Gernrode
Gernrode is a town in
Germany, in the district (
Kreis) of
Quedlinburg in the state (
Bundesland) of
Saxony-Anhalt. The town was first mentioned in
961 and became a city (received
Stadtrecht) in
1539. 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, called 'Gernrode (Eichsfeld)' (this village is a part of '
Eichsfeld-Wipperaue)'.
Gernrode is also the seat of the
Verwaltungsgemeinschaft ("collective municipality") Gernrode/Harz, which consists of the following municipalities (population in 2005 between brackets):
*Bad Suderode (1.849)
*Friedrichsbrunn (1.057)
*Gernrode * (3.900)
*Rieder (1.998)
*Stecklenberg (653)
Margrave 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 I, the Great took under his special protection in
961. Gero brought back
relics 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.
|
The church of St. Cyriacus in Gernrode |
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
liquor 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 one thousandth year in
1961 and four hundred fiftieth as a city in
1989. It was part of
East Germany from
1949 until German Reunification in
1990. In
2001, clebrations to honor Otto I were held.
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 mountains. It is the starting point of the
Selketalbahn (or
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
Mädgesprung (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 antique diesel and more modern diesel locomotives. It is not just a tourist line, as freight cars and passenger cars make up the trains. Beginning in May
2005 and with an expected completion date in early
2006, this line will be extended to Quedlinburg, by rebuilding the normal 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.
*Gordon McLachlan,
Germany: The Rough Guide, Rough Guide, 1992.
*J.J.M. Timmers,
A Handbook of Romanesque Art, Harper and Row, 1976.
*
Homepage of the city of Gernrode*
General map of the region around Gernrode*
Chronicles on Gernrode (in German)*
Collegiate church of St. Cyriacus (in German)*
Friends of the Selketalbahn*
Elevation Profile of the Selketalbahn
