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Saxony-Anhalt is one of 16constituent states of Germany. It is located in the western part of eastern Germany. By size, it is the 8th largest state in Germany and by population, it is the 11th largest.
The metropolitan area ofHalle (Saale) forms an agglomeration withLeipzig in Saxony. This area is known for its highly developed chemical industry (theChemiedreieck – chemical triangle), with major production plants atLeuna,Schkopau (Buna-Werke) andBitterfeld. Finally, in the east,Dessau-Roßlau andWittenberg are situated on the Elbe (as is the capital Magdeburg) in the Anhalt-Wittenberg region.
The capital and largest city of Saxony-Anhalt isMagdeburg. The second-largest city in the state isHalle (Saale). From 1994 to 2003, the state was divided into three regions (Regierungsbezirke),Dessau,Halle andMagdeburg and, below the regional level, 21districts (Landkreise). Since 2004, however, this system has been replaced by 11 rural districts and three urban districts.[10]
Coat of arms of Saxony-Anhalt between 1946 and 1952
Saxony-Anhalt is a federal state with a relatively short history, compared to other German federal states. It was formed in 1945 out of formerPrussian territories and mainly consists of three distinct historical regions: the area aroundMagdeburg, the formerly independentAnhalt and a southern part which once was part ofSaxony but had been annexed by Prussia in the 19th century. This historical origin can still be seen in the coat of arms of the federal state.
In April 1945 theUS Army took control of most of the western and northern area of the future Saxony-Anhalt. TheU.S. Group Control Council, Germany (a precursor of theOMGUS) appointed the first non-Nazi officials in leading positions in the area.Erhard Hübener, put on leave by the Nazis, was reappointedLandeshauptmann (state governor). By early July the US Army withdrew from the former PrussianProvince of Saxony to make way for theRed Army to take it as part of theSoviet occupation zone, as agreed by theLondon Protocol in 1944.
Anhalt takes its name fromAnhalt Castle nearHarzgerode; the origin of the name of the castle remains unknown. Anhalt was once an independent German federal state dating back centuries.
The SVAG appointed Hübener as president of the provincial Saxon administration, a newly created function. The administration was seated in Halle an der Saale, which became the capital, also of later Saxony-Anhalt until 1952. On 3 September 1945 the new administration enacted by Soviet-inspired ordinance the mass expropriations, mostly hitting holders of large real estates, often of noble descent.
On the occasion of the first (and one and only) election in the Soviet zone, allowing parties truly to compete for seats in provincial and state parliaments, on 20 October 1946, the Province of Saxony was renamed as the Province of Saxony-Anhalt (German:Provinz Sachsen-Anhalt), taking the prior merger into account.[12] On 3 December 1946 the members of the new provincial parliament elected Hübener the firstminister-president of Saxony-Anhalt, with the votes of theCDU andLiberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD). Thus he became the onlygovernor in the Soviet zone who was not a member of the communistSocialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), making him an inconvenience for the Soviet forces.
After the official Allied decision to dissolve theFree State of Prussia, which had remained in limbo since thePrussian coup of 1932,its former provinces, in as far as they still existed, achieved statehood; thus the province emerged into theState of Saxony-Anhalt on 6 October 1947.[12] It became part of theGerman Democratic Republic (East Germany) in 1949. From 1952 on, the East German states were dissolved, and Saxony-Anhalt's territory was divided into the East German districts ofHalle andMagdeburg, except that the territory aroundTorgau was assigned toLeipzig. In 1990, in the course ofGerman reunification, the districts were reintegrated as a state. The territory around Torgau did not return to the state and joined Saxony. Torgau is now the centre of theNordsachsen district (since 2008).
Since German reunification, there has been a continuous downward trend in the population of Saxony-Anhalt. This is partly due to outward migration and partly because the death rate exceeds the birth rate. Although the birth rate has been steady since 1994, thenet reproduction rate is only approximately 70%. However, thetotal fertility rate reached 1.50 in 2014, the highest value since 1990.
The region has historically been associated with theLutheran faith, but under Communist rule, church membership was strongly discouraged and much of the population disassociated itself from any religious body. Saxony-Anhalt contains many sites tied to Martin Luther's life, includingLutherstadt Eisleben andLutherstadt Wittenberg.
In 2018, the majority of citizens in Saxony-Anhalt were irreligious and more were leaving the churches than entering them[17] – in fact, Saxony-Anhalt is the most irreligious state in Germany. Of the Saxon-Anhaltish, 15.2% adhered to the major denominations of Christianity (11.9% were members of theProtestant Church in Germany and 3.3% wereCatholics),[18] 2% were members of other religions[17] (mostly Islam, Judaism, theNew Apostolic Church andMandeism). Of the citizens of Saxony-Anhalt, 82.8% were religiously unaffiliated.[17][18] As of July 2019 there were 1,892 Jehovah's Witnesses (publishers) in Sachsen-Anhalt. Originally their branch office for Germany was in Magdeburg. When World War II ended in 1945, the property in Magdeburg, then part of East Germany, was returned and the branch was reestablished. But on 30 August 1950 Communist police stormed the facilities and arrested the workers, and the Jehovah's Witnesses in the German Democratic Republic (DDR) were banned.
The percentage of foreigners in Saxony-Anhalt was 4.9 percent by 31 December 2018, the third lowest among the 16 states of Germany (together with Saxony and Thuringia).[19]
The largest foreign resident groups by 31 December 2022 were:[20]
Minister-presidentReiner Haseloff (CDU) retained his position in a coalition with former partner SPD and newly the FDP. Before the election the coalition had consisted of the CDU, SPD and Greens.
This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Outdated Data. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2023)
Thegross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 62.7 billion euros in 2018, which accounts for 1.9% of Germany's total economic output andranks 13th among the 16 German states. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 26,000 euros or 86% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 88% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the second lowest of all German states.[21]
By 2020, the GDP of the state dropped to 62.654 billion euros, shortly after reaching an all-time high of 64.115 billion euros in 2019.[22]
Saxony-Anhalt was part of the communist German Democratic Republic. After the breakdown of communism and the German reunification in 1990, the collapse of non-competitive former GDR industries temporarily caused severe economic problems. In 2000, Saxony-Anhalt had the highest unemployment rate of all German states, at 20.2%.[23]
However, the process of economic transformation towards a modernmarket economy seems to be completed. Massive investments in modern infrastructure have taken place since 1990, and the remaining and newly created businesses are highly competitive. For example, the industry has doubled its share of international revenue from 13 percent in 1995 to 26 percent in 2008.[24] Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has fallen considerably.[25] By 2010 the GDP of Saxony-Anhalt was almost two and a half times higher than it was in 1991.[26]
Even though part of this recovery was brought on by the positive performance of the German economy, Saxony-Anhalt not only followed the national trend, but clearly outperformed other German states. For example, it outperformed three German states in terms of unemployment (10.8%, as of September 2011): the German capital andcity-state ofBerlin (12.7%), the city-stateFree Hanseatic City of Bremen (11.3%) andMecklenburg-Western Pomerania (11%).[27]
The unemployment began to fall under 10% in 2016, and stood at 7.1% in October 2018.[28]
Thechemical industry is quite important, with almost 25,500 employees across 214 plants in 2010.[30] One of the biggest chemical producing areas can be found around the city ofBitterfeld-Wolfen. Because of the chemical industry, Saxony-Anhalt attracts moreforeign direct investments than any other state in eastern Germany.
The state is the location of numerouswind farms producing wind-turbine energy.
Saxony-Anhalt is also famous for its good soil. Hence, thefood industry has an important role with almost 19,500 employees across 190 plants in 2010.[30] Some of the best known products areBaumkuchen fromSalzwedel andHalloren chocolate globes from Germany's oldest chocolate factory in Halle.
The region's international commercial airport isLeipzig/Halle Airport which provides flights to other parts of Germany and other European destinations. The airport also serves as the main European hub for cargo flights operated byDHL Aviation and the main hub forAeroLogic.
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