Derenburg is a town in the district of Harz, in

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 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 ...

. Since 1 January 2010, it has been part of the

Blankenburg am Harz Blankenburg (Harz) is a town and health resort in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, at the north foot of the Harz Mountains, southwest of Halberstadt. It has been in large part rebuilt since a fire in 1836, and possesses a castle ...

municipality.

Geography

The settlement is situated in the northern foothills of the

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 ...

mountain range on the

Holtemme The Holtemme is a long tributary of the river Bode in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It rises in the Harz mountains at the eastern foot of the Brocken, descends during its upper course as the Steinerne Renne, a steep stream bed riddled with granite ...

river, some east of

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012. Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...

, and west of

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 bombi ...

. It has access to the

Bundesstraße 6n The Bundesstraße 6n is a German federal road that runs east-west from the Vienenburg district of Goslar to Bernburg, where it connects to the A14. It was originally planned to be the A 36 motorway. It is intended to have four lanes running f ...

highway at the nearby

Heimburg Heimburg is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Blankenburg am Harz. On a hilltop above the village are the ruins of the old Heimburg Castle which, ...

junction.

History

Derenburg is the site of a

grave field A grave field is a prehistoric cemetery, typically of Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe. Grave fields are distinguished from necropoleis by the former's lack of remaining above-ground structures, buildings, or grave markers. Types Grave fields can b ...

dating back to the

Linear Pottery culture The Linear Pottery culture (LBK) is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic period, flourishing . Derived from the German ''Linearbandkeramik'', it is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Inci ...

about 5500–4500 BC. Archaeological excavations have revealed some ornaments made from ''

Spondylus ''Spondylus'' is a genus of bivalve molluscs, the only genus in the family (biology), family Spondylidae.MolluscaBase (2019). MolluscaBase. Spondylus Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies ...

'' shells fairly rare in this Northern region. Moreover, several large

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...

s in the area denote a prehistoric settlement. Derenburg was probably founded under the rule of King

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...

(d. 936 AD), who had a fortified ''

Königspfalz The term ''Kaiserpfalz'' (, "imperial palace") or ''Königspfalz'' (, "royal palace", from Middle High German ''phal ne'' to Old High German ''phalanza'' from Middle Latin ''palatia'' luralto Latin ''palatium'' "palace") refers to a number of ...

'' erected; the ''Taremburch'' settlement was first mentioned in a 937 deed issued by his son and successor

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...

. Then part of the

Eastphalia Eastphalia (german: Ostfalen; Eastphalian: ''Oostfalen'') is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern ''Gaue'' (shires) of the historic stem duchy of Saxony, roughly confined by the River Leine in the west and the Elbe a ...

n region of medieval

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, it was even the site of an Imperial Diet convened by Otto's daughter Abbess Matilda of Quedlinburg in 993, while her nephew King

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

was on campaign in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Derenburg Castle remained a preferred location of the

Ottonian dynasty The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...

until in 1008 King Henry II ceded the estates to

Gandersheim Abbey Gandersheim Abbey (german: Stift Gandersheim) is a former house of secular canonesses ( Frauenstift) in the present town of Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was founded in 852 by Duke Liudolf of Saxony, progenitor of the Liudolfing or ...

under his aunt Abbess Sophia. Subsequently, the comital

House of Regenstein Regenstein, also ''Reinstein'', was a Lower Saxon noble family, which was named after the eponymous Regenstein Castle near Blankenburg on the edge of the Harz Mountains of central Germany. History In 1162 ''Cunradus Comes de Regenstein'' (Conrad, ...

was enfeoffed with the lordship and the ''Pfalz'' of Derenburg lost its Imperial status. Zeitung Derenburg 1555 crop

From the 14th century onwards, the Lordship of Derenburg was affected by the conflicts between the Regenstein counts and the Prince-Bishops of Halberstadt. The town became notorious for the

Derenburg witch trials The Derenburg witch trials was a witch trials taking place in Derenburg in Germany in 1555. It resulted in the execution of 4 people (3 women and 1 man). There is only little documentation left of the actual trial, but it was made famous in conte ...

conducted in 1555; further

witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...

s continued up to the early 18th century. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, in 1623, Derenburg was devastated by

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

troops led by Colonel

Heinrich von Schlick Count Heinrich von Schlick zu Bassano und Weißkirchen (1580 – 5 January 1650, Vienna) was an Imperial Field Marshal and president of the Hofkriegsrat. As a young man, he fought in Hungary under Giorgio Basta for Rudolf II against Stephen Bocs ...

. With the secularised

Principality of Halberstadt The Principality of Halberstadt (german: link=no, Fürstentum Halberstadt) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Brandenburg-Prussia. It replaced the Bishopric of Halberstadt after its secularization in 1648. Its capital was Halberstadt. ...

, the town became part of the newly established

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

in 1701.

Twin towns

Derenburg is twinned with

Schladen Schladen is a village and a former municipality in the Wolfenbüttel (district), district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1 November 2013, it is part of the municipality Schladen-Werla. It is situated on the river Oker, approx. 15 ...

(part of

Schladen-Werla Schladen-Werla is a municipality in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was formed on 1 November 2013, when the municipalities of the former ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Schladen: Gielde, the town of Hornbu ...

), Germany.

External links

Stadt Derenburg
on Blankenburg municipal website {{Authority control Historic Jewish communities Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Blankenburg (Harz)