Gernrode
Encyclopedia
Gernrode is a town and a former municipality in Germany
, in the district of Harz
, Saxony-Anhalt
. The town was first mentioned in 961 and became a city (received Stadtrecht) in 1539. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Quedlinburg
. Gernrode is 9 km south of Quedlinburg in the Harz
mountains and has state recognition as a spa town
, where one may take the cure and recuperate in general (staatlich anerkannter Kur- und Erholungsort). It is perhaps best known today for the Ottonian
/ Romanesque
church of St. Cyriacus, and as the start of the Selketalbahn
narrow gauge railway.
The city is also known as 'Gernrode/Harz', because of its location in the Harz mountains, and to distinguish it from the other Gernrode in the district of Eichsfeld
in Thuringia
, also called 'Gernrode (Eichsfeld)'.
Gero
founded the convent of St. Cyriacus (St. Cyriakus) in 960 (within the grounds of the fortifications built about the same time). Gero also founded the collegiate church of St. Cyriacus for the convent, which the Holy Roman Emperor
Otto the Great
took under his special protection in 961. Gero brought back relic
s of St. Cyriacus for the church from his second trip to Rome
in 963. The convent was disbanded in 1570, when the last abbess married. The collegiate church of St. Cyriacus still contains the grave of Gero, and is one of the oldest and best preserved examples of ottonian
and romanesque architecture in Germany. The church was restored from 1858 to 1874.
Additions to the church in the 11th and 12th centuries, include the west crypt
, side galleries, and the two-storey cloisters. There is a chapel from about this time period in the southern aisle
of the nave
with a copy of the grave of Christ (a representation of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem), which is one of the oldest of its kind in Germany. The church was the first north of the Alps
to have a triforium
gallery in the nave
, and also the first to have alternating columns and pillars (a hallmark of Saxon churches).
Emperor Barbarossa
, who stayed in Gernrode in 1188, donated a bell in that year to the St. Stephan church (Stephanikirche, also known as the Market church or Marktkirche), the second historical church in the city. The church was built in 1046, and has been an elementary school since 1847.
Gernrode received brewing rights in 1545. Beer brewing has since stopped, but a distillery is still present in the city. The city was traditionally part of the duchy of Anhalt
and a district of Ballenstedt
. From 1037 to 1740 lead
and silver
were mined here. Matches and guns were also made in Gernrode.
The Protestant Reformation
came to Anhalt and Gernrode in 1521. A Protestant elementary school was founded in 1533. The building was used as a school until 1847, and may be the oldest such school in Germany. Parts of Gernrode were burnt in the Thirty Years' War
(twice, in 1631 and 1635). It had 2,533 Protestant inhabitants in 1885.
In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, Gernrode was taken by American troops without a battle, followed by occupation by Soviet troops. Gernrode celebrated its 1,000th year in 1961 and 450th year as a city in 1989. It was part of East Germany from 1949 until German Reunification in 1990. In 2001, celebrations to honour Otto I were held.
Gernrode lies 215 m above sea level, at the foot of the Stubenberg
mountains. It is the starting point of the Selketalbahn
(Selke valley railway), a narrow-gauge railway which is interesting both technically and for tourists. The line was built in 1887 and after initially climbing through the mountains, follows the Selke
river valley and the line of the Trasse de Harz. The line passes through the communities of Mägdesprung
(where the line joins the river Selke) and Alexisbad
and beyond to Stiege
. The total length from Gernrode to Stiege is 35 km. There are branch lines to Harzgerode
(from Alexisbad) and Hasselfelde
(from Stiege, where there is also a link to the narrow gauge Harzquerbahn
). It is the oldest narrow-gauge railway in the Harz mountains and is served by a combination of old and more modern diesel locomotives. It is not just a tourist line, as freight is also transported. This line was extended to Quedlinburg in 2006, by rebuilding the standard gauge railway previously operated by the Deutsche Bahn
.
Newer attractions include the giant cuckoo clock
(whose cuckoo appears every fifteen minutes), which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records in 1998. This is part of a clock factory, which also incorporates a giant weather house
indicating current weather conditions. Other local attractions include a 7.45 m giant wood thermometer
, and the largest Skat table in the world.
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...
, in the district of Harz
Harz (district)
- History :The district was established by merging the former districts of Halberstadt, Wernigerode and Quedlinburg as well as the city of Falkenstein as part of the reform of 2007.-Towns and municipalities:...
, 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...
. The town was first mentioned in 961 and became a city (received Stadtrecht) in 1539. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....
. Gernrode is 9 km south of Quedlinburg in the Harz
Harz
The Harz is the highest mountain range in northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart , latinized as Hercynia. The legendary Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz...
mountains and has state recognition as a spa town
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
, where one may take the cure and recuperate in general (staatlich anerkannter Kur- und Erholungsort). It is perhaps best known today for the Ottonian
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty was a dynasty of Germanic Kings , named after its first emperor but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names...
/ Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
church of St. Cyriacus, and as the start of the Selketalbahn
Selketalbahn
The Selke Valley Railway is the name of the railway in the lower Harz mountains that originally belonged to the Gernrode-Harzgeroder-Eisenbahn AG . The Selke Valley Railway line passes through:...
narrow gauge railway.
The city is also known as 'Gernrode/Harz', because of its location in the Harz mountains, and to distinguish it from the other Gernrode in the district of Eichsfeld
Eichsfeld (district)
Eichsfeld is a district in Thuringia, Germany, and part of the historical region of Eichsfeld. It is bounded by the districts of Nordhausen, Kyffhäuserkreis and Unstrut-Hainich, and by the states of Hesse and Lower Saxony .-History:In medieval times the Eichsfeld, which is larger than the...
in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, also called 'Gernrode (Eichsfeld)'.
History
MargraveMargrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
Gero
Gero
Gero I , called the Great , ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg, which he expanded into a vast territory named after him: the marca Geronis. During the mid-10th century, he was the leader of the Saxon Drang nach Osten.-Succession and early conflicts:Gero was the son of Count...
founded the convent of St. Cyriacus (St. Cyriakus) in 960 (within the grounds of the fortifications built about the same time). Gero also founded the collegiate church of St. Cyriacus for the convent, which the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Otto the Great
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...
took under his special protection in 961. Gero brought back relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s of St. Cyriacus for the church from his second trip to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 963. The convent was disbanded in 1570, when the last abbess married. The collegiate church of St. Cyriacus still contains the grave of Gero, and is one of the oldest and best preserved examples of ottonian
Ottonian
The Ottonian dynasty was a dynasty of Germanic Kings , named after its first emperor but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names...
and romanesque architecture in Germany. The church was restored from 1858 to 1874.
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
, side galleries, and the two-storey cloisters. There is a chapel from about this time period in the southern aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with a copy of the grave of Christ (a representation of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem), which is one of the oldest of its kind in Germany. The church was the first north of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
to have a triforium
Triforium
A triforium is a shallow arched gallery within the thickness of inner wall, which stands above the nave of a church or cathedral. It may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. It may itself have an outer wall of glass rather than...
gallery in the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, and also the first to have alternating columns and pillars (a hallmark of Saxon churches).
Emperor Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
, who stayed in Gernrode in 1188, donated a bell in that year to the St. Stephan church (Stephanikirche, also known as the Market church or Marktkirche), the second historical church in the city. The church was built in 1046, and has been an elementary school since 1847.
Gernrode received brewing rights in 1545. Beer brewing has since stopped, but a distillery is still present in the city. The city was traditionally part of the duchy of Anhalt
Anhalt
Anhalt was a sovereign county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Dukes of Anhalt :...
and a district of Ballenstedt
Ballenstedt
Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipality includes the villages of Badeborn and Oppenrode...
. From 1037 to 1740 lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
were mined here. Matches and guns were also made in Gernrode.
The Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
came to Anhalt and Gernrode in 1521. A Protestant elementary school was founded in 1533. The building was used as a school until 1847, and may be the oldest such school in Germany. Parts of Gernrode were burnt in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
(twice, in 1631 and 1635). It had 2,533 Protestant inhabitants in 1885.
In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, Gernrode was taken by American troops without a battle, followed by occupation by Soviet troops. Gernrode celebrated its 1,000th year in 1961 and 450th year as a city in 1989. It was part of East Germany from 1949 until German Reunification in 1990. In 2001, celebrations to honour Otto I were held.
Gernrode today and the Selketalbahn
Gernrode is nationally recognized for its health facilities and is the seat of the integrated administrative region of Gernrode/Harz.Gernrode lies 215 m above sea level, at the foot of the Stubenberg
Stubenberg
Stubenberg is a municipality in the district of Rottal-Inn in Bavaria in Germany....
mountains. It is the starting point of the Selketalbahn
Selketalbahn
The Selke Valley Railway is the name of the railway in the lower Harz mountains that originally belonged to the Gernrode-Harzgeroder-Eisenbahn AG . The Selke Valley Railway line passes through:...
(Selke valley railway), a narrow-gauge railway which is interesting both technically and for tourists. The line was built in 1887 and after initially climbing through the mountains, follows the Selke
Selke
-People:*Frank J. Selke, Canadian hockey manager*Margrit Selke, Agriculturist*Walter Selke, German physicist-Awards:*Frank J. Selke Trophy *Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy -Other uses:...
river valley and the line of the Trasse de Harz. The line passes through the communities of Mägdesprung
Mägdesprung
Mägdesprung is a village in the municipality of Harzgerode in the district of Harz. It nestles in the Harz Mountains at a height of 295 m.- History :There was a mill here below the Mägdetrappe until the Thirty Years' War...
(where the line joins the river Selke) and Alexisbad
Alexisbad
Alexisbad is a small spa town of Germany, in the municipality of Harzgerode, and the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, lying in the outskirts of the Harz Mountains, 1000 ft. above sea level. It has its own station on the narrow-gauge steam railway from Gernrode to Harzgerode...
and beyond to Stiege
Stiege
Stiege is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oberharz am Brocken. Stiege has 1083 inhabitants ....
. The total length from Gernrode to Stiege is 35 km. There are branch lines to Harzgerode
Harzgerode
Harzgerode is a town in the district of Harz in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.-Geography:Its localities include:*Harzgerode*Alexisbad*Dankerode*Güntersberge*Königerode*Mägdesprung*Neudorf*Schielo*Silberhütte*Siptenfelde*Straßberg...
(from Alexisbad) and Hasselfelde
Hasselfelde
Hasselfelde is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Harz, approximately 17 km south of Wernigerode. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Oberharz am Brocken...
(from Stiege, where there is also a link to the narrow gauge Harzquerbahn
Harzquerbahn
The Harz Railway was formerly the main line of the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways and runs from Wernigerode to Nordhausen. But the tourist potential of the Brocken is so great that the Brocken Railway is effectively the main line today...
). It is the oldest narrow-gauge railway in the Harz mountains and is served by a combination of old and more modern diesel locomotives. It is not just a tourist line, as freight is also transported. This line was extended to Quedlinburg in 2006, by rebuilding the standard gauge railway previously operated by the Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
.
Newer attractions include the giant cuckoo clock
Cuckoo clock
A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum-regulated, that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo's call and typically has a mechanical cuckoo that emerges with each note...
(whose cuckoo appears every fifteen minutes), which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records in 1998. This is part of a clock factory, which also incorporates a giant weather house
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
indicating current weather conditions. Other local attractions include a 7.45 m giant wood thermometer
Thermometer
Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...
, and the largest Skat table in the world.
