Größnitz is a village and a former municipality in the

Burgenlandkreis Burgenlandkreis is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its area is . History The district was established as Landkreis Burgenland by the merger of the former Burgenlandkreis and Landkreis Weißenfels as part of the reform of 2007. On 16 ...

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 ...

. Since July 1, 2009, it has been part of the municipality of

Balgstädt Balgstädt is a municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 2009 it has incorporated the former municipalities of Burkersroda, Größnitz and Hirschroda.Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the Germany, German States of ...

and

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. The village of Städten was part of the former municipality of Größnitz.

History

Größnitz and the other towns belonged to the Wettiner, later Electoral Saxon office of Freyburg until 1815. The decisions of the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

were to give them to

Prussia 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 em ...

, and in 1816 it was allocated to the district of

Querfurt Querfurt () is a town in the Saalekreis district, or ''Kreis'', in southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located in a fertile area on the Querne, west from Merseburg. In 2020, the town had a population of 10,454. The town Querfurt consists of Q ...

in the administrative region of

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

of Saxony Province until 1944. On July 1, 1950, the previously independent municipality of Städten was incorporated. Größnitz was incorporated into the municipality of Balgstädt on July 1, 2009.

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

: "In silver a green

lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...

in the gate opening of a continuous, black-grooved red wall abutting at the top on a curved green shield base covered with a curved silver strip." The coat of arms symbols are based on several local features. The high stone archways are ones that often belong to the homesteads, which are symbolized in the coat of arms by a jointed wall. In the gate opening is the heraldic lily - not as a symbol of purity and innocence, as is often the case - but rather in real terms related to the wild orchids that are common in the region around Großesnitz. The fact that Großesnitz and its district of towns are located on a mountain is indicated by the arched green shield base covered with a curved silver bar. The coat of arms was designed in 2006 by the municipal heraldist Jörg Mantzsch and he was included in the approval process. The representing colors of the area are green and white.

References

Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Burgenlandkreis {{Burgenlandkreis-geo-stub