Falkenstein/Harz is a town in 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 ...
district, 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 ...
. It was created in 2002 by merging the town of Ermsleben with the former municipalities of Endorf,
Meisdorf, Neuplatendorf,
Pansfelde, Reinstedt und Wieserode. The new community was named after
Falkenstein Castle.
Geography
![Burg Falkenstein über dem Selketal Aussicht](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Burg_Falkenstein_%C3%BCber_dem_Selketal_Aussicht.jpg)
The town is situated on the northeastern edge 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, about west of
Aschersleben
Aschersleben () is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle (Saale).
Geography
Aschersleben lies near the confluence of the r ...
. The municipal area stretches from the lower
Selke valley down to the northern Harz foothills.
Reinstedt, Ermsleben and Meisdorf were stops on the
Frose–Quedlinburg railway line which was closed in 2004. Falkenstein Castle is a point on the southern route of the
Romanesque Road
The Romanesque Road (german: Straße der Romanik) is a scenic route in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt in central-east Germany. It is part of the Transromanica network, a major European Cultural Route since 2006.
Route
The route takes the ...
.
Until the Saxony-Anhalt
administrative reform of 2007, Falkenstein belonged to
Aschersleben-Staßfurt
Aschersleben-Staßfurt was a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany until 2007. It was bounded by (from the northeast and clockwise) the districts of Schönebeck, Bernburg, Mansfelder Land, Quedlinburg and Bördekreis.
History
The two districts ...
district.
History
While the settlements of Endorf, Reinstedt and Wieserode in the Saxon
Schwabengau
The Schwabengau (modernized name; originally: Suavia, Suevon, Nordosquavi) was an early medieval shire (''Gau (country subdivision), Gau'') in the Eastphalia region of the medieval Duchy of Saxony. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it became the nu ...
were already mentioned in the 10th century, Ermsleben is documented as ''Anegremislebo'' in a 1045 deed, then a possession held by the ''
edelfrei
The term ''edelfrei'' or ''hochfrei'' ("free noble" or "free knight") was originally used to designate and distinguish those Germanic noblemen from the Second Estate (see Estates of the realm social hierarchy), who were legally entitled to atonem ...
'' Lords of
Konradsburg
The Konradsburg is a former castle, monastery and manor house near Ermsleben in the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Castle
Konradsburg was first mentioned in 1021 and was originally built to protect the imperial demesne ('' Reichsgut'') ...
Castle. In 1070 one
Egeno I of Konradsburg Egino or Egeno may refer to:
* Egino, Duke of Thuringia
*Egino IV, Count of Urach
Egino IV (; c. 1160 – 12 January 1230), also written as Egeno or Egon, and called the Bearded, was Count of Urach from 1181 to 1230 and co-ruler of the County of ...
accused the mighty Saxon count
Otto of Nordheim
Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020 – 11 January 1083) was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75 and the Great Saxon Revolt of 1077-88 against King Henry IV of Germany.
Life
Family
Otto was born ...
of a conspiracy against King
Henry IV. About ten years later, his grandson
Egeno II killed the
Ascanian
The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.
The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...
count
Adalbert II of Ballenstedt; for the atonement, his castle was converted into a
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
abbey. About 1120 the Konradsburg dynasty erected Falkenstein Castle as new ancestral seat.
Under the rule of the Ascanian count
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
( 1170 – 1252), the Schwabengau estates became the nucleus of the
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 ...
principality, named after
Anhalt Castle
Anhalt Castle (german: Burg Anhalt) is a ruined medieval fortification near the town of Harzgerode in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Location
The castle is located in the eastern, lower part of the Harz mountain range (''Unterharz''). The ruins stand on ...
in the upper Selke valley. Ermsleben already appeared as a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
(''oppidum'') in 1298. When the
Princes of Anhalt-Aschersleben
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European State (polity ...
became extinct in 1315, their estates fell to the
Bishops of Halberstadt. In 1437 the Falkenstein lands passed to the
House of Asseburg
The House of Asseburg, original German name ''von der Asseburg'', is an old Lower Saxon aristocratic family which had its origin in Wolfenbüttel and Asseburg. During the 12th and 13th centuries the lords of Wolfenbüttel were able to establish ...
as a fief.
Attacked and plundered in the
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositio ...
of 1525, Ermsleben was vested with
market rights
A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
by Emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
in 1530. While its citizens turned
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
and the Halberstadt prince-bishopric was ruled by
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
and
Brunswick-Lüneburg administrators, the town was devastated in 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 ...
. According to the 1648
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
, it became part of the secularized
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. ...
, a province of
Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...
.
Politics
Seats in the town council (''Stadtrat'') as of 2014 local elections:
*
Christian Democratic Union of Germany
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (german: link=no, Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands ; CDU ) is a Christian democratic and liberal conservative political party in Germany. It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right ...
(CDU): 8
*''Bürgerforum Falkenstein'' (
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
): 3
*
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
(SPD): 2
*
The Left: 2
*''Alternative Junges Forum und Robin Hood'' (independent): 2
*''Kommunale Wählervereinigung'' (independent): 1
*''Wir Reinstedter'' (independent): 1
*Individual candidate: 1
Notable people
*
Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim
Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim (2 April 1719 – 18 February 1803) was a German poet, commonly associated with the Enlightenment movement.
Life
Gleim was born at the small town of Ermsleben in the Principality of Halberstadt, then part of Prussia ...
(1719–1803), poet, born in Ermsleben
*
Werner Sombart
Werner Sombart (; ; 19 January 1863 – 18 May 1941) was a German economist and sociologist, the head of the "Youngest Historical School" and one of the leading Continental European social scientists during the first quarter of the 20th century. ...
(1863–1941), economist and sociologist, born in Ermsleben
References
{{Authority control
Towns in Saxony-Anhalt
Towns in the Harz