The name Bitterfeld most likely comes from the Middle High German words bitter and Feld and so means "boggy land".
Bitterfeld was built by a colony of Flemish immigrants in 1153. The first documentary mention is from 1224. It was captured by the landgrave of Meissen in 1476, and belonged thenceforth to Saxony, until it was ceded to Prussia in 1815.
By 1900, Bitterfeld station was an important junction of the Berlin–Halle and the Magdeburg–Leipzig railways. The population at that time was 11,839; it manufactured drainpipes, paper roofing, and machinery, and had sawmills. There were also several coal mines in the vicinity. Owing to its pleasant situation and accessibility, it became a favoured residence of businessmen of Leipzig and Halle.
During the East German (GDR) era, it gained notoriety for its chemical industry complex which caused remarkably severe pollution, even by GDR standards. On 24 April 1959, it also was a scene for the Bitterfeld Conference, locally known as the "Bitterfelder Weg". This conference sought to connect the working class with the artists of the day to form a socialist national culture.
In the 21st century Bitterfeld is still an industrial town and it stages the annual United Metal Maniacsmetal festival.
August von Parseval (1861-1942), his impact airships developed by him were partly built in Bitterfeld.
Walther Rathenau (1867-1922), founder of Bitterfeld's chemical industry.
Erwin Ding-Schuler (1912-1945), sturmbannführer and first camp doctor of Buchenwald.
Klaus Staeck (born 1938), graphic artist, lawyer and president of the academy of the arts, grew up in Bitterfeld.
Peter Rasym (born 1953), musician, has been playing bass guitar since 1997 with the Puhdys.
Mayors
1851-1863 Gottlieb Meuche
1863-1873 Gustav Frischbier
1873-1890 Robert Sommer († 1890)
1890-1914 Hugo Hermann Adalbert Dippe (1853; † 1916)
1915-1927 Ernst Albert Hermann Schmidt
1927-1939 Arthur Erdmann Ebermann
1939-1945 Erhard Johann Martin Nimz
1943-1945 Walter Stieb (Interim)
26 April 1945 to 30 August 1945 Gustav Dietrich (deselection by Soviet city commandant) († 1972)
September 1945 to 1946 Bernhard Moder
1946-1949 Ernst Rettel
1949-1950 Karl Salbach
1950-1953 Heinz-Rudolf Strauch
1953-1959 Wolfgang Stille
1959-1971 Else Petrushka
1971-1979 Max Dittbrenner
1979-1982 Karlheinz Sohr
1982-1990 Klaus Barth
1990-1994 Edelgard Kauf
1994-2007 Werner Rauball
2007-2009 Horst Tischer
From 2010 Joachim Gülland
Literature
Maron, Monika: Bitterfelder Bogen. Ein Bericht. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN978-3-10-048828-2.
Lojewsky, Hannelore: Seh’n wir uns nicht in dieser Welt, so seh’n wir uns in Bitterfeld. In: Norbert Kühne: Individuelles Lernen wird an Bedeutung gewinnen. 100 Jahre Hans-Böckler-Berufskolleg Marl/Haltern, Marl 2009, S.29–30.
Klaus Seehafer: Dann sehn wir uns in Bitterfeld. Tagebuch eines Jahres. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle/S. 2009, ISBN3-89812-664-1.
Hackenholz, Dirk: Die elektrochemischen Werke in Bitterfeld 1914–1945. Ein Standort der IG-Farbenindustrie AG.LIT Verlag, Münster 2004, ISBN3-8258-7656-X.
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