Neighboring districts

The neighboring districts are Leuna to the north, Markranstädt in (Leipzig district) to the east, Lützen (Burgenlandkreis) to the south and, to the west, Weißenfels (Burgenlandkreis).

Town and hinterland

The following table shows the population of the town itself and those of the municipal divisions (Ortschaften) which were formerly independent municipalities.^[3] Oebles-Schlechtewitz was absorbed into Bad Dürrenberg in 2008,^[4] and Nempitz and Tollwitz in 2010.^[5]

More information Town, Population ...

Town	Population	Areas
Bad Dürrenberg	10,805	Bad Dürrenberg, Balditz, Goddula, Keuschberg, Kirchfährendorf, Lennewitz, Ostrau and Vesta
Nempitz	293	Nempitz
Oebles-Schlechtewitz	209	Oebles-Schlechtewitz
Tollwitz	1,175	Ellerbach, Kauern, Ragwitz, Teuditz, Tollwitz and Zöllschen

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Late stone age to early 1700s

The area has been populated since Mesolithic times.

By 993, the oldest part of the town, the Keuschberg district, was occupied by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor. Documentary evidence exists from 1197 for a fortified royal court.

From 1656 to 1738, the area of the town was part of the Bishopric of Merseburg, in turn part of the Secondary Principality of Saxony-Merseburg.^[6]

Mid 1700s: Salt production

In 1741, Johann Gottfried Borlach began drilling for brine near Keuschberg. In 1763, he was successful; since then there has been a constant flow of brine with a salt content of nearly 11%. In 1765, a massive brine pumping tower, named after Borlach, was built above the first brine spring. Nearby graduation towers were constructed. The brine pumping tower now operates as a museum, honoring Borlach's achievements and documenting the history of salt production, the processing of Dürrenberg brine into evaporated table salt, and the development of Dürrenberg into a spa town^[7]

1800s: Prussian era

In 1815, the twelve towns of today's Bad Dürrenberg became part of the German state of Prussia. In 1816, the towns were assigned to the Merseburg administrative district of the province of Saxony.^[8]

In 1836, a 4.5 kilometer long Tollwitz-Dürrenberg railway with a gauge of 585 mm and the first 133 m long railway tunnel in Germany was built. On March 22, 1856, a railway line from Leipzig to Corbetha via Barneck, Markranstädt, Kötschau and Dürrenberg began operations.

The first bathhouse was built in 1845 and the first Saale bridge was built in 1920. In the same year, the Rössen tram route was extended in stages via Daspig and Spergau to Fährdorf, and six years later to Bad Dürrenberg train station.

20th century

During the times of the Weimar Republic, Dürrenberg was adversised as a spa town, with reference to the existing graduation towers (then 1,821 m long) for bathers to “stay in dust-free, ozone-rich air soaked in salt” and described the health resort as a “brine bath”.^[9]

In 1930, the Greater Municipality Dürrenberg was created through the merger of the rural communities Dürrenberg, Keuschberg, Porbitz-Poppitz, Ostrau, Lennewitz and Balditz. Dürrenberg has been called Bad Dürrenberg since it was awarded the title "Bad" (spa) in 1935.

During the Second World War, foreign forced laborers were employed by companies in Bad Dürrenberg.^[10]

On November 30, 1946, the municipality of Bad Dürrenberg was granted town charter. The district president Otto Gotsche made the announcement at a ceremonial meeting of the city council on January 6, 1946. The certificate was handed over to Mayor Paul Drese. On April 15, 1947, the city was given its coat of arms, which is still used today; it features the brine-pumping tower.^[11]

Beginning in 1950, towns including Kirchfährendorf, Goddula-Vesta, Oebles-Schlechtewitz, Tollwitz, Spergau, and Nempitz were incorporated into the Bad Dürrenberg administrative community.

The production of evaporated salt was discontinued in 1963. Bathing operations were discontinued in 1964.

21st century

A new brine well was put into operation on June 24, 2000. In 2003, the former drinking hall in the spa gardens was renovated and then reopened for brine applications. In 2008 the city was awarded the title of "state-recognized resort".

Sons and daughters of the town

• Ibrahim Böhme (1944–1999), politician
• Lars-Broder Keil (born 1963), journalist and author
• Andreas Ihle (born 1979), world champion and Olympic champion in canoe racing

Those associated with the town

• Novalis (1772–1801), early Romantics, philosopher and lawyer
• Johann Trommsdorff (1770–1837), pharmacist and chemist
• Karl von Fritsch (1838–1906), a paleontologist and geologist, president of the Leopoldina
• Ernst Fraenkel (political scientist) (1898–1975), political scientist and lawyer
• Karin Haftenberger, (born 1948), canoeist, competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics