Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ; ) is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of

and has a population of about 2.14 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area and the 11th-largest by population. Its capital is Magdeburg.

The state of Saxony-Anhalt was formed in July 1945 after World War II, when the Soviet army administration in Allied-occupied Germany formed it from the former Prussian Province of Saxony and the Free State of Anhalt. Saxony-Anhalt became part of the German Democratic Republic in 1949, but was dissolved in 1952 during administrative reforms and its territory was divided into the districts of Halle and Magdeburg. Following German reunification, the state of Saxony-Anhalt was re-established in 1990 and became one of the new states of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Saxony-Anhalt has the highest concentration of UNESCO World Heritage sites in Germany, for example Bauhaus sites in Dessau, the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, and the Nebra sky disc.

Geography

Saxony-Anhalt is one of 16 constituent states of Germany. It is located in the western part of eastern Germany. By size, it is the 8th largest state in Germany and by population, it is the 11th largest.

It borders four other states: Brandenburg to the north-east, Saxony to the south-east, Thuringia to the south-west and Lower Saxony to the north-west.

In the north, the Saxony-Anhalt landscape is dominated by the flat expanse of the North German Plain. The old Hanseatic towns Salzwedel, Gardelegen, Stendal and Tangermünde are located in the sparsely populated Altmark. The Colbitz-Letzlingen Heath and the Drömling near Wolfsburg mark the transition between the Altmark region and the Elbe-Börde-Heath region with its fertile, sparsely wooded Magdeburg Börde. Notable towns in the Magdeburg Börde are Haldensleben, Oschersleben (Bode), Wanzleben, Schönebeck (Elbe), Aschersleben and the capital Magdeburg, from which the Börde derives its name.

The Harz mountains are located in the south-west, comprising the Harz National Park, the Harz Foreland and Mansfeld Land. The highest mountain of the Harz (and of Northern Germany) is Brocken, with an elevation of 1,141 meters (3,735 ft). In this area, one can find the towns of Halberstadt, Wernigerode, Thale, Eisleben and Quedlinburg.

The wine-growing area Saale-Unstrut and the towns of Zeitz, Naumburg (Saale), Weißenfels and Freyburg (Unstrut) are located on the rivers Saale and Unstrut in the south of the state.

The metropolitan area of Halle (Saale) forms an agglomeration with Leipzig in Saxony. This area is known for its highly developed chemical industry (the Chemiedreieck – chemical triangle), with major production plants at Leuna, Schkopau (Buna-Werke) and Bitterfeld. Finally, in the east, Dessau-Roßlau and Wittenberg are situated on the Elbe (as is the capital Magdeburg) in the Anhalt-Wittenberg region.

==Administrative subdivisions==

thumb|Aerial view to the city centre of [[Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt's capital city]]

thumb|Saxony-Anhalt's second most populous city, [[Halle (Saale), is the seat of the state's largest university]]

thumb|[[Wittenberg was once one of the most important cities in Germany, especially for its close connection with Martin Luther]]

The capital and largest city of Saxony-Anhalt is Magdeburg. The second-largest city in the state is Halle (Saale). From 1994 to 2003, the state was divided into three regions (), Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg and, below the regional level, 21 districts (Landkreise). Since 2004, however, this system has been replaced by 11 rural districts and three urban districts.

300px|Map of Saxony-Anhalt showing the current district boundaries.

The districts are:

Altmarkkreis Salzwedel
Anhalt-Bitterfeld
Börde
Burgenlandkreis
Harz
Jerichower Land
Mansfeld-Südharz
Saalekreis
Salzlandkreis
Stendal
Wittenberg

The independent cities are:

Dessau-Roßlau
Halle (Saale)
Magdeburg

Largest towns

The largest towns in Saxony-Anhalt as of 30 June 2022:) with the Province of Saxony. The previously Saxon Erfurt governorate had become a part of Thuringia.

Anhalt takes its name from Anhalt Castle near Harzgerode; the origin of the name of the castle remains unknown. Anhalt was once an independent German federal state dating back centuries.

The SVAG appointed Hübener as president of the provincial Saxon administration, a newly created function. The administration was seated in Halle an der Saale, which became the capital, also of later Saxony-Anhalt until 1952. On 3 September 1945 the new administration enacted by Soviet-inspired ordinance the mass expropriations, mostly hitting holders of large real estates, often of noble descent.

On the occasion of the first (and one and only) election in the Soviet zone, allowing parties truly to compete for seats in provincial and state parliaments, on 20 October 1946, the Province of Saxony was renamed as the Province of Saxony-Anhalt ('), taking the prior merger into account.

Demographics

Since German reunification, there has been a continuous downward trend in the population of Saxony-Anhalt. This is partly due to outward migration and partly because the death rate exceeds the birth rate. Although the birth rate has been steady since 1994, the net reproduction rate is only approximately 70%. However, the total fertility rate reached 1.50 in 2014, the highest value since 1990.

Religion

The region has historically been associated with the Lutheran faith, but under Communist rule, church membership was strongly discouraged and much of the population disassociated itself from any religious body. Saxony-Anhalt contains many sites tied to Martin Luther's life, including Lutherstadt Eisleben and Lutherstadt Wittenberg.

In 2018, the majority of citizens in Saxony-Anhalt were irreligious and more were leaving the churches than entering them – in fact, Saxony-Anhalt is the most irreligious state in Germany. Of the Saxon-Anhaltish, 15.2% adhered to the major denominations of Christianity (11.9% were members of the Protestant Church in Germany and 3.3% were Catholics), 2% were members of other religions

The largest foreign resident groups by 31 December 2022 were:

{| class="wikitable"

! Nationality || Population (31 December 2022) || Population (31 December 2023)

|||34,678 || 33,760

|||21,240 || 28,805

|||13,257 || 14,155

|||8,243 || 10,910

|||7,045 || 8,875

|||4,720 || 5,925

|||4,285 || 5,800

|||5,085 || 5,000

|||4,650 || 4,960

|||8,754 || 4,680

Politics

List of minister presidents

Ministry of Finance

Landtag

2021 state election

Minister-president Reiner Haseloff (CDU) retained his position in a coalition with former partner SPD and newly the FDP. Before the election the coalition had consisted of the CDU, SPD and Greens.

Economy

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 62.7 billion euros in 2018, which accounts for 1.9% of Germany's total economic output and ranks 13th among the 16 German states. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 26,000 euros or 86% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 88% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the second lowest of all German states.

By 2020, the GDP of the state dropped to 62.654 billion euros, shortly after reaching an all-time high of 64.115 billion euros in 2019.

Development

Saxony-Anhalt was part of the communist German Democratic Republic. After the breakdown of communism and the German reunification in 1990, the collapse of non-competitive former GDR industries temporarily caused severe economic problems. In 2000, Saxony-Anhalt had the highest unemployment rate of all German states, at 20.2%.

However, the process of economic transformation towards a modern market economy seems to be completed. Massive investments in modern infrastructure have taken place since 1990, and the remaining and newly created businesses are highly competitive. For example, the industry has doubled its share of international revenue from 13 percent in 1995 to 26 percent in 2008. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has fallen considerably. By 2010 the GDP of Saxony-Anhalt was almost two and a half times higher than it was in 1991.

Even though part of this recovery was brought on by the positive performance of the German economy, Saxony-Anhalt not only followed the national trend, but clearly outperformed other German states. For example, it outperformed three German states in terms of unemployment (10.8%, as of September 2011): the German capital and city-state of Berlin (12.7%), the city-state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (11.3%) and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (11%).

The unemployment began to fall under 10% in 2016, and stood at 7.1% in October 2018. It has since risen to 8.3% in 2026, 2 percentage points above the national average.

{| class="wikitable"

!Year

!2000

!2001

!2002

!2003

!2004

!2005

!2006

!2007

!2008

!2009

!2010

!2011

!2012

!2013

!2014

!2015

!2016

!2017

|Unemployment rate in %

|20.2

|19.7

|19.6

|20.5

|20.3

|20.2

|18.3

|15.9

|13.9

|13.6

|12.5

|11.6

|11.5

|11.2

|10.7

|10.2

|9.6

|8.4

Structure

The chemical industry is quite important, with almost 25,500 employees across 214 plants in 2010. One of the biggest chemical producing areas can be found around the city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. Because of the chemical industry, Saxony-Anhalt attracts more foreign direct investments than any other state in eastern Germany.
The state is the location of numerous wind farms producing wind-turbine energy.
Saxony-Anhalt is also famous for its good soil. Hence, the food industry has an important role with almost 19,500 employees across 190 plants in 2010.

File:Quedlinburg asv2018-10 img03 Castle.jpg|Collegiate church, castle, and the old town of Quedlinburg

File:Wittenberg,Luthers Hochzeit.jpg|Luther memorials in Wittenberg

File:Lutherstadt Eisleben Markt.jpg|Luther memorials in Eisleben

File:Dessau Bauhaus-Gebäude asv2024-06 img1.jpg|Bauhaus Dessau

File:WörlitzAmaliengrotte.JPG|Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm

File:Naumburger Dom 3.jpg|Naumburg Cathedral

</gallery>

Transport

There are some bicycle routes with international and national Status.

Eurovelo
EV2 The Capitals Route
EV7 The Sun Route
EV13 The Iron Curtain Trail
German Cycling Network
D10 Elbe Cycle Route (Elberadweg)
D11 Baltic Sea to Upper Bavaria Route (Ostsee–Oberbayern)
Radweg Deutsche Einheit (cycleway german unity)

The region's international commercial airport is Leipzig/Halle Airport which provides flights to other parts of Germany and other European destinations. The airport also serves as the main European hub for cargo flights operated by DHL Aviation and the main hub for AeroLogic.

Education

thumb|right|Aerial view of the main campus in Magdeburg

Saxony-Anhalt has several universities, including:

Anhalt University of Applied Sciences
Harz University of Applied Studies
Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg
Merseburg University of Applied Sciences
Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg