Thale
Encyclopedia
Thale (ˈtaːlə) is a town in the Harz
district in Saxony-Anhalt
in central Germany
.
. It is the terminus of the Magdeburg–Thale railway.
.
From 1445 the records show that there had been an ironworks in Thale. It was rebuilt in 1648 after the devastation of the Thirty Years' War
as the Berghaus zum Wilden Mann
, but was fully destroyed in 1670. In 1686 a small hammer mill was established out of which a new ironworks later developed that benefited especially from its proximity to the ore deposits and the availability of wood. It lasted until 1714. In 1740 a business was opened again. For a short time this ironworks was owned by Frederick the Great
. In 1831 the first wrought-iron wagon axle to be made in Germany was manufactured here. In 1835 the oldest lteste sheet steel enamel works in Europe was founded in Thale. Following the town's connexion to the railway network in 1862 with a line to Berlin
the place flourished as did the number of workers. Whilst the iron industry had only 350 workers in 1872, by 1905 there were as many as 4,400. In particular, the production of enamel
contributed to Thale's international renown; in its heyday Thale produced no less than 10 % of the world's production. In 1910 Karl Liebknecht
, Rosa Luxemburg
and Clara Zetkin
spoke to Thale's workers. From 1916 steel helmets were produced in Thale. In the Second World War Thale had the monopoly
on this product (from 1934).
Tourism blossomed from the 19th century onwards in connexion with the radon
rich water of the Hubertus Spring
, which had been opened up in 1836. As a result, various literary figures visited the place, including Heinrich Heine
(Die Harzreise) and Theodor Fontane
and especially the Bode Gorge. In addition tourists from Berlin enjoyed the summer resort of Thale. This encouraged the connexion of Thale in 1862 to the railway line from Wegeleben
. In 1909 a branch line from Blankenburg (Harz) followed. In 1922 the resort was given town rights. From 12 to 14 June 2009 Thale was the venue for the Saxony-Anhalt Day held under the motto Thale sagenhaft ("Legendary Thale"), and attracted around 200,000 visitors.
The changes in area are shown in a special table.
Area of the borough of Thale
(Lower Saxony
) on the northwest edge of the Harz and, since 1998, with the French town of Juvisy-sur-Orge
, 18 km from Paris, as well as Tillabéri
in Niger
, northwest of the River Niger.
's novel Cécile. Fontane stayed in Thale a number of times between 1868 and 1884.
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:...
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...
in central 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...
.
Geography
It is situated on the river Bode, approximately 8 km west of QuedlinburgQuedlinburg
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....
. It is the terminus of the Magdeburg–Thale railway.
History
The settlement of Thale probably emerged at the beginning of the 10th century. It was first mentioned in 936 in connexion with the neighbouring Wendhusen Abbey, that, had been founded before 840 as a chapter of canonesses (Kanonissenstift) and was one of the first abbeys on Saxon soil. In the period that followed the abbey came under the guardianship of the chapter in Quedlinburg. The village was described in 1231 as Dat Dorp to dem Dale (from 1288 it was given the description de valle, and from 1303 as von Thale). The abbey was destroyed in 1525 during the Peasants' WarGerman Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
.
From 1445 the records show that there had been an ironworks in Thale. It was rebuilt in 1648 after the devastation of 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....
as the Berghaus zum Wilden Mann
Wild man
The wild man is a mythical figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands.The defining characteristic of the figure is its "wildness"; from the 12th century...
, but was fully destroyed in 1670. In 1686 a small hammer mill was established out of which a new ironworks later developed that benefited especially from its proximity to the ore deposits and the availability of wood. It lasted until 1714. In 1740 a business was opened again. For a short time this ironworks was owned by Frederick the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
. In 1831 the first wrought-iron wagon axle to be made in Germany was manufactured here. In 1835 the oldest lteste sheet steel enamel works in Europe was founded in Thale. Following the town's connexion to the railway network in 1862 with a line to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
the place flourished as did the number of workers. Whilst the iron industry had only 350 workers in 1872, by 1905 there were as many as 4,400. In particular, the production of enamel
Enamel
Enamel may refer to:* Tooth enamel, the hard mineralized surface of teeth* Vitreous enamel, a smooth, durable coating made of melted and fused glass powder-See also:* Enamel organ, a cellular aggregation that functions in the formation of tooth enamel...
contributed to Thale's international renown; in its heyday Thale produced no less than 10 % of the world's production. In 1910 Karl Liebknecht
Karl Liebknecht
was a German socialist and a co-founder with Rosa Luxemburg of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. He is best known for his opposition to World War I in the Reichstag and his role in the Spartacist uprising of 1919...
, Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg was a Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and activist of Polish Jewish descent who became a naturalized German citizen...
and Clara Zetkin
Clara Zetkin
Clara Zetkin was a German Marxist theorist, activist, and fighter for women's rights. In 1910, she organized the first International Women's Day....
spoke to Thale's workers. From 1916 steel helmets were produced in Thale. In the Second World War Thale had the monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
on this product (from 1934).
Tourism blossomed from the 19th century onwards in connexion with the radon
Radon
Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of uranium or thorium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days...
rich water of the Hubertus Spring
Hubertus Spring
The Hubertus Spring is a "healing spring" in the Harz Mountains of central Germany whose waters contain radon. It rises on Hubertus Island , which is about 2 hectares in area, near Thale, immediately at the exit of the River Bode from the Harz Mountains...
, which had been opened up in 1836. As a result, various literary figures visited the place, including Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
(Die Harzreise) and Theodor Fontane
Theodor Fontane
Theodor Fontane was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist writer.-Youth:Fontane was born in Neuruppin into a Huguenot family. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to an apothecary, his father's profession. He became an...
and especially the Bode Gorge. In addition tourists from Berlin enjoyed the summer resort of Thale. This encouraged the connexion of Thale in 1862 to the railway line from Wegeleben
Wegeleben
Wegeleben is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Bode, east of Halberstadt. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Vorharz. The town was the birthplace of Martin Bormann in 1900. It has a station on the Magdeburg–Thale railway....
. In 1909 a branch line from Blankenburg (Harz) followed. In 1922 the resort was given town rights. From 12 to 14 June 2009 Thale was the venue for the Saxony-Anhalt Day held under the motto Thale sagenhaft ("Legendary Thale"), and attracted around 200,000 visitors.
Incorporation of other parishes
Warnstedt was incorporated in 2003. In 2009 a total of seven municipalities were incorporated on four separate dates. Westerhausen was added in 2010. Allrode became a part of the borough of Thale in 2011.The changes in area are shown in a special table.
| Former parish | Date |
|---|---|
| Allrode Allrode Allrode is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2011, it is part of the town Thale.... |
1 January 2011 |
| Altenbrak Altenbrak Altenbrak is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.- Geography :The village is strung out for about 1.6 kilometres along the River Bode in an east-west valley. It is 3 kilometres from the Wendefurth Reservoir, which is part of the Rappbode Reservoir... |
1 July 2009 |
| Friedrichsbrunn Friedrichsbrunn Friedrichsbrunn is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 23 November 2009, it is part of the town Thale.-History:... |
23 November 2009 |
| Neinstedt Neinstedt Neinstedt is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, in the Harz area. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the town Thale. It has a station on the Magdeburg–Thale railway.... |
1 January 2009 |
| Stecklenberg Stecklenberg Stecklenberg is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 23 November 2009, it is part of the town Thale.... |
23 November 2009 |
| Treseburg Treseburg Treseburg is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Thale.- Geography :... |
1 July 2009 |
| Warnstedt | 21 December 2003 |
| Weddersleben Weddersleben Weddersleben is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, in the Harz area. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the town Thale.... |
1 January 2009 |
| Westerhausen Westerhausen Westerhausen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 September 2010, it is part of the town Thale.- Nature conservation :... |
1 September 2010 |
Area of the borough of Thale
| Date | Area |
|---|---|
| 21 December 2003 | 38.13 km2 |
| 1 January 2009 | 50.13 km2 |
| 1 July 2009 | 78.47 km2 |
| 23 November 2009 | 102.79 km2 |
| 1 September 2010 | 120.21 km2 |
| 1 January 2011 | 137.62 km2 |
Population growth
The growth of population (from 1995 censuses were taken every 31 December):
|
|
Town council
(according to the official result of the elections for the Thale town council on 7 June 2009; Voter participation: 42.88 %, Changes from the previous election in brackets)- CDU – 59.2 %, 17 seats (unchanged)
- Die Linke – 13.3 %, 4 seats (unchanged)
- FDP – 8.2 %, 2 seats (+1)
- SPD – 7.4 %, 2 seats (-1)
- GRÜNE Bürger Fraktion – 4.9 %, 3 seats (+3)
- Wählergruppen – 4.1 %, 1 seat (-1)
- Einzelbewerber – 2.9 %, 0 seats (-1)
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was approved on 11 July 1996 by the Magdeburg Regional Council (Regierungspräsidium).Partnerships
Since 1990 Thale has had a town partnership with SeesenSeesen
Seesen is a town and municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range, approx...
(Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
) on the northwest edge of the Harz and, since 1998, with the French town of Juvisy-sur-Orge
Juvisy-sur-Orge
Juvisy-sur-Orge is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Juvisy-sur-Orge are known as Juvisiens.-Geography:Neighboring communes:* Athis-Mons* Draveil* Savigny-sur-Orge* Viry-Châtillon...
, 18 km from Paris, as well as Tillabéri
Tillabéri
Tillabéri is a town in northwest Niger. It is situated 120 km northwest of the capital Niamey on the River Niger. It is an important market town and administrative center, it is capital of the department of Tillabéri and Tillabéri Region. The town had a population of over 16000 at the 2001 census...
in Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, northwest of the River Niger.
Culture and places of interest
Museums
- Wendhusen Abbey which specialises in the theme of "canoness chapters" (Kanonissenstifte)
- Thale Smelting Museum
- Walpurgis HallWalpurgis HallThe Walpurgis Hall is a hall on the Witches' Dance Floor near Thale in the Harz mountains, Germany, built in the Old Germanic style by Hermann Hendrich and Bernhard Sehring. The hall was opened in 1901 and is a museum today...
Buildings
- The former Wendhusen Abbey, dating to the Carolingian period
- The Hotel Zehnpfund, built in 1863 and once the biggest summer hotel in Germany
- St. Peter's Church, completed in 1906
- The Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart (Herz-Jesu-Kirche), completed in 1910 and 1911
- The prominent windmill in the village of Warnstedt
Other cultural sites
- HexentanzplatzHexentanzplatz (Harz)The Hexentanzplatz in the Harz mountains is a plateau , which lies high above the Bode Gorge, opposite the Rosstrappe in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.- History :...
("Witches' Dancefloor") - Harz Mountain Theatre, Thale
- Wildlife park (Tierpark)
- SommerrodelbahnSommerrodelbahnA Sommerrodelbahn is a form of dry toboggan run. Located on the side of a steep hill, it may consist of a track or rail upon which cars or carriages run downhill at high speed or simply a concave concrete trough down which participants slide on plastic 'toboggans'.An example of a Sommerrodelbahn...
- Bau-Spiel-Haus
- Funpark
- Central Theater (cinema)
- Homburg WatchtowerHomburg WatchtowerThe Homburg Watchtower is an observation tower on the site of a Germanic refuge castle near the Hexentanzplatz above the town of Thale in the Harz Mountains of central Germany.- Location :...
(Homburgswarte)
Natural monuments
- Bode GorgeBode GorgeThe Bode Gorge is a long, ravine that forms part of the Bode valley between Treseburg and Thale in the Harz Mountains of central Germany. The German term, Bodetal , is also used in a wider sense to refer to the valleys of the Warme and Kalte Bode rivers that feed the River Bode.At the Bode Gorge,...
- Thale is the gateway to the Bode Gorge which is overlooked by the HexentanzplatzHexentanzplatz (Harz)The Hexentanzplatz in the Harz mountains is a plateau , which lies high above the Bode Gorge, opposite the Rosstrappe in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.- History :...
("Witches' Dancefloor"), accessible on the Bode Gorge Gondola Lift, and the RoßtrappeRoßtrappeThe Roßtrappe is a 403 m high granite crag in the Harz mountains of central Germany.The Roßtrappe rises high over the Bode Gorge in the Harz. It may be reached from Thale by road, on foot or on a chair lift...
, to which a chair lift runs. At the Hexentanzplatz is a large open-air theatre and a zoo.
- TeufelsmauerTeufelsmauer (Harz)The Teufelsmauer is a rock formation made of hard sandstones of the Upper Cretaceous in the northern part of the Harz Foreland in central Germany. This wall of rock runs from Blankenburg via Weddersleben and Rieder to Ballenstedt. The most prominent individual rocks of the Teufelsmauer have their...
- near the villages of WedderslebenWedderslebenWeddersleben is a village and a former municipality in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, in the Harz area. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the town Thale....
and Warnstedt lies the Teufelsmauer, one of the oldest nature reserves in Germany.
- Harz Witches' Path - The Harz Witches' Path (Harzer Hexenstieg), a long-distance footpath, runs from Thale for just under 100 km across the Harz to OsterodeOsterode am HarzFor the town in East Prussia formerly called Osterode, see Ostróda.Osterode am Harz often simply called Osterode, is a town in south-eastern Niedersachsen on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It is the seat of government of the district of Osterode. The town is twinned with Scarborough,...
, passing various sights along the way including the Brocken, TorfhausTorfhausTorfhaus is a village in the borough of the mining town of Altenau in the Harz mountains of Germany and lies at a height of about .This small settlement consists mainly of restaurants, youth hostels, ski huts and large car parks. It is the highest settlement in Lower Saxony...
, Dammgraben and the Upper Harz PondsUpper Harz PondsThe Upper Harz Ponds are found mainly around the mining town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld and the nearby villages of Buntenbock and Hahnenklee in the Upper Harz mountains of central Germany. There are around 70 ponds in total, both large and small...
.
Population history
|
|
Media
Thale is the setting of Theodor FontaneTheodor Fontane
Theodor Fontane was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist writer.-Youth:Fontane was born in Neuruppin into a Huguenot family. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to an apothecary, his father's profession. He became an...
's novel Cécile. Fontane stayed in Thale a number of times between 1868 and 1884.
External links
- Official site for the City of Thale, with tourist info, etc