Halberstadt (German pronunciation:[ˈhalbɐˌʃtat]ⓘ;Eastphalian:Halverstidde) is atown in the state ofSaxony-Anhalt in centralGermany, the capital ofHarz district. Located north of theHarz mountain range, it is known for itsold town center, which was largely destroyed by Allied bombings in the late stages ofWorld War II after local Nazi leaders refused to surrender. The town was rebuilt in the following decades.
In World War I Halberstadt was the site of a German military airbase and aircraft-manufacturing facilities. In World War II Halberstadt was a regional production center forJunkers aircraft, which also housed anSSforced labor camp. Halberstadt now includes the area where theLangenstein-Zwieberge concentration camp was situated.
Today the city has around 450timber framed houses in its city centre and timber framed old villages likeLangenstein.[3][4]
Halberstadt is situated between the Harz in the south and theHuy hills in the north on theHoltemme andGoldbach rivers, both left tributaries of theBode. Halberstadt is the base of the Department of Public Management of theHochschule Harz University of Applied Studies and Research.
The town center retains many important historic buildings and much of its ancient townscape. Notable places in Halberstadt includeHalberstadt Cathedral, the Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche) and St Martin's, churches built in the 12th and 13th centuries. Halberstadt is the site of the first documented large, permanentpipe organ installation in 1361.[5] The cathedral is notable among those in northern European towns in having retained its medieval treasury in virtually complete condition. Among its treasures are the oldest surviving tapestries in Europe, dating from the 12th century.[6][7] The town is also a stop on the scenicGerman Timber-Frame Road.
These are all formerly independent municipalities: Emersleben was absorbed into Halberstadt in 1995, Klein Quenstedt in 1996 and Aspenstedt, Athenstedt, Langenstein, Sargstedt and Schachdorf Ströbeck in 2010.[8]
On Henry's downfall, the Halberstadt diocese was elevated to aprince-bishopric about 1180. Its cathedral was rebuilt from 1236 and consecrated in 1491. Halberstadt,Quedlinburg andAschersleben joined aleague of towns (Halberstädter Dreistädtebund) in 1326; from 1387 the city was also a member of theHanse.[citation needed]
In the last days ofWorld War II, in April 1945, US forces approached Halberstadt as they attacked remaining Nazi troops in the short-lived Harz pocket. They dropped leaflets instructing Halberstadt's Nazi ruler to fly a white flag on the town hall as a token of surrender.[12] He refused, no white flag was raised and on 8 April 1945, 218Flying Fortresses of the8th Air Force, accompanied by 239 escort fighters, dropped 595 tons of bombs on the center of Halberstadt. This killed about 2,500 people and converted most of the old town into some 1.5 million cubic meters of rubble, which American troops briefly occupied three days later.[13] Around 450 of 1600timber framed houses survived in the city centre.[14] By June 1945, the town and its garrison was handed over to the3rd Shock Army of the SovietRed Army forces.
Interior of Halberstadt Synagogue in 1930 (watercolor painting byKäthe Lipke)
Halberstadt's Jewish community is mentioned in records from the 13th century and the town had a synagogue in 1464.[15] In the early 18th century, Halberstadt had one of the largestJewish communities in central Europe and was known as a center of theology and learning afterBerend Lehmann (1661–1730) founded abeth midrash there in 1703. The building, called the "Klaus", included a library and living quarters for scholars to study theTalmud.[16] Lehmann also financed an impressiveBaroque synagogue that was completed in 1712.[15]
Halberstadt's synagogue was ransacked and burned in the 9 November 1938Kristallnachtpogrom.[17] The synagogue's Torah scrolls were removed and burned in the street. On 18 November 1938, the local building authority ordered the demolition of the synagogue and required the Jewish community to pay the cost of the work.[18]
Today theMoses Mendelssohn Academy is based in the "Klaus", providing exhibitions, presentations, and information aboutJewish culture.
A performance ofJohn Cage'sorgan pieceAs Slow As Possible began in the Burchardikirche in Halberstadt in September 2001; the performance is scheduled to take 639 years. The concert began on 5 September 2001 with a rest lasting 17 months. On the dates of the sound changes the church is usually well visited.[19]
Gabriel Bach, (1927 - 2022), a German-born Israeli jurist, who was a judge of theSupreme Court of Israel and deputy prosecutor in the prosecution of Adolf Eichmann
^Muret, Eduard (1885).Geschichte der Französischen Kolonie in Brandenburg-Preußen, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Berliner Gemeinde. Aus Veranlassung der Zweihundertjährigen Jubelfeier am 29. Oktober 1885 (in German). Berlin. p. 221.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
