Bernburg

Bernburg
Town
Bernburg Castle on the Saale river
Bernburg Castle on the Saale river
Coat of arms of Bernburg
Coat of arms
BarbySeelandSeelandBördeaueSeelandBörde-HakelBörde-HakelIlberstedtBorneSeelandSeelandWolmirslebenGierslebenSeelandGüstenPlötzkauAlslebenNienburgEgelnBarbyBernburgCalbeSchönebeckBördelandKönnernHecklingenAscherslebenStaßfurt
Location of Bernburg within Salzlandkreis district
Interactive map of Bernburg
Bernburg is located in Germany
Bernburg
Location within Germany
Bernburg is located in Saxony-Anhalt
Bernburg
Location within Saxony-Anhalt
Coordinates: 51°48′N 11°44′E / 51.800°N 11.733°E / 51.800; 11.733
CountryGermany
StateSaxony-Anhalt
DistrictSalzlandkreis
Subdivisions7
Government
 • Mayor (2021–28)Silvia Ristow (Left)
Area
 • Total
113.48 km2 (43.81 sq mi)
Elevation
85 m (279 ft)
Population
 (2025-12-31)
 • Total
30,572
 • Density269.40/km2 (697.75/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
06406
Dialling codes03471, 034692
Vehicle registrationSLK
Websitewww.bernburg.de

Bernburg (Saale) (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛʁnˌbʊʁk] ⓘ) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle.

Geography

The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeburg Börde lowland on the Saale river, approx. 40 km (25 mi) downstream from Halle and 45 km (28 mi) up stream from Magdeburg. It is dominated by the huge Bernburg Castle featuring a museum as well as a popular, recently updated bear pit in its moat.

The municipal area comprises the town Bernburg proper and eight Ortschaften or municipal divisions: Aderstedt (incorporated in 2003), Baalberge, Biendorf, Gröna, Peißen, Poley, Preußlitz, and Wohlsdorf, all incorporated on 1 January 2010.

Bernburg is a stop on the scenic Romanesque Road (Strasse der Romanik).

Paleontology

Type fossil of temnospondyl amphibian Trematosaurus brauni was found in the Late Olenekian (Lower Triassic) deposits of Merkel's Quarry, near Bernburg.

History

Several archaeological sites in the area refer to the Walternienburg-Bernburg Culture, a mid-Neolithic funnelbeaker culture from about 3200 to 2800 BC. Agriculture on the fertile Loess soil was already common in prehistoric times. Around 150 AD, a local settlement named Luppia was mentioned in the Geography by Ptolemy. In the Early Middle Ages, the Saale River marked the border between the German stem duchies in the west and the lands of the Polabian Slavs in the east.

The present-day borough of Waldau (which became part of Bernburg in 1871) was first mentioned in a 782 deed and again in 806 as Waladala in the chronicles of Moissac Abbey; the village church dedicated to St Stephen first appeared in 964, the nowadays building dates from around 1150. Bernburg itself was first mentioned as civitas Brandanburg in a 961 deed issued by King Otto I of Germany. According to the Annalista Saxo, Berneburch Castle, then a possession of the Ascanian prince Albert the Bear, was set on fire by his enemies in 1138. In 1252 the rebuilt castle became the residence of Albert's great-grandson Prince Bernhard I of Anhalt-Bernburg.

World War II

During the Nazi dictatorship, a wing of the town's mental hospital was used for the mass-murder of an estimated 15,000 people as part of Action T4 and Action 14f13. The victims included Jews, people with physical and mental illnesses, and concentration camp inmates. The site today houses a memorial commemorating the victims.

Bernburg was also the location of forced labour subcamps of the Nazi prisons in Magdeburg and Coswig.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bernburg is twinned with:

Notable people

Honorary citizen

Date of award

All appointments of honorary citizens and the like from 1933 to 1945 were annulled.

Sons and daughters of the city

Hilde Benjamin

People who have worked on the ground

Hermann Hellriegel

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bürgermeisterwahlen in den Gemeinden, Endgültige Ergebnisse, Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt, accessed 3 February 2022.
  2. ↑ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden – Stand: 31. Dezember 2025" (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt.
  3. ↑ Hauptsatzung der Stadt Bernburg (Saale) Archived 2022-01-21 at the Wayback Machine, December 2018.
  4. ↑ Gebietsänderungen vom 01. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2010, Statistisches Bundesamt
  5. ↑ Schoch, Rainer R. (2019-05-24). "Osteology of the temnospondyl Trematosaurus brauni Burmeister, 1849 from the Middle Buntsandstein of Bernburg, Germany". Palaeodiversity. 12 (1): 41. doi:10.18476/pale.v12.a4. ISSN 1867-6294.
  6. ↑ "Außenkommando des Strafgefängnisses und der Untersuchungshaftanstalt Magdeburg in Bernburg (Saale) bei den Solvay-Werken". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Außenkommando des Zuchthauses Coswig (Anhalt) in Bernburg bei der Deutschen Solvay-Werke AG/Salzvertriebs GmbH". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Stadtporträt". bernburg.de (in German). Bernburg (Saale). Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  9. ↑ Beschluss der Magistratssitzung der Stadt Bernburg vom 26. März 1946 – Stadtarchiv Bernburg Findbuch 8/II-675