Wolfen () is a town in the district

Anhalt-Bitterfeld Anhalt-Bitterfeld is a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Its capital is Köthen (Anhalt). Its area is . History This district was established by merging the former districts of Bitterfeld, Köthen and a large part of Anhalt-Zerbst as part ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Since 1 July 2007 it is part of the town

Bitterfeld-Wolfen Bitterfeld-Wolfen () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in south-eastern Saxony-Anhalt, west of the river Mulde, in an area dominated by heavy industry and lignite mining. The town was formed by ...

. It is situated approximately 6 kilometres northwest of

Bitterfeld Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Hall ...

, and 20 kilometres south of

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

History

The first documentary mention of Wolfen was as ''Wulffen'' in 1400 in a

fee (feudal tenure) A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal allegia ...

. The place name was named after a founder whose name began with ''Wolf''. In 1846

lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), 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 ...

was found in the region which was mined and the current Silver Lake was developed from this mine. Later the area became a center of the German chemical industry. In the early 1930s, an early

photographic plate Photographic plates preceded film as the primary medium for capturing images in photography. These plates, made of metal or glass and coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, were integral to early photographic processes such as heliography, d ...

was produced by

Agfa Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa) is a Belgian-German multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, and distributes Analog photography, analogue and digital imaging products, software, and systems. The company began as a dye manufacturer in 1867 ...

in Wolfen, and by 1936 the same company commercialized the more technically advanced

Agfacolor Neu Agfa-Farbenplatte of Bad Kreuznach, Germany, 1933. An Agfacolor slide of a café in Oslo, Norway, 1937. An Agfacolor slide of Paris, France, 1937. An Agfacolor slide of Stockholm, Sweden, 1938. An Agfacolor slide, Hungary, 1938. An Agf ...

color transparency film In photography, reversal film or slide film is a type of photographic film that produces a positive image on a transparent base. Instead of negatives and prints, reversal film is processed to produce transparencies or diapositives (abbrevia ...

, which had been developed in Wolfen. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

hundreds of women, children, and men from countries under Nazi domination were forced to work in the IG-Farben factories. After the war, the rights to the Agfa

brandname A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

were lost to the

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

company, and the Wolfen company's products were rebranded

ORWO ORWO (for ''ORiginal WOlfen'') is a registered trademark of the company ORWO Net GmbH, based in Wolfen, Germany, Wolfen and is also traditionally known for black and white film products, made in Germany and sold under the ORWO brand. ORWO was e ...

(ORiginal WOlfen). ORWO was one of the worldwide trademarks of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(the GDR). During the GDR years, Wolfen became a dormitory community for people working at the

and Wolfen industrial plants (Filmfabrik Wolfen, Chemiekombinat Bitterfeld (including the former IG Farben factory, Farbenfabrik, Wolfen)), and the

mining company, BKK Bitterfeld (today: MIBRAG). After

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

, the whole area suffered from

disinvestment Disinvestment refers to the use of a concerted economic boycott to pressure a government, industry, or company towards a change in policy, or in the case of governments, even regime change. The term was first used in the 1980s, most commonly in ...

deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpr ...

, and depopulation.

Unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

became a serious problem. As a result, the population decreased by approximately 50%. Since the 1990s industrial employment has rebounded, with investments by

Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...

(the headquarters of Viverso is in the town), Hereaus, Q-Cells and Guardian Industries. Significant local concerns include Organica Feinchemie GmbH Wolfen.

Historical Population

As of 31 December, unless otherwise noted :Data since 1995: Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt

Notable people

* Wolfgang Haubold (born 1937), chemist and university's president * Heinz Zander (born 1939), painter, draughtsman, graphic artist, illustrator and writer * Lioba Winterhalder (1945–2012), set and costume designer *

Wolfgang Böhme Wolfgang Böhme (born 17 December 1949) is an East Germany, East German former Team handball, handball player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was born in Wolfen, Germany, Wolfen. He was the husband of Ute Rührold, but they are now d ...

(born 1949), handball player and coach * Paul Werner Wagner (born 1948), literary scholar * Petra Wust (born 1952), graduate engineer economist, Mayor of Wolfen and Bitterfeld-Wolfen * Frank Lienert-Mondanelli (born 1955), actor and director * Michael Stein (born 1956), pop singer * Roger Pyttel (born 1957), swimmer * Bernhard Hoff (born 1959), athlete and olympian * Ulf Langheinrich (born 1960), visual artist and composer * Manfred Wilde (born 1962), historian and Mayor of the City of Delitzsch * Thomas Konietzco (born 1963), president, German Canoe Federation, Vice President, ICF * Axel Andrae (born 1965), bassoonist * Ralph Bock (born 1967), molecular biologist * Iris Junik (1968–2009), actress * René Tretschok (born 1968), professional football player and coach (Hallescher FC, Borussia Dortmund, Hertha BSC, FC Grün-Weiß Wolfen) * Katrin Huß (born 1969), journalist and TV presenter * Karen Forkel (born 1970), track and field athlete and an Olympic medal winner * Doreen Nixdorf (born 1972), actress * Hendrik Otto (born 1974), cook (two-Star Michelin) * Denise Zich (born 1975), actress and singer * Raik Dalgas (born 1976), artist and aphorist * Julia Schmidt (born 1976), painter * Christian Gille (born 1976), canoeist * Ondrej Drescher (born 1977), painter * Gabriel Machemer (born 1977), writer and artist * Yvonne Schuring (born 1978), canoeist * André Rößler (born 1978), actor and director * Gregor Kiedorf (born 1985), engineer and lifeguard * Marinus Schöberl (1985–2002), victim of extreme right violence *

Karolin Braunsberger-Reinhold Karolin Braunsberger-Reinhold (born 3 November 1986) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2021 to 2024. Political career In parliament, Braunsberger-Reinhold serv ...

(born 1986), politician,

Member of the German Bundestag Member of the German Parliament () is the official name given to a deputy in the Bundestag, German Bundestag. ''Member of Parliament'' refers to the elected members of the federal Bundestag Parliament at the Reichstag building in Berlin. In G ...

since 2021 * Daniel Roi (born 1987), politician, member of the State Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt since 2016 * Oliver Hampel (born 1985), football player * Franziska Hentke (born 1989), swimmer * Robin Sowa (born 1999), volleyball and beach volleyball player

References

{{Reflist Towns in Saxony-Anhalt Anhalt-Bitterfeld