Burg (also known as Burg bei Magdeburg to distinguish from other places with the same name) is a town of about 22,400 inhabitants on the

Elbe–Havel Canal The Elbe–Havel Canal is a 56-kilometre-long waterway in Germany. It links Magdeburg, on the River Elbe, with Brandenburg on the River Havel. Since 2003, the Elbe–Havel Canal has been connected to the Mittelland Canal by the Magdeburg Water ...

in northeastern

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 betwee ...

, northeast of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

. It is the capital of the Jerichower Land district in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 i ...

. The town is known for its

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

churches and towers. Due to the numerous towers and steeples Burg also carries the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...

''City of Towers''. Like other German towns and cities, Burg shows its connection to the Roland saga with a statue, which was restored in 1999.

Etymology

Although the name Burg has the same form as the German word ''Burg'' (castle), it is more likely that the name comes from the Slavic word ''bor'', meaning

coniferous forest Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All exta ...

Subdivisions

The municipality Burg bei Magdeburg consists of the town Burg bei Magdeburg and the formerly independent municipalities Detershagen, Ihleburg, Niegripp, Parchau, Schartau and Reesen.

Economy

Burg formerly had the largest shoe manufacturing factory in Europe and was the first to produce manufactured crispbread in Germany, beginning production in 1931.

Twin towns – sister cities

Burg is twinned with: * Afantou, Greece *

Gummersbach Gummersbach (; ksh, Jummersbach) is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, being the district seat of the Oberbergischer Kreis. It is located east of Cologne. History In 1109 Gummersbach was mentioned in official documents fo ...

, Germany *

La Roche-sur-Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is ''Yonnais''. History The town expanded significantly after Napo ...

, France * Tira, Israel

Notable people

* Heiko Balz (born 1969), wrestler * Julia Bonk (born 1986), politician ( The Left), Member of Landtag (

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, 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 ...

) *

Joachim a Burck Joachim von Burck, also Joachim a Burgk or Joachim Moller ( Burg, 1546- Mühlhausen, 24 May 1610) was a German composer, notable for an early German Passion setting. As Johann Sebastian Bach's predecessor at the church of St Blasius, he pioneered t ...

(1546–1610), composer *

Carl von Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mo ...

(1780–1831), Prussian general and important military theorist * Hermann Eggert (1844–1920), architect * Harald Jährling (born 1954), rower * Ferdinand Kurlbaum (1857–1927), physicist * Hermann Paasche (1851–1925), politician (DVP) *

Emanuel Raasch Emanuel Raasch (born 16 November 1955) is a German former racing cyclist who competed for the SG Dynamo Magdeburg / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo The Sportvereinigung Dynamo () (''Dynamo Sports Association'') was the sport associa ...

(born 1955), cyclist * Hermann Riedel (1847–1913), composer and conductor * Wolfgang Seguin (born 1945), footballer

Transmitter

Near Burg there is a large transmission site for long- and mediumwave, which was among other things used for the transmissions of

Radio Wolga Radio Volga (russian: Радио Волга) was a radio station for the Soviet armed forces stationed in the former East Germany and Czechoslovakia, broadcasting mainly in Russian. Broadcasting station Based in Potsdam, Radio Volga broadcast ...

References

External links

*http://www.stadt-burg.de *http://www.burgundumgebung.de Jerichower Land {{JerichowerLand-geo-stub