Zeitz


Zeitz is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony.
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History

First a Slavic pagan settlement later Christianized, Zeitz was first recorded under the Medieval Latin name Cici in the Synod of Ravenna in 967.
The name "Zeitz" is believed to have Slavic origins, likely deriving from the Sorbian word "cica," meaning "water" or "stream," referring to the White Elster river that flows through the town. The suffix "-itz" is a common Slavic placename ending.
Between 965 and 982, it was the chief fortress of the March of Zeitz. Zeitz was a bishop's residence between 968 and 1028, when it was moved to Naumburg. Beginning at the end of the 13th century, the bishops again resided in their castle at Zeitz. The Herrmannsschacht is one of the oldest brown coal brickette factories in the world. The city was captured by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War and was given to Electorate of Saxony in 1644. It was the centre of Saxe-Zeitz between 1657 and 1718, before returning to the Electorate. In 1815, it was given to the Kingdom of Prussia, becoming district centre of the Merseburg region of the Province of Saxony until 1944, when it became part of the Province of Halle-Merseburg. It became a county free city between 1901 and 1950. It was occupied by U.S. troops on 27 April 1945 and was transferred to Soviet control on 1 July 1945. It was a district centre in the Halle region of Saxony-Anhalt state in 1945–1952 and again in 1990–1994, and in Bezirk Halle between 1952 and 1990. It lost its status as county centre and became part of the Burgenlandkreis on 1 July 1994.
A bombing target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, the Brabag plant northeast of Zeitz used lignite coal for the production of synthetic fuels – forced labor was provided by the nearby Wille subcamp of Buchenwald in Rehmsdorf and Gleina. In the middle of the 1960s work started on the "Zeitz-Ost" residential area, and in the mid-1980s, housing estates such as the "Völkerfreundschaft" were built.
On 18 August 1976, the Protestant clergyman Oskar Brüsewitz from Rippicha burnt himself to death in front of the Michaeliskirche. This was a protest against the DDR system.
The town was an industrial centre until German Reunification made many companies in eastern Germany uncompetitive, and 20,000 people lost jobs or moved to other employment. The town still has a large sugar factory, and the nearby lignite mines and Lippendorf Power Station, together employing 2,000 people from Zeitz.
On 1 July 2009 Zeitz absorbed the former municipalities Döbris, Geußnitz, Kayna, Nonnewitz and Würchwitz. On 1 January 2010 it absorbed Luckenau and Theißen.

Geography

The town Zeitz consists of Zeitz proper and the following Ortschaften or municipal divisions:

Climate

Zeitz has an oceanic climate. The annual precipitation is, and the precipitation in summer is about twice that in winter.
The Zeitz weather station has recorded the following extreme values:
  • Highest Temperature on 13 August 2003.
  • Lowest Temperature on 14 January 1987.
  • Wettest Year in 2002.
  • Driest Year in 1982.
  • Highest Daily Precipitation: on 21 July 1992.
  • Earliest Snowfall: 14 October 2015.
  • Latest Snowfall: 28 April 1985.

Main sights

Zeitz's sights are predominantly situated along the Romanesque Road. Schloss Moritzburg, a baroque-style castle with the. The 10th-century crypt displays 17th-century tin coffins including that of Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz.Michaeliskirche, originally a Romanesque basilica and contains a 1517 original of Martin Luther's 95 Theses.
  • Town Hall. It is a Gothic structure that, together with restored houses and three marketplaces, provides Zeitz's medieval appearance.Herrmannsschacht, a technical monument in a former brick factory.

Twin towns – sister cities

Zeitz is twinned with:

Notable people