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Coordinates: 51°43′28″N 11°8′21″E / 51.72444°N 11.13917°E / 51.72444; 11.13917
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{{for|the town in the district of [[Eichsfeld (district)|Eichsfeld]]|Gernrode, Thuringia}}
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" style="float:right; margin-left:15px; background:#FFDEAD"
{{Multiple issues|
! colspan="2"| Map
{{more citations needed|date=April 2016}}
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
{{Expand German|topic=geo|date=December 2021}}
| align="center" colspan="2" | [[Image:Gernrode.png]]
}}
|-
! colspan="2" | Statistics
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[States of Germany|State]]: || [[Saxony-Anhalt]]
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[Regions of Germany|Region]]: || [[Magdeburg]]
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[Districts of Germany|District]]: || [[Quedlinburg (district)|Quedlinberg]]
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[Area]]: || 34.06 km²
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[Population]]: || 3,972 ''<small>(12/31/2002)</small>''
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[Population density]]: || 117/km&sup2;
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[Elevation]]: || 217 m<br>Highest point: [[Victorsh&ouml;he]], 585 m
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[List of postal codes in Germany|Postal code]]: || 06507
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[Area codes in Germany|Area/distance code]]: || 039485
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" valign="top"
| [[Geographic coordinate system|Location]]: || {{coor dm|51|43|N|11|7|E|region:DE}}
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Municipal code: || 14 3 64 007
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[License plates in Germany|Car designation]]: || <code>QLB</code>
<!--|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Arrangement of the city: || 12 Stadtteile/[[Stadtbezirk]]e-->
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Address of the city <BR>administration: || 11 Marksstraße <br/>Gernrode 06507
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| Website: || [http://www.vgm-gernrode-harz.de/ www.vgn-gernrode-harz.de]
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
! colspan="2" | Politics
|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"
| [[Mayor]]: || Werner Grundmann
|}


{{Infobox German place
'''Gernrode''' is a city in [[Germany]], in the district (''Kreis'') of [[Quedlinburg]] in the state (''Bundesland'') of [[Saxony-Anhalt]]. The town was first mentioned in [[961]] and became a city (received ''Stadtrecht'') in [[1539]]. Gernrode is 9 km south of Quedlinburg in the [[Harz]] mountains and has state recognition as a [[spa town]], where one may take the cure and recuperate in general (''staatlich anerkannter Kur- und Erholungsort''). It is perhaps best known today for the [[ottonian]] / [[romanesque]] church of St. Cyriacus, and as the start of the [[Selketalbahn]] [[narrow gauge railway]]
| type = Stadtteil
| Town = Quedlinburg
| image_photo = Gernrode - Ausblick von der Burg.jpg
| image_caption = View from the Harz mountains
| image_coa = DE-ST 15-0-85-235 Gernrode COA.svg
| coordinates = {{coord|51|43|28|N|11|8|21|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| state = Sachsen-Anhalt
| district = Harz
| elevation = 217
| area = 34.07
| population = 3533
| Stand = 2012-12-31
| postal_code = 06507
| area_code = 039485
| licence = HZ
| website = {{URL|http://www.stadt-gernrode.de/}}
}}
'''Gernrode''' ({{IPA|de|ɡɛʁnˈʁoːdə|-|De-Gernrode.ogg}}) is a historic town and former municipality in the [[Harz (district)|Harz District]], in [[Saxony-Anhalt]], Germany. Since 1 January 2014, it has been part of [[Quedlinburg]].<ref name=merger>[http://www.landtag.sachsen-anhalt.de/fileadmin/downloads/d2625vbe.pdf Final decision Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104115250/http://www.landtag.sachsen-anhalt.de/fileadmin/downloads/d2625vbe.pdf |date=2014-01-04 }}, 12 December 2013.</ref> It was the seat of the former ''[[Municipal association|Verwaltungsgemeinschaft]]'' ("municipal association") of [[Gernrode/Harz]].


First mentioned in 961, Gernrode received the privilege to bear its own coat of arms and seal, commonly regarded as [[German town law|town privileges]]. The town is best known for the [[Ottonian art|Ottonian]] church of [[Saint Cyriacus, Gernrode|Saint Cyriakus]], the collegiate church of a former Imperial chapter of nuns, and as the start of the narrow gauge [[Selke Valley Railway]].
The city is also known as 'Gernrode/Harz', because of its location in the Harz mountains, and to distinguish it from the other Gernrode in the district of [[Eichsfeld]] in [[Thuringia]], called 'Gernrode (Eichsfeld)' (this village is a part of '[[Eichsfeld-Wipperaue]])'.


==History==
==Geography==
Gernrode is situated at the northeastern rim of the [[Harz]] mountain range and the [[Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park]], about {{convert|6.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of [[Quedlinburg]]. It lies at {{convert|215|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level, at the foot of the [[Ramberg (Harz)|Ramberg]] massif. It is nationally recognized for its health facilities and has state recognition as a [[spa town]], where one may take the cure and recuperate in general (''staatlich anerkannter Kur- und Erholungsort'').
[[Margrave]] [[Gero]] founded the convent of St. Cyriacus (''St. Cyriakus'') in [[960]] (within the grounds of the fortifications built about the same time). Gero also founded the collegiate church of St. Cyriacus for the convent, which the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Otto I, the Great]] took under his special protection in [[961]]. Gero brought back [[relics]] of St. Cyriacus for the church from his second trip to [[Rome]] in [[963]]. The convent was disbanded in [[1570]], when the last abbess married. The collegiate church of St. Cyriacus still contains the grave of Gero, and is one of the oldest and best preserved examples of [[ottonian]] and [[romanesque]] architecture in Germany. The church was restored from [[1858]] to [[1874]].[[Image:Stiftskirche_gernrode.jpg|thumb|left|The church of St. Cyriacus in Gernrode]]


The town is also known as 'Gernrode/Harz', because of its location in the Harz mountains, and to distinguish it from [[Gernrode, Thuringia|Gernrode]] in the district of [[Eichsfeld (district)|Eichsfeld]] in [[Thuringia]], also called 'Gernrode (Eichsfeld)'.
Additions to the church in the [[11th century|11th]] and [[12th century|12th centuries]], include the west [[crypt]], side [[gallery|galleries]], and the two-storey [[cloisters]]. There is a chapel from about this time period in the southern [[aisle]] of the [[nave]] with a copy of the grave of Christ (a representation of the [[Holy Sepulcher]] in [[Jerusalem]]), which is one of the oldest of its kind in Germany. The church was the first north of the [[Alps]] to have a [[triforium]] [[gallery]] in the [[nave]], and also the first to have alternating columns and pillars (a hallmark of [[saxon people|saxon]] churches).


== History ==
Emperor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Barbarossa]], who stayed in Gernrode in [[1188]], donated a bell in that year to the St. Stephan church (''Stephanikirche'', also known as the Market church or ''Marktkirche''), the second historical church in the city. The church was built in [[1046]], and has been an elementary school since [[1847]].
[[File:Gernrode - Romanische Stiftskirche St. Cyriacus.jpg|thumb|left|St Cyriacus Church]]
{{Infobox country
|native_name = ''Reichsabtei Sankt Cyriakus in Gernrode''
|conventional_long_name = Imperial Abbey of St Cyriacus in Gernrode
|common_name = Gernrode Abbey
|
|era = Middle Ages
|status = Imperial Abbey
|empire = Holy Roman Empire
|government_type = Theocracy
|today = [[Germany]]
|
|year_start = 999
|year_end = 1728
|life_span = 999–1614 (''[[de facto]]'') –1728 (''[[de jure]]'')
|
|event_pre = Founded by [[Gero]]
|date_pre = 959
|event_start = Gained ''[[Reichsfreiheit]]''<br>{{spaces|4}}from [[Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Otto II]]
|date_start = <br>25 March
|event1 = Abbess raised to<br>{{spaces|4}}[[Fürst|''gubernatrix'']]
|date_event1 = <br>999
|event2 = [[Askanian]] [[Vogt|protection]]
|date_event2 = 1149–1616
|event3 = Gernrode named a [[German town law|city]]
|date_event3 = 1539
|event4 = Sophia Elizabeth last elected abbess
|date_event4 = <br>1593–1614
|event_end = Abbey formally<br>{{spaces|4}}transferred to [[Anhalt-Dessau|Anhalt]]<br>{{spaces|4}}by [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Emp. Charles VI]]
|date_end =
|event_post = Final investiture of abbot<br>{{spaces|4}}by [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emp. Francis II]]
|date_post = <br>1802
|
|p1 = Northern March
|image_p1 = [[File:Sin escudo.svg|20px|alt=]]
|s1 = Anhalt-Dessau
|flag_s1 = Flagge Herzogtum Anhalt.svg
|
|capital = <nowiki>Gernrode</nowiki>
|
|footnotes = <!--- Accepts wikilinks --->
}}
In 959 the [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxon]] margrave [[Gero]] founded a convent of [[canoness]]es in the ''[[Schwabengau]]'' territory, within the grounds of the ''Geronisroth'' fortification he built about the same time. He also founded the collegiate church for the convent, which King [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] took under his special protection by a 961 deed. It was dedicated to Saint [[Cyriacus]], whose relics Gero brought back for the church from his second journey to [[Rome]] in 963. Without male heirs, he bequested his vast properties to the convent and made his daughter-in-law Hathui (d. 1014), widow of his son Siegfried, first abbess (r.959-1014). She was succeeded by [[Adelaide I, Abbess of Quedlinburg|Adelaide I]] (r.1014-1045), a sister of Emperor [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto III]], who was also [[List of princess-abbesses of Quedlinburg|Princess-abbess of Quedlinburg]] (r.999-1045).


Initially the [[Gernrode Abbey|Gernrode convent]] was on a par with the [[List of Imperial abbeys|Imperial abbeys]] of [[Quedlinburg Abbey|Quedlinburg]] and [[Gandersheim Abbey|Gandersheim]]. However, its secular ''[[Vogt]]'' protectors from the [[House of Ascania|Ascanian]] princes of [[Principality of Anhalt|Anhalt]], descendants of [[Albert the Bear]], became increasingly powerful. Yet in 1188, Emperor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]] held a ''[[Hoftag]]'' in Gernrode and donated a bell to the St. Stephan church (''Stephanikirche'', also known as the Market church or ''Marktkirche''), the second historical church in Gernrode built in 1046. In the thirteenth century, [[Adelaide II of Büren|Adelaide II]] was abbess of Gernrode (r.1207-1220).
Gernrode received brewing rights in [[1545]]. Beer brewing has since stopped, but a [[liquor]] distillery is still present in the city. The city was traditionally part of the duchy of [[Anhalt]] and a district of [[Ballenstedt]]. From [[1037]] to [[1740]] [[lead]] and [[silver]] were mined here. Matches and guns were also made in Gernrode.


The [[Protestant Reformation]] came to Anhalt and Gernrode in [[1521]]. A protestant elementary school was founded in [[1533]]. The building was used as a school until [[1847]], and may be the oldest such school in Germany. Parts of Gernrode were burnt in the [[Thirty Years War]] (twice, in [[1631]] and [[1635]]). It had 2,533 [[Protestant]] inhabitants in [[1885]].
The [[Protestant Reformation]] came to Anhalt and Gernrode in 1521. A Protestant elementary school was founded in 1533 according to the ideas of [[Martin Luther]]. Closely linked to the [[Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg|University of Wittenberg]], the premises were used as a school until 1847, when it moved into St Stephen's Church, and may be the oldest such school in Germany. In 1565 [[Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst (1545–1574)|Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst]] (1545–1574) became abbess of Gernrode and the convent was led by Ascanian princesses ever since. It was finally disbanded in 1614, when the last abbess Sophia Elizabeth (1589–1622), daughter of the Ascanian prince [[John George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau|John George I of Anhalt-Dessau]], married Duke [[George Rudolf of Liegnitz]].


Gernrode received brewing rights in 1545. Beer brewing has since stopped, but a distillery is still present in the city. The city was traditionally part of the [[History of Saxony-Anhalt|Duchy of Anhalt]] and a district of [[Ballenstedt]]. From 1037 to 1740 [[lead]] and [[silver]] were mined here. Matches and guns were also made in Gernrode. Parts of Gernrode were burnt in the [[Thirty Years' War]] (twice, in 1631 and 1635). In 1728 Emperor [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles VI]] formally enfeoffed the Anhalt princes with Gernode which was incorporated into [[Anhalt-Bernburg]], raised to a duchy in 1806.
In [[1945]], at the end of the [[Second World War]], Gernrode was taken by American troops without a battle, followed by occupation by Soviet troops. Gernrode celebrated its one thousandth year in [[1961]] and four hundred fiftieth as a city in [[1989]]. It was part of [[East Germany]] from [[1949]] until German Reunification in [[1990]]. In [[2001]], clebrations to honor Otto I were held.


Due to its picturesque setting, Gernrode became a popular destination for recreational visitors from the early 19th century onwards. [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]], [[Heinrich von Kleist]] and [[Wilhelm von Kügelgen]] stayed here, followed by numerous vacationers, and tourism became a significant economic factor. The town had 2,533 (Protestant) inhabitants in 1885.
==Gernrode today and the Selketalbahn==
Gernrode is nationally recognized for its health facilities and is the seat of the integrated administrative region of [http://vgm-gernrode-harz.de Gernrode/Harz].


On 19 April 1945, at the end of [[World War II]], Gernrode was taken by the [[US Army]] without a battle, followed by occupation by Soviet troops in June. As part of the [[Soviet occupation zone]], Gernrode belonged to [[East Germany]] from 1949 until [[German reunification]] in 1990. It celebrated its 1,000th year in 1961 and 450th year as a town in 1989. In 2001, celebrations to honour Emperor Otto I were held. Between 1 January 2011 and 19 February 2013, Gernrode was part of the town [[Quedlinburg]],<ref>[http://st.juris.de/st/HarzGemNeuglG_ST_P3.htm Gesetz über die Neugliederung der Gemeinden im Land Sachsen-Anhalt den Landkreis Harz betreffend]{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (GemNeuglG HZ, §3)</ref><ref>{{citation|surname1=Ingo Kugenbuch|periodical=Mitteldeutsche Zeitung|title=Drei Gemeinden sind nach Gerichtsurteil wieder selbstständig |publication-place=Quedlinburg|date=20 February 2013|language=German|url=http://www.mz-web.de/quedlinburg/gebietsreform-drei-gemeinden-sind-nach-gerichtsurteil-wieder-selbststaendig,20641064,21880012.html|access-date=2013-07-09}}</ref> and again after 1 January 2014.<ref name=merger/>
Gernrode lies 215 m above sea level, at the foot of the [[Stubenberg]] mountains. It is the starting point of the [[Selketalbahn]] (or ''Selke valley railway''), a [[narrow-gauge railway]] which is interesting both technically and for tourists. The line was built in [[1887]] and after initially climbing through the mountains, follows the [[Selke]] river valley and the line of the [[Trasse de Harz]]. The line passes through the communities of [[M&auml;dgesprung]] (where the line joins the river Selke) and [[Alexisbad]] and beyond to [[Stiege]]. The total length from Gernrode to Stiege is 35 km. There are branch lines to [[Harzgerode]] (from Alexisbad) and [[Hasselfelde]] (from Stiege, where there is also a link to the narrow gauge [[Harzquerbahn]]). It is the oldest narrow-gauge railway in the Harz mountains and is served by a combination of antique diesel and more modern diesel locomotives. It is not just a tourist line, as freight cars and passenger cars make up the trains. Beginning in May [[2005]] and with an expected completion date in early [[2006]], this line will be extended to Quedlinburg, by rebuilding the normal gauge railway previously operated by the [[Deutsche Bahn]].


==Infrastructure==
Newer attractions include the giant [[cuckoo clock]] (whose cuckoo appears every fifteen minutes), which was listed in the [[Guinness Book of Records]] in [[1998]]. This is part of a clock factory, which also incorporates a giant [[weather station|weather house]] indicating current weather conditions. Other local attractions include a 7.45 m giant wood [[thermometer]], and the largest [[Skat]] table in the world.


==References==
===Transport===
*Gordon McLachlan, ''Germany: The Rough Guide'', Rough Guide, 1992.
*J.J.M. Timmers, ''A Handbook of Romanesque Art'', Harper and Row, 1976.


==== Selke Valley Railway ====
==External links==
Gernrode is the starting point of the [[Selke Valley Railway]] (''Selketalbahn''), a [[narrow-gauge railway]]. The line was built in 1887 and after initially climbing through the mountains, follows the [[Selke (river)|Selke]] river valley to [[Stiege]]. The total length from Gernrode to Stiege is 35&nbsp;km.


== Attractions==
*[http://www.gernrode.de/ Homepage of the city of Gernrode]
[[File:Gernrode - Fachwerk-Rathaus.jpg|thumb|Town hall]]
*[http://vgm-gernrode-harz.de/Tourismus/karteneu.jpg General map of the region around Gernrode]
Attractions include the giant [[cuckoo clock]] (whose cuckoo appears every fifteen minutes), which was listed in the [[Guinness Book of Records]] in 1998. This is part of a clock factory, which also incorporates a giant [[weather station|weather house]] indicating current weather conditions. Other local attractions include a 7.45 m giant wood [[thermometer]], the largest [[Skat (card game)|Skat]] table in the world, and the Prussia Tower on the [[Ölbergshöhe]].
*[http://www.gernrode-info.de/Chronik/body_chronik.html Chronicles on Gernrode (''in German'')]

*[http://www.stiftskirche-gernrode.de/ Collegiate church of St. Cyriacus (''in German'')]
==Governance==
*[http://www.selketalbahn.de/english/index.htm Friends of the Selketalbahn]

*[http://www.hsb-wr.de/graphic/stbprofi.gif Elevation Profile of the Selketalbahn][[de:Gernrode]]
===Town twinning===
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}
Gernrode is [[town twinning|twinned]] with:
*{{flagicon|France}} [[Bachant]], France, since 1969
*{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Walsrode]], Germany, since 1990

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Clear}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|http://www.gernrode.de/}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051025140224/http://vgm-gernrode-harz.de/Tourismus/karteneu.jpg General map of the region around Gernrode]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041022113935/http://www.gernrode-info.de/Chronik/body_chronik.html Chronicles on Gernrode ] {{in lang|de}}
* [http://www.stiftskirche-gernrode.de/ Collegiate church of St. Cyriacus] {{in lang|de}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gernrode| ]]
[[Category:Former municipalities in Saxony-Anhalt]]
[[Category:990s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:1570 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:1728 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:999 establishments]]

Latest revision as of 13:49, 20 August 2024

For the town in the district of Eichsfeld, see Gernrode, Thuringia.
Gernrode
Stadtteil of Quedlinburg
View from the Harz mountains
View from the Harz mountains
Coat of arms of Gernrode
Coat of arms
Location of Gernrode
Map
Gernrode is located in Germany
Gernrode
Gernrode
Gernrode is located in Saxony-Anhalt
Gernrode
Gernrode
Coordinates: 51°43′28″N 11°8′21″E / 51.72444°N 11.13917°E / 51.72444; 11.13917
CountryGermany
StateSaxony-Anhalt
DistrictHarz
TownQuedlinburg
Area
 • Total
34.07 km2 (13.15 sq mi)
Elevation
217 m (712 ft)
Population
 (2012-12-31)
 • Total
3,533
 • Density100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
06507
Dialling codes039485
Vehicle registrationHZ
Websitewww.stadt-gernrode.de

Gernrode (German pronunciation: [ɡɛʁnˈʁoːdə] ⓘ) is a historic town and former municipality in the Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2014, it has been part of Quedlinburg.[1] It was the seat of the former Verwaltungsgemeinschaft ("municipal association") of Gernrode/Harz.

First mentioned in 961, Gernrode received the privilege to bear its own coat of arms and seal, commonly regarded as town privileges. The town is best known for the Ottonian church of Saint Cyriakus, the collegiate church of a former Imperial chapter of nuns, and as the start of the narrow gauge Selke Valley Railway.

Geography

[edit]

Gernrode is situated at the northeastern rim of the Harz mountain range and the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park, about 6.5 km (4.0 mi) south of Quedlinburg. It lies at 215 m (705 ft) above sea level, at the foot of the Ramberg massif. It is nationally recognized for its health facilities and has state recognition as a spa town, where one may take the cure and recuperate in general (staatlich anerkannter Kur- und Erholungsort).

The town is also known as 'Gernrode/Harz', because of its location in the Harz mountains, and to distinguish it from Gernrode in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia, also called 'Gernrode (Eichsfeld)'.

History

[edit]
St Cyriacus Church
Imperial Abbey of St Cyriacus in Gernrode
Reichsabtei Sankt Cyriakus in Gernrode
999–1614 (de facto) –1728 (de jure)
StatusImperial Abbey
CapitalGernrode
GovernmentTheocracy
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Founded by Gero
959
• Gained Reichsfreiheit
    from Emperor Otto II

25 March 999
• Abbess raised to
    gubernatrix

999
1149–1616
• Gernrode named a city
1539
• Sophia Elizabeth last elected abbess

1593–1614
• Abbey formally
    transferred to Anhalt
    by Emp. Charles VI
1728
• Final investiture of abbot
    by Emp. Francis II

1802
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Northern March
Anhalt-Dessau
Today part ofGermany

In 959 the Saxon margrave Gero founded a convent of canonesses in the Schwabengau territory, within the grounds of the Geronisroth fortification he built about the same time. He also founded the collegiate church for the convent, which King Otto I took under his special protection by a 961 deed. It was dedicated to Saint Cyriacus, whose relics Gero brought back for the church from his second journey to Rome in 963. Without male heirs, he bequested his vast properties to the convent and made his daughter-in-law Hathui (d. 1014), widow of his son Siegfried, first abbess (r.959-1014). She was succeeded by Adelaide I (r.1014-1045), a sister of Emperor Otto III, who was also Princess-abbess of Quedlinburg (r.999-1045).

Initially the Gernrode convent was on a par with the Imperial abbeys of Quedlinburg and Gandersheim. However, its secular Vogt protectors from the Ascanian princes of Anhalt, descendants of Albert the Bear, became increasingly powerful. Yet in 1188, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa held a Hoftag in Gernrode and donated a bell to the St. Stephan church (Stephanikirche, also known as the Market church or Marktkirche), the second historical church in Gernrode built in 1046. In the thirteenth century, Adelaide II was abbess of Gernrode (r.1207-1220).

The Protestant Reformation came to Anhalt and Gernrode in 1521. A Protestant elementary school was founded in 1533 according to the ideas of Martin Luther. Closely linked to the University of Wittenberg, the premises were used as a school until 1847, when it moved into St Stephen's Church, and may be the oldest such school in Germany. In 1565 Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst (1545–1574) became abbess of Gernrode and the convent was led by Ascanian princesses ever since. It was finally disbanded in 1614, when the last abbess Sophia Elizabeth (1589–1622), daughter of the Ascanian prince John George I of Anhalt-Dessau, married Duke George Rudolf of Liegnitz.

Gernrode received brewing rights in 1545. Beer brewing has since stopped, but a distillery is still present in the city. The city was traditionally part of the Duchy of Anhalt and a district of Ballenstedt. From 1037 to 1740 lead and silver were mined here. Matches and guns were also made in Gernrode. Parts of Gernrode were burnt in the Thirty Years' War (twice, in 1631 and 1635). In 1728 Emperor Charles VI formally enfeoffed the Anhalt princes with Gernode which was incorporated into Anhalt-Bernburg, raised to a duchy in 1806.

Due to its picturesque setting, Gernrode became a popular destination for recreational visitors from the early 19th century onwards. Goethe, Heinrich von Kleist and Wilhelm von Kügelgen stayed here, followed by numerous vacationers, and tourism became a significant economic factor. The town had 2,533 (Protestant) inhabitants in 1885.

On 19 April 1945, at the end of World War II, Gernrode was taken by the US Army without a battle, followed by occupation by Soviet troops in June. As part of the Soviet occupation zone, Gernrode belonged to East Germany from 1949 until German reunification in 1990. It celebrated its 1,000th year in 1961 and 450th year as a town in 1989. In 2001, celebrations to honour Emperor Otto I were held. Between 1 January 2011 and 19 February 2013, Gernrode was part of the town Quedlinburg,[2][3] and again after 1 January 2014.[1]

Infrastructure

[edit]

Transport

[edit]

Selke Valley Railway

[edit]

Gernrode is the starting point of the Selke Valley Railway (Selketalbahn), a narrow-gauge railway. The line was built in 1887 and after initially climbing through the mountains, follows the Selke river valley to Stiege. The total length from Gernrode to Stiege is 35 km.

Attractions

[edit]
Town hall

Attractions include the giant cuckoo clock (whose cuckoo appears every fifteen minutes), which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records in 1998. This is part of a clock factory, which also incorporates a giant weather house indicating current weather conditions. Other local attractions include a 7.45 m giant wood thermometer, the largest Skat table in the world, and the Prussia Tower on the Ölbergshöhe.

Governance

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Town twinning

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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Gernrode is twinned with:

References

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  1. ^ a b Final decision Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt Archived 2014-01-04 at the Wayback Machine, 12 December 2013.
  2. ^ Gesetz über die Neugliederung der Gemeinden im Land Sachsen-Anhalt den Landkreis Harz betreffend[permanent dead link] (GemNeuglG HZ, §3)
  3. ^ Ingo Kugenbuch (20 February 2013), "Drei Gemeinden sind nach Gerichtsurteil wieder selbstständig", Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (in German), Quedlinburg, retrieved 2013-07-09
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