Barby is a town in the Salzlandkreis

Salzlandkreis

Salzland is a district in the middle of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by the districts Harz, Börde, Magdeburg, Jerichower Land, Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Mansfeld-Südharz and Saalekreis.- History :...

 district, in Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is situated on the left bank of the Elbe

Elbe

The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...

 river, near the confluence with the Saale

Saale

The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale , is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony, a tributary of the Leine.-Course:The Saale...

, approx. 25 km (15.5 mi) southeast of Magdeburg

Magdeburg

Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....

. Since an administrative reform of 1 January 2010 it comprises the former municipalities of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Elbe-Saale

Elbe-Saale

Elbe-Saale was a Verwaltungsgemeinschaft in the district Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was situated on the left bank of the Elbe, around the confluence with the Saale. The seat of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft was in Barby...

, except for Gnadau

Gnadau

Gnadau is a village and a former municipality in the district Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 September 2010, it is part of the town Barby. It was founded as a settlement of the Moravian Church in the 18th Century and is seat of a number of diaconal institutions. The name means...

, that joined Barby in September 2010.

The burgward

Burgward

A burgward was a form of settlement used for the organisation of the northeastern marches of the Kingdom of Germany in the mid-10th century. Based on earlier organisations within the Frankish Empire and among the Slavs, the burgwards were composed of a central fortification with a number of...

 of Barby was first mentioned in a 961 deed by German king Otto I

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...

. Since the 12th century, the area was enfeoffed to the Counts of Barby descending from nearby Arnstein

Arnstein, Saxony-Anhalt

Arnstein is a town in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was formed on 1 January 2010 by the merger of the former municipalities Alterode, Bräunrode, Greifenhagen, Harkerode, Quenstedt, Sandersleben, Stangerode, Sylda, Ulzigerode and Welbsleben....

, who achieved Imperial immediacy in 1497. Upon the extinction of the line in 1659, the County of Barby fell to the Duchy of Saxe-Weissenfels

Saxe-Weissenfels

Saxe-Weissenfels was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656/7 until 1746 with its residence at Weißenfels. Ruled by a cadet branch of the Albertine House of Wettin, the duchy passed to the Electorate of Saxony upon the extinction of the line....

, ruled by a cadet branch of the electoral Saxon House of Wettin. When Duke Georg Albrecht of Saxe-Weissenfels

Georg Albrecht of Saxe-Weissenfels, Count of Barby

Georg Albrecht of Saxe-Weissenfels, Count of Barby , was a German prince of the House of Wettin and the last count of Barby....

 died without issue in 1739, Barby fell to the Electorate of Saxony

Electorate of Saxony

The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...

.

The Barby Ferry

Barby Ferry

The Barby Ferry, also known as the Ronney Barby Ferry, is a cable ferry across the Elbe river between Barby and Walternienburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....

, a cable ferry

Cable ferry

A cable ferry is guided and in many cases propelled across a river or other larger body of water by cables connected to both shores. They are also called chain ferries, floating bridges, or punts....

 across the Elbe, links Barby with Zerbst

Zerbst

Zerbst is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until the administrative reform of 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the Anhalt-Zerbst district. Since the 1 January 2010 local government reform, Zerbst has about 24,000 inhabitants.It is not clear when was it founded;...

-Walternienburg

Walternienburg

Walternienburg is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Zerbst.The Barby Ferry, a cable ferry across the Elbe, links Walternienburg with Barby....

.

Twin Towns - Sister Cities

Barby is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with: Schöppenstedt

Schöppenstedt

Schöppenstedt is a town in the district of Wolfenbüttel, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated southwest of the Elm, approx. 17 km east of Wolfenbüttel, and 21 km southeast of Braunschweig...

, Germany Aukštadvaris

Aukštadvaris

Aukštadvaris is a town in Trakai district municipality in Lithuania on Verknė river. According to 2001 census, it had population of 1031.Aukštadvaris features Malewski Palace, built in 1837 by Antoni Malewski, which remained with the family until World War I...

, Lithuania Pruchnik

Pruchnik

Pruchnik is a town in Jarosław County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Pruchnik. It lies approximately south-west of Jarosław and east of the regional capital Rzeszów....

, Poland