Querfurt () is a town in the Saalekreis district, or ''Kreis'', in southern

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 th ...

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 located in a fertile area on the Querne, west from

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 dioces ...

. In 2020, the town had a population of 10,454. The town Querfurt consists of Querfurt proper and the following 8 ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions: Gatterstädt, Grockstädt, Leimbach, Lodersleben, Schmon, Vitzenburg, Weißenschirmbach and Ziegelroda.Hauptsatzung der Stadt Querfurt
October 2015.

History

For some time, Querfurt was the capital of a principality covering nearly , with a population of about 20,000. The ruling family having become extinct in 1496, it passed to that of

Mansfeld Mansfeld, sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Protestant reformator Martin Luther grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places in ...

. In 1635, according to the terms of the Peace of Prague, it was ceded to the

Elector 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 ...

, John George I, who handed it over to his son Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels; in 1746, it was united once more with Saxony. It was incorporated into

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 ...

in 1815. Querfurt is known as the birthplace of Saint Bruno of Querfurt File:Querfurt_castle.jpg, Castle File:Querfurt_castle_south_gate.jpg, File:Querfurt_Nordostrondell.jpg, File:Querfurt_Schiessgraben.jpg, Town walls File:Querfurt_defence_tower.jpg, Defence tower File:Querfurt_Friedenseiche.jpg, Oak of peace File:Querfurt_Grundschule_Rossplatz.jpg, Elementary school

Notable people

* Jacob Christian Schäffer (1718-1790), a Protestant minister, naturalist, pioneer of the washing machine and the wood paper * Georg Muche (1895-1987), Bauhaus artist, painter and graphic artist * Walter Herrmann (1910-1987), physicist * Ulrich Willerding (born 1932), botanist * Dietmar Demuth (born 1955), football player and coach * Jan Seyffarth (born 1986), racing driver

Other personalities associated with the town

* Johann Gottfried Schnabel (born 1692, died between 1751 and 1758), German writer; settled down in 1719 as a barber in Querfurt. * Julius von Kirchmann (1802-1884), lawyer and politician, law court official in Querfurt

* Hans Schomburgk (1880-1967), explorer and pioneer of German wildlife films

References

External links

Official Website of the City of Querfurt
Saalekreis {{Saalekreis-geo-stub