Bad Sachsa is a town in the district of Göttingen, in

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 ...

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 ...

. The town was one of the few municipalities in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

that imported electric power from former

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. This was done via

Neuhof Substation Neuhof Substation is a 110 kV substation in Neuhof, an urban part of Bad Sachsa, Lower Saxony. The Neuhof substation went in service in 1985 and was connected with a 110 kV-powerline for three phase alternating current with the Wolkramshausen subs ...

Geography

Bad Sachsa is situated in the southern

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

, approximately 15 km south of

Braunlage Braunlage () is a town and health resort in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony in Germany. Situated within the Harz mountain range, south of the Brocken massif, Braunlage's main business is tourism, particularly skiing. Nearby ski resorts includ ...

, and 25 km southeast of

Osterode am Harz Osterode am Harz, often simply called Osterode (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Ostroe''), is a town in south-eastern Lower Saxony, Niedersachsen on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It was the seat of government of the Landkr ...

History

The oldest existing document in which Sachsa is mentioned was written in 1229. The settlement officially gained town status in 1525. Tourism started around 1860. After the town had been recognized as a health resort by the government in 1905 the name was changed to "Bad Sachsa" with "Bad" meaning ''spa''. Bad Sachsa is known for being the town where

Berthold Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg Berthold Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (born 3 July 1934) is a German retired Bundeswehr general. Early in his career, he commanded Germany's largest military base. At the time of his retirement in 1994 he was Germany's longest serving sold ...

and his four siblings were sent by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

in 1944, following the failed

20 July plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...

. Their

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

was executed and their pregnant

mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the cas ...

was interned in a concentration camp with two elders. The Stauffenberg children lived in Bad Sachsa during 1944-45. Other families of the executed officers were imprisoned here. All were left there without their parents and with changed names.

Winter Sports

Ravensberg Mountain (660 metres) offering a scenic view of the whole Harz is used for various winter sports.

Sights

* The Town Hall was built in a

Jugendstil ''Jugendstil'' ("Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German counterpart of ...

style which was very popular in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. It has several

oriels An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...

, a veranda and a pavilion. The conference hall represents the Jugendstil style in a very typical way.Josef Walz: ''Der Harz'',. Cologne 1995 The Town Hall which is surrounded by half-timbered mansions is in a small park. * St. Nikolai Church :The Protestant church was built on a small hill in the town center offering a scenic view of ''Marktstrasse'', the High Street of Bad Sachsa and the colourful Market Place. The Romanesque clock tower of the church was built in the middle of the 12th century. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was added around 1300. The altar dating from 1595 was financed by Hansen Hartmann, the then mayor of Bad Sachsa. In 1691 a half-timbered aisle was added to the church the pulpit of which dates from 1711. *Römerstein Rocks :Near the suburb of Steina in the southwest of Bad Sachsa the Römerstein Rocks are worth a visit. The coralline rocks were formed about 250 million years ago. Relics of a settlement were found close by. They are estimated to be about 10,000 years old.Hans Pusen: ''Harz, Hannover, Lüneburger Heide'', p. 47. München 1972 *Sachsenburg Ruins :The ruins of Sachsenburg Castle can be visited in the southwest of the town. The castle was built in the 11th century and destroyed in 1074. The most impressive part is a tower with a diameter of more than ten metres. Excavations were carried out here in 1891-93. The castle can only be reached on a walking track starting from ''Blomberg'' street in the southeastern part of the town. It is in the forest near a railway track which must not be crossed by pedestrians. *Grenzland Museum :Grenzland Museum was founded in the suburb of Tettenborn in 1992 and is dedicated to the

Inner German border The inner German border (german: Innerdeutsche Grenze or ; initially also ) was the border between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. Not including the ...

which was less than one mile away from Bad Sachsa.

Traffic connections

Bad Sachsa is easily accessible by train as it has a railway station on the

South Harz Railway The South Harz Railway (german: Südharzstrecke or ''Südharzbahn'') is a railway line through the German states of Lower Saxony and Thuringia. It runs from Northeim to Nordhausen, via Herzberg am Harz, Bad Lauterberg-Barbis, Bad Sachsa, Walkenri ...

. The neighbouring towns and villages can be reached by bus.

Sights

File:BadSachsaChurch.jpg, St. Nikolai Church File:BadSachsaTownHall.jpg, Town Hall File:BadSachsaRiver.jpg, River Uffe opposite the Town Hall File:BadSachsaHighSt.jpg, High Street File:BadSachsaMarket.jpg, Market Place File:BadSachsaCastle1.jpg, Sachsenburg Ruins

Personality

Born in Bad Sachsa

* Klaus Bühler (born 1941), politician * Hans-Ulrich Schulz (born 1945), theologian and General Superintendent * Axel Hartmann (born 1948), diplomat

People associated with Bad Sachsa

* Willi Müller (1896–1964), mayor, community director, honorary citizen and city manager of Bad Sachsa *

Rolf Kalmuczak Rolf Kalmuczak (17 April 1938 in Nordhausen – 10 March 2007 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen) was a German author. He was an editor of daily papers, freelance contributor at ''Stern'', lector and one of the authors of the Jerry Cotton series. Since 1966 ...

(1938–2007), writer, student of Pädagogium Bad Sachsa *

Veruschka von Lehndorff Vera Lehndorff (German: Vera Anna Gottliebe Gräfin von Lehndorff; born 14 May 1939), known professionally as Veruschka, is a German aristocrat, model, actress and artist. She is considered the "first German supermodel.“ Early life von Lehn ...

(born 1939), actress, fashion model, painter and photographer; was interned as a child after the failed assassination attempt on July 20, 1944 on Adolf Hitler in Bad Sachsa, because her father was a participant of the plot *

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

(1942–1969), singer, spent often holidays in Bad Sachsa and was inspired by the Wilhelm Bobring song "My Friend the tree" (Mein Freund der Baum) *

Hans-Heinrich Sander Hans-Heinrich Sander (born 12 April 1945 in Golmbach, died 22 April 2017) was a German politician for the Free Democratic Party (German: Freie Demokratische Partei/FDP). He was elected to the Lower Saxon Landtag in 2003, and has been re-elected ...

(1945–2017), FDP Minister of Environment and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in Lower Saxony *

Lutz Hoffmann Lutz Hoffmann (30 January 1959 – 5 December 1997) was an East German gymnast and Olympic silver medalist. Early life and training He began gymnastics training at the age of five. Beginning in 1976, he trained with the SC Dynamo Berlin. His yo ...

(1959–1997), gymnast and teacher

References

External links

{{Authority control Towns in Lower Saxony Towns in the Harz Spa towns in Germany