Wernigerode

Image:WernigerodeCastleWinter.jpg]]

File:WenigerodeWinterViewFromCastle.jpg in winter]]

The town lies at about {{convert|250|m}} above sea level (NN) on the northeastern flank of the Harz Mountains in central Germany, at the foot of their highest peak, the Brocken, on the B 6 and B 244 federal highways and on the railway line from Halberstadt to Vienenburg that links the cities of Halle (Saale) and Hanover.

The River Holtemme flows through the town and, not far from its western gate, it is joined by the Zillierbach stream, which is also known as the {{lang|de|Flutrenne}} near its mouth. North of the town the Barrenbach flows through several ponds and empties into the {{lang|de|Holtemme}} in the village of Minsleben. The historic town centre consists of an old town and a new town ({{lang|de|Altstadt}} and {{lang|de|Neustadt}}). The town's borough includes Hasserode, Nöschenrode, the residential estates of Stadtfeld, Burgbreite and Harzblick as well as the villages of Benzingerode, Minsleben, Silstedt, Schierke and Reddeber.

The borough measures {{convert|9.5|km}} from west to east and {{convert|6|km}} from north to south. Its highest point is the Brocken, at {{convert|1,141|m}} above NN, and its lowest is at {{convert|215|m}}.

The town lies on the German-Dutch holiday road known as the Orange Route.

The Northern Harz Boundary Fault crosses the borough along which runs the watershed between the Weser and Elbe rivers. To the north precipitation flows into the Weser, to the southeast, later northeast, waters flow into the Elbe. This fault line runs through the suburb of Hasserode to the west south west of the city centre and forms the town's castle hill to the south east of the city centre.

The town of Wernigerode is divided into the town itself, including the villages of Hasserode and Nöschenrode incorporated before 1994, and five villages with their own local councils that were integrated after 1994: Benzingerode, Minsleben, Reddeber, Schierke and Silstedt.[http://www.wernigerode.de/media/dokumente/ortsrechtsatzungen/0_verwaltung/hauptsatzung.pdf Hauptsatzung Stadt Wernigerode] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415141819/http://www.wernigerode.de/media/dokumente/ortsrechtsatzungen/0_verwaltung/hauptsatzung.pdf |date=2012-04-15 }} (PDF; 88 KB); accessed on 30 March 2011

File:Harz Regenschatten.png

Wernigerode is located in the Central European transition subzone of the temperate climatic zone.Klimaklassifikation nach E. Neef. Siehe [http://www.m-forkel.de/klima/klimazonen.html m-forkel.de: Klimazonen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423192437/http://www.m-forkel.de/klima/klimazonen.html |date=2015-04-23 }} Its average annual temperature is {{convert|9.5|°C}}; its average annual precipitation is {{convert|500|mm}}.

The warmest months are June to August with average temperatures of {{convert|16.0|to|18.3|°C}} and the coldest are December to February at {{convert|1.1|to|2.1|°C}}.

The most rain falls in July, on average {{convert|54|mm}}, the least in February, with {{convert|30|mm}} on average.

The climate, more precisely the amounts of precipitation and temperatures, are influenced by the orographic rainfall caused by the Harz Mountains. Because the town lies in the rain shadow (leeward side) of the Harz, less precipitation falls here than in similar temperate regions without the protection of a mountain range. In addition the occasional föhn winds that occur result in an increase in temperatures.

{{Weather box

| location = Wernigerode (1991–2020 normals)

| metric first = Y

| single line = Y

|collapsed = Y

|Jan high C = 4.5

|Feb high C = 4.8

|Mar high C = 8.9

|Apr high C = 14.2

|May high C = 18.2

|Jun high C = 21.6

|Jul high C = 24.2

|Aug high C = 23.9

|Sep high C = 19.2

|Oct high C = 14.1

|Nov high C = 8.6

|Dec high C = 5.3

| year high C = 14.2

|Jan mean C = 1.7

|Feb mean C = 1.6

|Mar mean C = 4.8

|Apr mean C = 9.1

|May mean C = 13.2

|Jun mean C = 16.5

|Jul mean C = 19.0

|Aug mean C = 18.2

|Sep mean C = 14.5

|Oct mean C = 10.2

|Nov mean C = 5.8

|Dec mean C = 2.7

|year mean C = 9.9

|Jan low C = -1.2

|Feb low C = -2.0

|Mar low C = 0.6

|Apr low C = 3.6

|May low C = 7.5

|Jun low C = 11.0

|Jul low C = 13.2

|Aug low C = 13.0

|Sep low C = 9.4

|Oct low C = 6.1

|Nov low C = 2.4

|Dec low C = -0.5

| year low C = 5.4

| precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 52.3

|Feb precipitation mm = 35.9

|Mar precipitation mm = 43.5

|Apr precipitation mm = 32.0

|May precipitation mm = 64.2

|Jun precipitation mm = 47.0

|Jul precipitation mm = 67.1

|Aug precipitation mm = 54.8

|Sep precipitation mm = 55.1

|Oct precipitation mm = 41.3

|Nov precipitation mm = 44.0

|Dec precipitation mm = 46.9

| year precipitation mm = 613.9

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 17.7

|Feb precipitation days = 14.0

|Mar precipitation days = 15.0

|Apr precipitation days = 11.6

|May precipitation days = 14.3

|Jun precipitation days = 13.4

|Jul precipitation days = 15.5

|Aug precipitation days = 14.0

|Sep precipitation days = 13.3

|Oct precipitation days = 13.9

|Nov precipitation days = 15.2

|Dec precipitation days = 17.5

|year precipitation days = 176.3

|Jan sun = 62.6

|Feb sun = 87.4

|Mar sun = 139.0

|Apr sun = 182.0

|May sun = 205.0

|Jun sun = 215.3

|Jul sun = 223.9

|Aug sun = 203.4

|Sep sun = 151.4

|Oct sun = 122.9

|Nov sun = 67.7

|Dec sun = 51.3

|year sun = 1743.7

|Jan humidity = 80

|Feb humidity = 77.3

|Mar humidity = 73.9

|Apr humidity = 67.2

|May humidity = 68.6

|Jun humidity = 68.2

|Jul humidity = 66.0

|Aug humidity = 67.2

|Sep humidity = 73.1

|Oct humidity = 78.7

|Nov humidity = 82.1

|Dec humidity = 80.5

| source 1 = World Meteorological Organization{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231012174844/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Germany/CSV/Wernigerode_10454.csv

| archive-date = 12 October 2023

| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Germany/CSV/Wernigerode_10454.csv

| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020

| work = World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = 12 October 2023}}

}}

Wernigerode has a snow load class of 3 according to the German industrial standard, DIN 1055.

File:Wernigerode ca 1820.jpg: Stadt Wernigerode vom Eisenberg, {{circa|1820}}{{snd}}Wernigerode around 1820, ]]

File:Fotothek df roe-neg 0006140 011 Blick aus der Altstadt zum Schloss.jpg

Wernigerode was the capital of the medieval County of Wernigerode and Stolberg-Wernigerode. In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, it became part of the Prussian Province of Saxony. The Hasseröder brewery was founded in Wernigerode in 1872.

After World War II, Wernigerode was included in the new state Saxony-Anhalt within the Soviet occupation zone (relaunched in October 1949 as the German Democratic Republic/East Germany). During the Communist years, the town was very close to the inner German border. Wernigerode became part of the restored state of Saxony-Anhalt in 1990 after German reunification.

There are no written sources confirming exactly when the town was established. According to the latest research{{snd}}for example, by Eduard Jacobs and Walther Grosse{{snd}}there were no early relations with the Abbey at Corvey (Weser) and the abbot there, Warin, instead the town name suggests it was a protected clearance settlement.

The first area to be settle was the {{lang|de|Klint}}, where there was a lowland castle, the so-called {{lang|de|Schnakenburg}}. In 1805 the ruins of this castle site were demolished. The only part remaining is {{lang|de|Haus Gadenstedt}} at {{lang|de|Oberpfarrkirchhof}} 12 which dates to the year 1582. At the time of the first settlelement there was still ancient forest, typical of the Harz, on the heights of the {{lang|de|Klint}}, which had first to be cleared, hence the suffix {{lang|de|rode}} in the town name which means 'clearing'.

The town was first mentioned in the records in 1121 in connection with Count Adalbert of Haimar who had moved here from the region near Hildesheim and henceforth was titled the Count of Wernigerode. On 17 April 1229 the settlement was granted town rights along the lines of that for Goslar. In 2004 Wernigerode celebrated the 775th anniversary of that occasion.

As a result of the immigration of new townsfolk from the surrounding villages a new settlement, later called {{lang|de|Neustadt}}, grew up on the northeastern edge of the old town. It was a farming settlement that lay outside the walls of the old town. St. John's Church was built as the parish church of Wernigerode's {{langr|de|Neustadt}} in the last third of the 13th century in the Romanesque style.

The counts of Wernigerode, who can be traced back to the early 12th century, were successively vassals of the margraves of Brandenburg (1268), and the archbishops of Magdeburg (1381). On the extinction of the family in 1429 the county fell to the counts of Stolberg, who founded the Stolberg-Wernigerode branch in 1645. The latter surrendered its military and fiscal independence to Prussia in 1714, but retained some of its sovereign rights till 1876. The counts were raised to princely rank in 1890.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

• Runden, {{circa|1640}}{{cite web|url=http://www.myheritage.dk/person-1000257_176701832_176701832/ukendt-runden|title=Ukendt Runden´s profil|website=MyHeritage.com|access-date=14 April 2018}}
• Ludwig Gepel, 7 January 1921 to 6 January 1933
• Ulrich von Fresenius (1 September 1888; died 12 November 1962), 10 January 1933 to 20 April 1945
• Max Otto (1889–1969), SPD/SED, 20 April 1945 to 1951
• Gustav Strahl, 1951 to 1962
• Martin Kilian, SED, 24 October 1962 to 1990
• Herbert Teubner, CDU, 1990 to 1991
• Horst-Dieter Weyrauch, CDU, 1991 to 1994
• Ludwig Hoffmann, SPD, 1994 to 31 July 2008
• Peter Gaffert, independent, since 1 August 2008
• Tobias Kascha, SPD, since 1 August 2022

{{div col|colwidth=16em}}

• 1595: 2,500
• 1806: 3,700
• 1845: 5,000
• 1869: 7,000
• 1886: 9,000
• 1895: 10,662
• 1904: 12,000
• 1914: 18,000
• 1957: 33,353
• 1990: 37,000
• 2006: 33,871
• 2007: 34,413
• 2008: 35,041
• 2009: 34,673

{{div col end}}

Image:Wernigerode (2013-06-03), by Klugschnacker in Wikipedia (14).JPG

Wernigerode contains several interesting Gothic buildings, including a fine town hall with a timber facade from 1498. Some of the quaint old houses which have escaped the numerous fires through the years are elaborately adorned with wood-carving. The Gerhart-Hauptmann Gymnasium,{{cite web|url=http://www.gerhart-hauptmann-gymnasium.de|title=Home|website=www.gerhart-hauptmann-gymnasium.de|access-date=14 April 2018}} occupying a modern Gothic building, is the successor to an ancient grammar school that existed until 1825. The castle ({{lang|de|Schloß Wernigerode}}) of the princes of Stolberg-Wernigerode rises above the town.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The original was built in the 12th century but the present castle was built between 1862 and 1893 by Karl Frühling and includes parts of the medieval building.

Brandy, Hasseröder lager, cigars and dyes are among the products manufactured in Wernigerode.

File:HochschuleHarz Haupt.jpg

Wernigerode is a site of the Harz University of Applied Studies.

{{clear|right}}

• Harzer Schmalspurbahn{{snd}}a narrow gauge railway that leads from Wernigerode to the Brocken ({{cvt|1141|m|disp=or}}), the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, and then goes to Nordhausen to the south of the Harz mountains. The second highest peak, Wurmberg ({{cvt|971|m|disp=or}}), is accessible by cable car from Braunlage which is connected by bus to Wernigerode. Wernigerode has numerous museums, galleries, libraries, monuments and parks.{{Specify|date=January 2010}}
• Armeleuteberg{{snd}}hill with an Emperor Tower and forest inn.

{{gallery

|File:BrockenBahnWinter.jpg

|Top of the Brocken with the Brockenbahn, which starts in Wernigerode

|File:Schlosskirche St. Pantaleon und Anna (Wernigerode) 2017.jpg|Chape

lSt. Pantaleon and Anna of Wernigerode Castle

|File:Wernigerode Stadtblick.JPG

|View over the old town of Wernigerode

|File:Wernigerode (2013-06-03), by Klugschnacker in Wikipedia (9).JPG

|Town hall

|File:Schloss Wernigerode - Ansicht von der Schlossterrasse (01-2).jpg

|Wernigerode Castle

|File:CampusWernigerode.jpg

|Wernigerode campus is part of the Hochschule Harz

|File:HasseroederBrauerei.jpg

|The Hasseröder brewery in Wernigerode

|File:Rathaus Wernigerode Weihnachten.JPG

|Town hall and Christmas market at night

|File:St. Johannis Kirche in Wernigerode.jpg

|The St. Johannes Church

|File:Wernigerode Kirche kath.jpg

|The Catholic Church

|File:WernigerodeEckeKleinstesHaus.jpg|

Typical old town houses

}}

Wernigerode is the home of the choir Rundfunk-Jugendchor Wernigerode.

• Steinerne and Kleine Renne, and the nearby well of Wernigeröder Bürgerbrunnen
• Ottofels, rock formation with extensive views over the Harz
• Mönchsbuche, a protected beech on the old monk's way

Wernigerode hosts the Brocken Marathon each October. Wernigerode's most supported club is Einheit Wernigerode, who competes in the NOFV-Oberliga, and recently qualified for the DFB-Pokal, eventually losing to SC Paderborn 07 0-10.

Wernigerode also has had an American Football club, The Mountain Tigers, since 1993. During the last 19 years this team has played in Germany's Oberliga 4 and Regionaliga 3. Since its inception, it has been a mainstay for American football in the Harz region.

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}

Wernigerode is twinned with:{{cite web |title=Partnerstädte|url=https://www.wernigerode.de/Stadtleben/Die-Stadt/Partnerst%C3%A4dte|website=wernigerode.de|publisher=Wernigerode|language=de|access-date=2021-02-17}}

• {{flagicon|ITA}} Carpi, Italy (1964)
• {{flagicon|ROU}} Cisnădie, Romania (2002)
• {{flagicon|VIE}} Hội An, Vietnam (2013)
• {{flagicon|GER}} Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany (1989)

• Henry Ernest of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1716–1786), canon, dean and author of many hymns
• Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein (1723–1795), physician and engineer
• Christian Frederick of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1746–1824), Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode
• Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743–1817), chemist
• Henry of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1772–1854), Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode
• Anton of Stolberg-Wernigerode (1785–1854), chief minister in Magdeburg, governor in the Prussian Province of Saxony and Prussian Minister of State
• Heinrich Karl Beyrich (1796–1834), botanist
• Gustav Eduard von Hindersin (1804–1872), Prussian general
• Rudolf Stammler (1856–1938), jurist
• Otto Herfurth (1893–1944), general
• Wilhelm Bittrich (1895–1979), Waffen-SS General
• Friedrich Lütge (1901–1968), historian and economist
• Franz Nicklisch (1906–1975), actor
• Rolf Hermichen (1918–2014), fighter ace
• Konrad Sasse (1926–1981), musicologist
• Karl Oppermann (1930-2022), painter
• Rudolf Dannhauer (born 1934), cross-country skier
• Waldtraut Lewin (1937–2017), stage director
• Wolf Barth (1942–2016), mathematician
• Monika Wulf-Mathies (born 1942), politician
• Karin Rüger-Schulze (born 1944), track and field athlete
• Irene Ellenberger (born 1946), architect
• Lutz Unger (born 1951), swimmer
• Karsten Brandt (born 1958), cross-country skier
• Caspar René Hirschfeld (born 1965), composer
• Bernhard Schneyer (born 1968), composer
• Guido Fulst (born 1970), racing cyclist
• Jens Baxmann (born 1985), ice hockey player
• Nils Petersen (born 1988), footballer
• Christopher Grotheer (born 1992), skeleton racer

{{reflist}}

Attribution:

• {{EB1911|wstitle=Wernigerode|volume=28|page=524}}

{{Commons|Wernigerode}}

{{wikivoyage|Wernigerode}}

• [http://www.wernigerode.de/?id=homepage_en&lang=en Municipal website]

{{Cities and towns in Harz (district)}}

{{Borough of Wernigerode}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Towns in the Harz