Bitterfeld

Town, part of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany

Bitterfeld (German pronunciation: [ˈbɪtɐfɛlt]) is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Halle (Saale). At the end of 2016, it had 40,964 inhabitants.^[1]

View of Bitterfeld

History and description

The name Bitterfeld most likely comes from the Middle High German words bitter and Feld and so means "boggy land".^[2]

Bitterfeld was built by a colony of Flemish immigrants in 1153. The first documentary mention is from 1224. It was captured by the landgrave of Meissen in 1476, and belonged thenceforth to Saxony, until it was ceded to Prussia in 1815.^[3]

By 1900, Bitterfeld station was an important junction of the Berlin–Halle and the Magdeburg–Leipzig railways. The population at that time was 11,839; it manufactured drainpipes, paper roofing, and machinery, and had sawmills. There were also several coal mines in the vicinity. Owing to its pleasant situation and accessibility, it became a favoured residence of businessmen of Leipzig and Halle.^[3]

During the East German (GDR) era, it gained notoriety for its chemical industry complex which caused remarkably severe pollution, even by GDR standards. On 24 April 1959, it also was a scene for the Bitterfeld Conference, locally known as the "Bitterfelder Weg". This conference sought to connect the working class with the artists of the day to form a socialist national culture.^[4]

In the 21st century Bitterfeld is still an industrial town and it stages the annual United Metal Maniacs metal festival.^[5]

The former brown-coal open cast mine of Goitzsche, south-east of Bitterfeld, is a source of numerous fossils in Bitterfeld amber.

Catholic church
Evangelical church
Villa am Bernsteinsee
Pegelturm tower in Goitzschesee lake
Vocational school center "August von Parseval"
Großer Goitzschesee (lake)

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[6] [E 1]
29 October

[7] [E 2]
31 August

[8] [E 3]
3 October

[10] [E 4]
30 June

[1] [1]
Statistical information

[mz-2] [2]
Mitteldeutsche Zeitung: Bitterfeld, ein Name, viele Geschichten

[EB1911-3] [3]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bitterfeld". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 13.

[4] [4]
"Bitterfelder Konferenzen", Kulturpolitisches Wörterbuch (2nd print ed.), Berlin: Dietz Verlag, 1978

[5] [5]
Festung Bitterfeld - 15 Jahre (1997-2012) (in German), retrieved 2013-01-18

[ReferenceA-9] [6]
Data source since 1995: Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[EW 1]

[EW 2]

[EW 3]

[6]

[EW 4]

Year	Population
1840	04,649
1870	05,693
1880	06,531
1890	09,047
1925	18,384
1933	21,328
1939	23,949

Year	Population
1946	32,833^{[EW 1]}
1950	32,814^{[EW 2]}
1960	31,687
1981	22,199
1984	21,279
1990	18,099^{[EW 3]}
1995	16,868

Year	Population
2000	16,507
2001	16,237
2002	15,985
2003	15.798
2004	15,755
2005	15,728
2006	15,709^{[EW 4]}

Bitterfeld

Bitterfeld

History and description

Historical population

Notable residents

Mayors

Literature

Notes

References

External links

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