Schkopau | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Schkopau Castle | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Schkopau within Saalekreis district  | |
  Schkopau  Schkopau | |
| Coordinates:51°23′N11°58′E / 51.383°N 11.967°E /51.383; 11.967 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Saxony-Anhalt |
| District | Saalekreis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2018–25) | Torsten Ringling[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 90.66 km2 (35.00 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 98 m (322 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 10,989 |
| • Density | 120/km2 (310/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 06258 |
| Dialling codes | 03461 |
| Vehicle registration | SK |
| Website | www.gemeinde-schkopau.de |
Schkopau is a municipality in theSaalekreis district, inSaxony-Anhalt,Germany.
It is situated at the confluence of theSaale River with itsWhite Elster andLuppe tributaries, approx. 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north ofMerseburg, and 10 km (6.2 mi) south ofHalle.
Schkopau station is a stop on theThuringian Railway line from Halle toEisenach. Another connection is provided by aninterurban tramway line from Halle toBad Dürrenberg. Beside the residentchemical industry, the municipality is the site of theSchkopau Power Station, abrown coal power plant run by theE.ON electric utility.
The municipal area comprises the localities of Burgliebenau, Döllnitz, Ermlitz, Hohenweiden, Knapendorf, Korbetha, Lochau, Luppenau, Raßnitz, Röglitz, Schkopau, andWallendorf.
AScapowe Castle was first mentioned in an 1177 deed. Already in the ninth century, aCarolingian fortress had been erected on the Saale River, then the eastern border ofEast Francia with the lands of thePolabian Slavs.
In 1215, KingFrederick II endowed it to theArchbishop of Magdeburg, who already held the nearby town of Halle. Enfeoffed to theBishop of Merseburg in 1444 and held by the Trotha noble family from 1477 onwards, the castle was rebuilt several times, recently in 1876 in aRenaissance Revival style. Today it is used as a hotel.
In April 1936, theBuna (i.e.butadiene-natrium polymer)synthetic rubber company was established in Schkopau, part of theNazi efforts to makeGerman economy self-sufficient in view of comingWorld War II. The Schkopau works were asubsidiary of theLeuna chemical company, itself part of the vastIG Farben industry conglomerate. Production started in 1937; beside rubber it includedpolyvinyl chloride (PVC),trichloroethylene,formaldehyde,tetrahydrofuran (THF),acetic acid andacetic anhydride, as well asacetone.
During the war, the Schkopau plant was the greatest producer ofAxis synthetic rubber (>17%).[3] It ran theBuna Werke branch inOświęcim, where theMonowitz concentration camp (Auschwitz III) was erected, alabor camp (Arbeitslager) with numerousforced labourers working under cruel treatment.
After the war, the Schkopau plant was seized by theSoviet Military Administration in Germany and re-organised as aPublicly Owned Operation (Volkseigener Betrieb, VEB) ofEast Germany. TheVEB Chemische Werke Bunacombine, the world's largest producer ofcarbide in 1958, became known for itsPlaste undElaste products but also for outdated production facilities and heavy industrial pollution. Taken over by the East GermanTreuhand agency upon thePeaceful Revolution in 1989, it is today a subsidiary of theDow Chemical Company.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2021) |
Seats in the municipal assembly as of 2009 elections:
The current mayor is Torsten Ringling, elected in October 2018.[1]
SECRET ... Classification Cancelled ... JUN 10 1959
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
Towns and municipalities in the district ofSaalekreis | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
