Factory in Alfeld Berlin Modernism Housing Estates Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin Bremen: Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace Mines of Rammelsberg, Historic Town of Goslar and Upper Harz Water Management System Hildesheim: St. Mary's Cathedral and St. Michael's Church Hanseatic City of Lübeck Historic Centres of Stralsund and Wismar The Wadden Sea1 Ancient Beech Forests2 Central Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz Dresden Elbe Valley (delisted in 2009) Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski3 Collegiate Church, Castle, and Old Town of Quedlinburg Wartburg Castle Classical Weimar Western Aachen Cathedral Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at Brühl Cologne Cathedral Messel Pit Fossil Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley Speyer Cathedral Trier: Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady Völklingen Ironworks Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen Southern Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch Town of Bamberg Frontiers of the Roman Empire:4 Upper Germanic & Rhaetian Limes Maulbronn Monastery Complex Margravial Opera House Bayreuth Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof Monastic Island of Reichenau Pilgrimage Church of Wies Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps5 1 Shared with the Netherlands 2 Shared with Slovakia and Ukraine 3 Shared with Poland 4 Shared with the United Kingdom 5 Shared with Austria, France, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland

v t e Towns and municipalities in the district of Harz Ballenstedt Blankenburg (Harz) Ditfurt Falkenstein Groß Quenstedt Halberstadt Harsleben Harzgerode Hedersleben Huy Ilsenburg Nordharz Oberharz am Brocken Osterwieck Quedlinburg Schwanebeck Selke-Aue Thale Wegeleben Wernigerode

v t e Members of the Hanseatic League by Quarter Chief cities shown in smallcaps. Free Imperial Cities of the Holy Roman Empire shown in italics. Wendish Lübeck Anklam Demmin Greifswald Hamburg Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) Lüneburg Rostock Rügenwalde (Darłowo) Stettin (Szczecin) Stolp (Słupsk) Stockholm Stralsund Visby Wismar Saxon Brunswick Magdeburg Berlin Bremen Erfurt Frankfurt an der Oder Goslar Mühlhausen Nordhausen Baltic Danzig (Gdańsk) Breslau (Wrocław) Dorpat (Tartu) Elbing (Elbląg) Königsberg (Kaliningrad) Cracow (Kraków) Reval (Tallinn) Riga (Rīga) Thorn (Toruń) Westphalian Cologne 1 Dortmund 1 Deventer Groningen Kampen Münster Osnabrück Soest Kontore Principal Bryggen (Bergen) Hanzekantoor Bruges Antwerp2  Steelyard (London) Peterhof (Novgorod) Subsidiary Bishop's Lynn Falsterbo Ipswich Kaunas Malmö Polotsk Pskov Other cities Bristol Boston Damme Leith Herford Hull Newcastle Stargard Yarmouth York 1 Cologne and Dortmund were both capital of the Westphalian Quarter at different times. 2 Antwerp gained importance once Bruges became inaccessible due to the silting of the Zwin channel.