Osterwieck () is a historic

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 ...

in the Harz district, in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

state of

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 ...

Geography

The municipal area stretches along the river Ilse, north 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 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. The town Osterwieck consists of the following ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions:Hauptsatzung der Stadt Osterwieck
July 2019. *

Berßel Berßel 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 Osterwieck Osterwieck () is a historic town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anha ...

* Bühne *Dardesheim *Deersheim *

Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darms ...

Lüttgenrode Lüttgenrode 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 Osterwieck Osterwieck () is a historic town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxon ...

*Osterode am Fallstein *Osterwieck *

Rhoden Rhoden is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europ ...

*Rohrsheim *

Schauen Schauen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europ ...

*Veltheim *

Wülperode Wülperode 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 Osterwieck Osterwieck () is a historic town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-A ...

*Zilly

The '' Altstadt'' (Old Town) with St. Stephen's Church is a stop on the scenic

German Timber-Frame Road The German Timber-Frame Road (German: ''Deutsche Fachwerkstraße'') is a German tourist route leading from the river Elbe in the north to the Black Forest and Lake Constance in the south. Numerous cities and towns each with examples of the vernacu ...

and on 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 th ...

History

The settlement was first mentioned about 780 when

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

in course of the

Saxon Wars The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fought ...

crossed the

Oker The Oker is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction. Origin and meaning of the name The ...

river and had a church dedicated to

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

erected at a place then called ''Salingenstede''. This church became a centre of the Christian mission among the pagan

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

, overseen by

Hildegrim of Châlons Hildegrim ( – 19 June 827) was Bishop of Châlons from 804 to 810 and the second abbot of Werden Abbey, after his elder brother Ludger, from 809 until his death. Life Like his brother Ludger, Hildegrim was of Christian Frisian noble descent. He ...

, and the origin of the later

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

. On 1 April 974, Emperor

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. ...

issued a deed granting

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

and

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

rights to ''Seligenstadt'', this is commonly regarded as the date of the town's foundation. The name Osterwieck was first mentioned in a 1073 letter by Archbishop Liemar of Bremen to Bishop Burchard II of Halberstadt. Destroyed by a blaze in 1511, the town was rebuilt and today features an ensemble of about 400 ''

Fachwerk Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

'' buildings. The nave of the St. Stephen Church erected in the 16th century is one of the oldest

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 ...

church buildings, while its Romanesque twin steeples date back to 1100. On 1 January 2010 the former municipalities Aue-Fallstein,

, Bühne,

, and

were merged into Osterwieck.Gebietsänderungen vom 01. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2010

Statistisches Bundesamt The Federal Statistical Office (german: Statistisches Bundesamt, shortened ''Destatis'') is a federal authority of Germany. It reports to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Office is responsible for collecting, processing, presenting and ...

The ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft''

Osterwieck-Fallstein Osterwieck-Fallstein was a ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was situated north of the Harz, and north of Wernigerode. The seat of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' was in O ...

was disbanded at the same time.

Politics

Seats in the town's 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): 6 *

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 *

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...

: 1 *

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 ...

: 20

International relations

Osterwieck is twinned with: *

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 ...

, Germany * Ardouval, Les Grandes-Ventes,

Lisses Lisses () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Origin of the city name The name origin of this commune is not well known. One hypothesis is that Lisses is coming from the Latin Licia villa, as the initial ...

and Saint-Hellier in the

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

''département'', France

Notable people

Johann Georg Hermann Voigt Johann Georg Hermann Voigt (14 May 1769 – 24 February 1811) was a German organist, cellist, violist and composer. Life Born in Osterwieck, Voigt was the son of Stadtmusikus' C. C. Voigt from the town of Osterwieck in the northern Harz fore ...

(1769–1811), cellist and composer * Winfried Freudenberg (1956–1989), last victim of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

, was born in Osterwieck

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Saxony-Anhalt Towns in the Harz