Ballenstedt

Last updated
Ballenstedt
Town
Ballenstedt Detailansicht.jpg
Old town
DE-ST 15-0-85-040 Ballenstedt COA.svg
Coat of arms
Location of Ballenstedt within Harz district
Ballenstedt in HZ.pngFalkensteinHederslebenHuy
Germany adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ballenstedt
Saxony-Anhalt location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ballenstedt
Coordinates: 51°43′12″N11°14′15″E / 51.72000°N 11.23750°E / 51.72000; 11.23750
Country Germany
State Saxony-Anhalt
District Harz
Government
 •  Mayor (2022–29) Dr. Michael Knoppik [1]
Area
 • Total86.61 km2 (33.44 sq mi)
Elevation
236 m (774 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31) [2]
 • Total8,794
 • Density100/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
06493
Dialling codes 039483
Vehicle registration HZ
Website www.ballenstedt.de

Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Contents

Geography

It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipal area comprises the villages of Asmusstedt, Badeborn, Opperode, Radisleben, and Rieder. Ballenstedt is a stop on the scenic Romanesque Road.

History

Ballenstedt Castle, courtyard Schloss Ballenstedt, Hofseite.JPG
Ballenstedt Castle, courtyard

The Saxon count Esico of Ballenstedt (c. 1000–1059/60) was mentioned in a 1030 entry in the medieval chronicles of the Annalista Saxo and in a 1036 deed issued by Emperor Conrad II. He was a son of one Count Adalbert, who held the office of a Vogt of Nienburg Abbey, and Hidda, a daughter of Margrave Odo I of the Saxon Ostmark. Esico, whose sister Uta married Margrave Eckard II of Meissen is considered the progenitor of the House of Ascania. He had a collegiate church erected in Ballenstedt, dedicated to Saints Pancras and Abundius, in the presence of Emperor Henry III in 1046.

Ballenstedt church was mentioned in a charter of 1073 [3] by Henry IV in which the emperor confirmed to the church the possession of 21 mansi previously granted by his father Henry III. In 1123 Otto the Rich together with his son Albert the Bear, who would become the first ruler of Brandenburg, established a Benedictine monastery at the site. Albert and was buried at the crypt of the abbey church in 1070; a monument for him is located in the town's park. Albert's grandson Henry I became the first Prince of Anhalt in 1218.

In 1512 the citizens of Ballenstedt were vested with brewing rights by the Ascanian prince Wolfgang of Anhalt-Köthen. After Wolfgang met with Martin Luther at the 1521 Diet of Worms, he became one of the first Protestant rulers in the Holy Roman Empire. Ballenstedt Abbey was stormed and plundered during the German Peasants' War, whereafter Prince Wolfgang had the monastery secularised in 1525. He chose Ballenstedt as a residence and granted it town privileges in 1543. It received city walls in 1551; a town hall was first mentioned in 1582. As the Anhalt princes supported King Christian IV of Denmark during the Thirty Years' War, Ballenstedt was raided and plundered by Imperial troops under Albrecht von Wallenstein in 1626.

Ballenstedt Castle, about 1837 Schloss Ballenstedt 1837.jpg
Ballenstedt Castle, about 1837

After the war, the town and the former monastery were rebuilt as a Baroque summer residence by the Ascanian princes of Anhalt-Bernburg. In 1765 the enlightened prince Frederick Albert completely moved his residence from Bernburg to Ballenstedt Castle and induced a time of prosperity, including the erection of a castle theatre in 1788, the oldest theatre in Saxony-Anhalt and the domain of composers like Albert Lortzing and Franz Liszt.

A part of the re-unified Duchy of Anhalt from 1863 on, Ballenstedt became known as a residential town for the well-to-do retired like Princess Friederike of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, who died at Ballenstedt Castle in 1902, or the painter and author Wilhelm von Kügelgen, whose house is now a museum.

Politics

Town hall Ballenstedt Rathausplatz 12.JPG
Town hall

Seats in the municipal assembly (Stadtrat) as of 2004 elections:

The coat of arms is derived from the insignia of the Counts of Ballenstedt, which is also the origin of the coat of arms of Saxony. It was first manifested in 1560 after Ballenstedt received town rights.

Places of interest

St. Nicholas in the Altstadt in 2005 St. Nicolai.jpg
St. Nicholas in the Altstadt in 2005

Transport

Ballenstedt is located at the Bundesstraße (federal highway) 185, leading to the Bundesstraße 6 and the Bundesautobahn 14 . Train service was suspended in 2003. A small asphalt runway is about 5 km (3 mi) outside the town.

Notable people

Born in Ballenstedt

Wilhelmine Luise Princess of Prussia Wilhelmine Luise Prinzessin von Preussen.jpg
Wilhelmine Luise Princess of Prussia

Died in Ballenstedt

Twin towns

Related Research Articles

The House of Ascania was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schwabengau</span>

The Schwabengau was an early medieval shire (Gau) in the Eastphalia region of the medieval Duchy of Saxony. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it became the nucleus of the later Principality of Anhalt, today part of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Esico of Ballenstedt is the progenitor of the House of Ascania,. Esico was the count of Ballenstedt, and his possessions became the nucleus of the later Principality of Anhalt.

Adalbert von Ballenstedtc. 970,, was Count of Ballenstedt, Vogt of the Nienburg Abbey, and the provost of Hagenrode. He is the earliest known ancestor of the House of Ascania.

References

  1. ↑ Bürgermeisterwahlen in den Gemeinden, Endgültige Ergebnisse, Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt, accessed 10 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden – Stand: 31. Dezember 2022" (PDF) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt. June 2023.
  3. ↑ "DFG-Viewer: (König Heinrich IV.)". dfg-viewer.de.
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