Am Großen Bruch is a municipality in the

Börde A ''börde'' (plural: ''börden'') is a region of highly fertile lowland in North Germany, a "fertile plain". These landscapes often cover great areas and are particularly important for arable farming on account of their rich soils. These region ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

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 th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is part of the ''

Verbandsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. Rhinelan ...

'' ("collective municipality") Westliche Börde. The municipality arose on July 1, 2004 by the merger of the former municipalities Gunsleben, Hamersleben and Neuwegersleben. On 1 January 2010 it absorbed the former municipality Wulferstedt.Gebietsänderungen vom 01. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2010
Statistisches Bundesamt Hamersleben Kloster

Geography

The name ''

Großes Bruch The Großes Bruch ("Great Marsh") is a long wetland strip in Germany, stretching from Oschersleben in Saxony-Anhalt in the east to Hornburg, Lower Saxony in the west. The depression formed from a glacial valley. The lowland meadow landscape w ...

'' meaning "Great Wetland" denotes the swampy area of a former glacial valley, stretching about from

Oschersleben Oschersleben () is a town in the Börde district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The population in 1905 was 13,271, in 2020 about 19,000. History On November 23, 994 Oschersleben was first mentioned in a document by the Emperor Otto III. In 1235 ...

and the

Bode River The Bode is a river in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, a left tributary of the Saale. It rises in the Harz mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrai ...

in the east to

Hornburg Hornburg is a German town law, town and a former municipality in the Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel district, in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Since 1 November 2013, it is part of the municipality Schladen-Werla. It is situa ...

in the west. For centuries the inaccessible bog formed the border between the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the

Bishopric of Halberstadt The Diocese of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese (german: Bistum Halberstadt) from 804 until 1648.

. The municipality consists of the ''Ortsteile'' (municipal divisions) Gunsleben, Hamersleben, Neuwegersleben and Wulferstedt.Hauptsatzung der Gemeinde Am Großen Bruch
July 2019.

History

''Hamersleben'' was first mentioned in a 1021 deed and in 1111 became the home of an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

Canons Regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...

monastery which Reinhard, Bishop of Halberstadt had established at

Osterwieck Osterwieck () is a historic town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Geography The municipal area stretches along the river Ilse, north of Wernigerode and the Harz mountain range. The town Osterwieck consists of the foll ...

three years earlier. The

double monastery A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East ...

also became the seat of an archdeacon in 1178. It joined the

Congregation of Windesheim The Congregation of Windesheim ( la, Congregatio Vindesemensis) is a congregation of Augustinian canons regular (i.e., ecclesiastics living in community and bound by vows). It takes its name from its most important monastery, which was located at ...

in 1452. During the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

Hamersleben was devastated in the course of the German Peasants' War in 1525, again by the troops of the then Lutheran Archbishopric of Magdeburg and once again by the forces of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

. Nevertheless the abbey retained

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

confession until its

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

in 1804. The Catholic monastery church of Saint Pancras is a Romanesque building which is known for its Baroque pipe organ built in 1688. Today it is a stop on the scenic Romanic Road. The village of ''Neuwegersleben'' features one of the few preserved stations of the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

optical telegraph line from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

to Koblenz built in 1833. The building has been partly reconstructed and its signals were reinstalled. Today it houses a small museum.

Transportation

Am Großen Bruch is located on the

federal highway Federal Highways and Federal Routes can be found in: *Australia: Federal Highway *Brazil: Brazilian Federal Highway and Brazilian Highway System *Germany: ''Bundesstraßen'' *Malaysia: Federal Highway and Malaysian Federal Roads System *Mexic ...

No. 245 running from

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bomb ...

Haldensleben Haldensleben (; Eastphalian: ''Halslä'') is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Börde district. Geography It is situated on the Ohre river, near the confluence with its Beber tributary, and the parallel Mi ...

. In ''Neuwegersleben'' the highway No. 246 to

Wanzleben Wanzleben is a town and a former municipality in the Börde district, in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Between 2004 and 2010 it was the seat of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Börde Wanzleben. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Wanzleben-Börde. ...

branches off. The railway line from Oschersleben to

Jerxheim Jerxheim is a municipality in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Jerxheim Rathaus.JPG, The town hall Heeseberg-Turm-2 NS 2014-06-01.jpg, The observation tower Personalities *Kurt Meyer Kurt Meyer (23 December 1910 – 23 ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

was closed in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Am Grossen Bruch Municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Börde (district)