Ilsenburg
Encyclopedia
Ilsenburg is a town
in the district of Harz
, in Saxony-Anhalt
in Germany
. It is situated under the north foot of the Harz
Mountains, at the entrance to the Ilsetal valley of the small Ilse river, a tributary
of the Oker
, about six 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of the town of Wernigerode
. It received town privileges
in 1959. Owing to its surrounding of forest
s and mountain
s as well as its position on the edge of the Harz National Park
, Ilsenburg is a popular tourist resort
.
resided in Elysynaburg, which Henry II
bestowed in 1003 upon the Bishop of Halberstadt
, who converted it into a Benedictine
monastery. The school attached to it enjoyed a great reputation towards the end of the 11th century. The abbey
was finally devastated during the German Peasants' War
in 1525.
After the Reformation
the castle passed to the counts of Wernigerode, who restored it and made it their residence until 1710. Higher still, on the edge of the plateau rises the Ilsenstein, a granite peak standing about 500 ft (152.4 m) above the valley, crowned by an iron cross erected by Count Anton von Stolberg-Wernigerode
in memory of his friends who fell in the Napoleonic Wars
of 1813-1815. Around this rock cluster numerous legends.
federal highway leading from Goslar
and the Bundesautobahn 395
to Halle
and the Bundesautobahn 14
.
At the Ilsenburg train station
rail transport
is available to Vienenburg
and Hanover
as well as to Halle
and Berlin
by Regional-Express trains of the Deutsche Bahn
and trains of Veolia
.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
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:...
, 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 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 under the north foot of 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, at the entrance to the Ilsetal valley of the small Ilse river, a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Oker
Oker
The Oker is a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, that has historically formed an important political boundary. It is a left tributary of the River Aller, in length and runs in a generally northerly direction.- Course :...
, about six 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of the town of Wernigerode
Wernigerode
Wernigerode is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,500 in 1999....
. It received town privileges
Town privileges
Town privileges or city rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium.Judicially, a town was distinguished from the surrounding land by means of a charter from the ruling monarch that defined its privileges and laws. Common privileges were related to trading...
in 1959. Owing to its surrounding of forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s and mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s as well as its position on the edge of the Harz National Park
Harz National Park
The Harz National Park is a nature reserve in the German federal states of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It comprises large portions of the western Harz mountain range, extending from Herzberg and Bad Lauterberg at the southern edge to Bad Harzburg and Ilsenburg on the northern slopes...
, Ilsenburg is a popular tourist resort
Resort town
A resort town, sometimes called a resort city or resort destination, is a town or area where tourism or vacationing is a primary component of the local culture and economy...
.
History
The old castle, Schloss Ilsenburg, lying on a high crag above the town, was originally an imperial stronghold and probably built by King Henry I. In 995 Emperor Otto IIIOtto III, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...
resided in Elysynaburg, which Henry II
Henry II, Duke of Bavaria
Henry II , called the Wrangler or the Quarrelsome, in German Heinrich der Zänker, was the son of Henry I and Judith of Bavaria.- Biography :...
bestowed in 1003 upon the Bishop of Halberstadt
Bishopric of Halberstadt
The Bishopric of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese from 804 until 1648 and an ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire from the late Middle Ages...
, who converted it into a Benedictine
Order of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
monastery. The school attached to it enjoyed a great reputation towards the end of the 11th century. The abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
was finally devastated during the German Peasants' War
German 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...
in 1525.
After the 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...
the castle passed to the counts of Wernigerode, who restored it and made it their residence until 1710. Higher still, on the edge of the plateau rises the Ilsenstein, a granite peak standing about 500 ft (152.4 m) above the valley, crowned by an iron cross erected by Count Anton von Stolberg-Wernigerode
Stolberg-Wernigerode
The Principality of Stolberg-Wernigerode was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz region around Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.-History:...
in memory of his friends who fell in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
of 1813-1815. Around this rock cluster numerous legends.
Places of interest
- Ilsenburg AbbeyIlsenburg AbbeyIlsenburg Abbey was a monastery of the Benedictine Order located at Ilsenburg near Wernigerode, in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany....
- Ilsenburg HouseIlsenburg HouseIlsenburg House stands in the town of Ilsenburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and was given its present appearance in the 2nd half of the 19th century. The structure was built from 1860 onwards on the west and north sides of the Romanesque monastery of Ilsenburg Abbey...
- Ilse Valley and Princess IlsePrincess IlsePrincess Ilse is a character of German folklore, made famous by Marie Petersen in 1850. While riding to the chase with her father King Ilsing, she lost the way and came at nightfall to the gates of the fairy world, ruled by the fairy queen. The queen met her kindly and invited to the crystal...
- Ilsestein
- FroschfelsenFroschfelsenThe Froschfelsen is a natural monument near Ilsenburg in the northern Harz in central Germany. It is a formation of granite rocks that take the shape of a frog, hence the name....
- Market place and chemist's
- Krug Bridge over the Ilse
- former Ilsenburg Factory, today used as a residence
Transportation
Ilsenburg has access to the Bundesstraße 6Bundesstraße 6
The Bundesstraße 6 runs from the North Sea coast in a southeasterly direction through the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony to the Polish border.- History :...
federal highway leading from Goslar
Goslar
Goslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-Geography:Goslar is situated at the...
and the Bundesautobahn 395
Bundesautobahn 395
is an autobahn in Germany.The A 395 begins at an interchange with the A 39 and B 248 south of Brunswick . From there, the road heads in a general southerly direction, bypassing Wolfenbüttel, Schladen and other, smaller towns....
to Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
and the Bundesautobahn 14
Bundesautobahn 14
is an autobahn in eastern Germany.Currently, the route comprises two disconnected sections:* The old A 241. A North-South route in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern which runs from Wismar to Schwerin....
.
At the Ilsenburg train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
rail transport
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
is available to Vienenburg
Vienenburg
Vienenburg is a town in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the north of the Harz mountain range on the river Oker, approx. northeast of Goslar...
and Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
as well as to Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
and 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...
by Regional-Express trains of 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...
and trains of Veolia
Veolia Verkehr
Veolia Verkehr GmbH is a private operator of passenger buses and trains in Germany. On April 3, 2006, Connex Verkehr GmbH was renamed Veolia Verkehr GmbH, but the sister companies kept their current names....
.