Aken (Elbe) () is a town in the district of

Anhalt-Bitterfeld Anhalt-Bitterfeld is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its capital is Köthen (Anhalt). Its area is . History This district was established by merging the former districts of Bitterfeld, Köthen and a large part of Anhalt-Zerbst as part o ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, Germany. The town is located at the left bank of the river

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

Geography

Aken located at the Middle Elbe is approximately west of Dessau-Rosslau in extended lowlands within the Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe and approximately west of Aken the

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale (german: Sächsische Saale) and Thuringian Saale (german: Thüringische Saale), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, ...

river enters the Middle Elbe.

Divisions

The town Aken consists of Aken proper and the following ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions:Hauptsatzung der Stadt Aken (Elbe)
§ 14, 24 September 2014. *Kleinzerbst *Kühren *Mennewitz *Susigke

Growth of population

History

The

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

''Gloworp'' was first mentioned in the 12th century. The town itself was first documented in 1219, naming the mayor Waltherus de Aken. In 1270 Aken received its town charter as ''Civitas''. The name Aken is based on the Latin name ''Aqua'' (location at or near the water). Probably this was a foundation from lower rhenish settlers from

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

which is spelled Aken in the Dutch language.

Town twinning

Erwitte Erwitte () is a town in the district of Soest, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Erwitte is situated approximately 8 km south of Lippstadt and 15 km east of Soest. Neighbouring municipalities * Lippstadt * Geseke * R ...

(

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

) since June 17, 1991 *

Anor Anor () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It lies about forty kilometres (twenty-five miles) south-south-east of Maubeuge. Population Twin towns – sister cities Anor is twinned with: * Aken, Germany * Gizałki, Pola ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) since April 24, 1993

Culture and sights

* historical

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

* two medieval churches: St. Nicholas and St. Mary * "Stone Kemenate" (heated residential building) from the 13th century with

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

es * town wall from the Middle Ages with 3 remaining towers * passenger navigation on the river Elbe * Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe

Notable persons

Honorary citizens

* Friedrich Wilhelm Steinbrecht,

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Lützow Free Corps Lützow Free Corps ( ) was a volunteer force of the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was named after its commander, Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow. The Corpsmen were also widely known as the “''Lützower Jäger''“ or “''Schwarz ...

* 2001: Otto Benecke, head of museum of local history * 2015: Hansjochen Müller, mayor from 1990 - 2015 * 2016: Christian Holmes, first Englishman to do an Anmeldung in Aken.

Notable people born in Aken

August Ludwig Hülsen August Ludwig Hülsen (3 March 1765 – 24 September 1809), also known by the pseudonym Hegekern, was a German philosopher, writer and pedagogue of early German Romanticism. His thought played a role in the development of German idealism. Life ...

, (1765–1809), German philosopher of the early romance * Theodor von Sickel, (1826–1908), German-Austrian historian *Diana Vellguth, entertainer *Christian Reike, performer * Emilie Winkelmann (1875–1951), architect *Karl Witte (1893–1966), bishop in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

See *Karl Bischoff (1905–1983),

Germanist German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

and university teacher *

Bernd Dießner Bernd Dießner (born 26 March 1946 in Aken, Saxony-Anhalt) is a retired East German long-distance runner who specialized in the 5000 metres. He won the silver medal at the 1968 European Indoor Games (in 3000 metres), the bronze medal at the 196 ...

, (born 1946), German athlete

Resident who influenced the history of the city

* Friedrich Ernst Arnold Werner Nolopp (A teacher, conductor and composer)

References

External links

Official homepage
*

{{Authority control Towns in Saxony-Anhalt Anhalt-Bitterfeld Populated riverside places in Germany Populated places on the Elbe