Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town 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 ...

. It is situated on the river

White Elster The White Elster
Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

and

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 ...

History

Zeitz was first recorded under the name Cici in the synode of Ravenna in 967. Between 965 and 982, it was the chief fortress of the

March of Zeitz The March of Zeitz (german: Mark Zeitz) was a march of the Holy Roman Empire. It was created by Emperor Otto I in the division of the ''marca Geronis'' in 965, following the death of Gero the Great. Its capital was Zeitz. Its first and only margra ...

. Zeitz was a bishop's residence between 968 and 1028, when it was moved to

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

. Beginning at the end of the 13th century, the bishops again resided in their castle at Zeitz. The Herrmannsschacht (built in 1889) is one of the oldest brick factories in the world. The city was captured by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

troops 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 ...

and was given to

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

in 1644. It was centre of

Saxe-Zeitz The Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Zeitz) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1656–57 as a secundogeniture of the Electoral Saxon house of House of Wettin. Its capital was Zeitz. The territory fell back to ...

between 1657 and 1718 before returning to Electorate (Became

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...

in 1806). In 1815, it was given to

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 ...

and became district (kreis) centre in Merseburg region (regierungsbezirk) of

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merge ...

till 1944, when it became part of Halle region. It became a county free city between 1901 and 1950. It was occupied by USA troops on 27 April 1945 and was given to

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

ones on 1 July 1945. It was a district centre in Halle region of

state between 1945 and 1952 and again 1990 and 1994 and in Halle bezirk between 1952 and 1990. It lost status centre of county and became part of Burgenlandkreis on 1 July 1994. A bombing target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, the

Brabag Brabag (Braunkohle Benzin AG) was a German firm, planned in 1933 and operating from 1934 until 1945, that distilled synthetic aviation fuel, diesel fuel, gasoline, lubricants, and paraffin wax from lignite. It was an industrial cartel firm closely ...

plant northeast of Zeitz used

lignite coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

to synthesize

ersatz An ersatz good () is a substitute good, especially one that is considered inferior to the good it replaces. It has particular connotations of wartime usage. Etymology ''Ersatz'' is a German word literally meaning ''substitute'' or ''replacement ...

oil –

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

was provided by the nearby Wille subcamp of

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

in Rehmsdorf and Gleina.. In the middle of the 1960s work started on the "Zeitz-Ost" residential area, and in the mid-1980s, housing estates such as the "Völkerfreundschaft" ( en, International Friendship) were built. On 18 August 1976, the Protestant clergyman

Oskar Brüsewitz Oskar Brüsewitz (May 30, 1929 – 22 August 1976) was an East German Lutheran pastor who committed public self-immolation on August 18, 1976, to protest the repression of religion in the Communist state of East Germany. He died four days ...

from Rippicha burnt himself to death in front of the Michaeliskirche. This was a protest against the

DDR DDR or ddr may refer to: *ddr, ISO 639-3 code for the Dhudhuroa language *DDr., title for a double doctorate in Germany *DDR, station code for Dadar railway station, Mumbai, India *' (German Democratic Republic), official name of the former East ...

system. The town was an industrial centre until

German Reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

made many companies in eastern Germany uncompetitive, and 20,000 people lost jobs or moved to other employment. The town still has a large sugar factory, and the nearby

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

mines (

Profen Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is used for treating pain, fever, and inflammation. This includes painful menstrual periods, migraines, and rheumatoid arthritis. It may also be used to close a patent ductus a ...

and Schleenhain) and

Lippendorf Power Station Lippendorf Power Station is a lignite-fired power station in Lippendorf, which is located in the municipality of Neukieritzsch, near Leipzig in Saxony, Germany. The power plant is owned and operated by Vattenfall Europe. It has a heating capacity ...

, together employing 2,000 people from Zeitz. On 1 July 2009 Zeitz absorbed the former municipalities

Döbris Döbris is a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is si ...

, Geußnitz,

Kayna Kayna is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Zeitz. Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt Zeitz {{Burgenlandkreis-geo-stub ...

Nonnewitz Nonnewitz is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Ger ...

and Würchwitz. On 1 January 2010 it absorbed Luckenau and

Theißen Theißen () is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt ...

Geography

The town Zeitz consists of Zeitz proper and the following ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions:Hauptsatzung der Stadt Zeitz
October 2019. * Geußnitz *

* Luckenau *

*Pirkau *

* Würchwitz *Zangenberg

Main sights

Zeitz sights are predominantly situated along 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 ...

(point 52). * ''

Schloss Moritzburg Moritzburg Castle (german: Schloss Moritzburg) or Moritzburg Palace is a Baroque palace in Moritzburg, in the German state of Saxony, about northwest of the Saxon capital, Dresden. The castle has four round towers and lies on a symmetrical ar ...

'', a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

-style castle with the . The 10th century crypt displays 17th century tin coffins including that of Moritz, Duke of Saxony. * ''Michaeliskirche'' (1154), originally a Romanesque basilica and contains a 1517 original of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

95 Theses The ''Ninety-five Theses'' or ''Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences''-The title comes from the 1517 Basel pamphlet printing. The first printings of the ''Theses'' use an incipit rather than a title which summarizes the content ...

. * Town Hall (1509, rebuilt in 1909). It is a Gothic structure that, together with restored houses and 3 market-places, provides Zeitz' medieval appearance. * ''Herrmannsschacht'', a technical monument in a former brick factory.

Twin towns – sister cities

Zeitz is twinned with: * Darkhan, Mongolia (1989) *

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

, Germany (1990) *

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

, Russia (1995) * Tosu, Japan (1998) * Prescott, United States (2014)

Notable people

Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz (9 October 1666 in Moritzburg – 23 August 1725 in Regensburg), was a German prince of the House of Wettin. Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz was a Teutonic Knight, the Primas of Hungary and finally a cardinal ...

(1666–1725), Archbishop of

Esztergom Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Danu ...

Anna Magdalena Bach Anna Magdalena Bach (née Wilcke or Wilcken) (22 September 1701 – 22 February 1760) was a professional singer and the second wife of Johann Sebastian Bach. Biography Anna Magdalena Wilcke was born at Zeitz, in the Electorate of Saxony. Whi ...

(1701–1760), second wife of

J. S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

Clemens Denhardt Clemens Andreas Denhardt (1852–1928) and his brother Gustav Denhardt (1856–1917), born in Zeitz, Province of Saxony, were distinguished German explorers of Africa at the time of the Scramble for Africa. In association with the physician G ...

(1852–1929), Africa explorer *

Gustav Denhardt Gustav Denhardt (16 June 1856 in Zeitz – 17 July 1917 in Leipzig) and his brother Clemens Andreas Denhardt (3 August 1852 – 7 June 1928), born in Zeitz, Saxony-Anhalt, were distinguished German explorers of Africa at the time of the Scramble ...

(1856–1917), African explorer * Kurt Floericke (1869–1934), natural scientist, naturalist and author *

Ewald André Dupont Ewald André Dupont (25 December 1891 – 12 December 1956) was a German film director, one of the pioneers of the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. He was often credited as E. A. Dupont. Early career A newspaper columnist in 1916, Dupont ...

(1891–1956), film director and screenwriter * Walter Krüger (1892-1973), general *

Heinrich Troeger Heinrich Troeger (4 March 1901, in Zeitz – 28 August 1975, in Bad Nauheim) was a German jurist and politician ( SPD). Life and career Troeger was born the son of a medical officer of health (''Kreismedizinalrat''). After obtaining his Abitur, ...

(1901–1975), jurist and SPD politician * Ewald Riebschläger (1904–1993), water jumper, European Champion *

Karl Walther Karl Walther (August 19, 1905 in Zeitz – June 9, 1981 in Seeshaupt) was a Painting, painter of the German Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist school, and an exponent of En plein air, plein air painting. His works include portrait painting, p ...

(1905–1981), painter *

Gotthard Handrick Gotthard Handrick (25 October 1908 – 30 May 1978) was a German Olympic athlete and German fighter pilot during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. Career Handrick was born on 25 October 1908 in Zittau, at the time in the Kingdom of Saxony ...

(1908–1978), fighter pilot and athlete, Olympic champion * Fritz Gödicke (1919–2009), football coach *

Horst Wende Horst Wende (5 November 1919 – 23 January 1996) was a German bandleader, arranger and composer. He made easy-listening records under his own name as well as under the name Roberto Delgado. He was part of the wave of German-based easy-listening art ...

(1919–1996), bandleader, arranger and composer *

Heinz-Günther Lehmann Heinz-Günther Lehmann (6 March 1923 in Zeitz – 24 June 2006 in Göppingen) was a German swimmer who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), offi ...

(1923–2006), swimmer, European champion * Manfred Kaiser (1929–2017), footballer and coach *

Rudolf Drößler Rudolf Drößler (born 18 May 1934 in Zeitz) is a German specialized book author and science-journalist. Rudolf Drößler spent his childhood in the German city Zeitz, where he made his general qualification for university entrance in 1952. He ...

(born 1934), author and science journalist *

Bernd Bauchspiess Bernd is a Low German short form of the given name Bernhard (English Bernard). List of persons with given name Bernd The following people share the name Bernd. * Bernd Brückler (born 1981), Austrian hockey player * Bernd Eichinger (1949–2011) ...

(born 1939), footballer *

Hans Zierold Hans Zierold (born 16 April 1938) is a retired German swimmer. He competed at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics in three events in total. In 1956 he finished fifth in the 400 m and 4×200 m freestyle events, whereas in 1960 he placed seventh i ...

(born 1938), swimmer *

Klaus Trummer Klaus Trummer (born 24 February 1945 in Zeitz) is a former East German slalom canoeist who competed in the early to mid-1970s. He won six medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with four golds (C-2: 1971, 1975; C-2 team:1971, 1975), ...

(born 1945), canoeist *

Jürgen Kretschmer Jürgen Kretschmer (born 4 December 1947 in Zeitz) is a former East German slalom canoeist who competed in the early to mid-1970s. He won six medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with four golds (C-2: 1971, 1975; C-2 team:1971, 19 ...

(born 1947), canoeist * Martina Falke (born 1951), canoeist

References

External links

* {{Authority control Burgenlandkreis Oil campaign of World War II