Naumburg

History

The first written record of Naumburg dates from 1012, when it was mentioned as the new castle of the Ekkehardinger, the Margrave of Meissen. It was founded at the crossing of two trade-routes. The successful foundation not long beforehand of a Propstei Church on the site of the later Naumburg Cathedral was mentioned in the Merseburg Bishops' Chronicles in 1021. In 1028 Pope John XIX gave his approval for the transfer of the bishopric from Zeitz to Naumburg. Until 1568, during the Reformation, Naumburg was the seat of the bishops. The last Catholic bishop was Julius von Pflug. The foundation of the cathedral school is dated to 1030. Naumburg has been known as a town since 1144.

Naumburg was a significant trading centre on the Via Regia in the Middle Ages, especially because of the Naumburg Trade Fairs, first known to have taken place in 1278. The emergence of Leipzig as a trade-fair centre from 1500 and the Thirty Years' War adversely affected the Naumburg economy.

The ecclesiastical domain was secularised in middle of the 16th century and transferred to the Dukes of Saxony, who administered the district through a government endowment (Stiftsregierung) and later provided administrators.

After the fraternal agreement between the four brothers of John George I, Elector of Saxony, in 1657 the Naumburg district came into the possession of the secondogeniture of Saxe-Zeitz, which was inherited by Moritz, the youngest of the brothers.

Before the Moritzburg castle was built in nearby Zeitz, the city castle in Naumburg served as the residence of this line. This period came to an end with the death of the last Protestant representative of the Saxe-Zeitz line in the year 1718. The Naumburg district reverted to the Dukes of Saxony in Dresden and became fully integrated into Albertine Saxony. However, it remained until 1815 the seat of its own administrative authority (Consistory of the district of Naumburg-Zeitz). After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Naumburg was ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia, becoming part of the Province of Saxony. It gained control over the cathedral and its close in 1832.

In 1846 the city was connected to the rail line from Halle to Erfurt, in 1889 to Artern and eventually in 1900 to Teuchern. On 15 September 1892 a steam tramway opened in Naumburg. From 2 January 1907 the Naumburg tramway was electrified.

Although industry was only weakly developed, a socialist club was founded in 1848. During the 1920 Kapp Putsch five workers were killed. The establishment of the local Communist Party followed in December 1920. Under the German Democratic Republic Naumburg was a centre of mechanical engineering, pharmaceuticals, metal-working and footwear manufacture. It was also a garrison town for the Soviet Air Force. Unofficial estimates are that the number of Soviet military personnel approximately equalled that of the local population. The fall of communism in 1989 was accompanied by demonstrations and gatherings in the churches of the city.

Location

Naumburg is approximately 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Leipzig, 50 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Halle, and 40 km (25 mi) north-northeast of Jena. It is located on the Saale River.

Climate

Naumburg has an oceanic climate with warm summers and cool winters.

Demographics

Population levels:

1: 29. October
2: 31. August
3: 30. June

Lord Mayor

Bernward Küpper (CDU) was elected for Lord Mayor in April 2007. He was reelected in May 2014 with 53,95% of the votes.

Economy

Local industries include the manufacture of foodstuffs, textiles, machinery and toys. Naumburg is in a wine-growing region, with numerous vineyards in the surrounding area.

Naumburg Cathedral

The most important architectural landmark of the city is St. Peter and Paul's Cathedral (known in German as the Naumburger Dom), a late Romanesque and Gothic Cathedral, built between the 13th and 15th centuries.

The early Gothic western rood screen was built in 1250. The eastern screen was added in the high Gothic style in the first half of the 14th century. The Romanesque crypt under the east gallery was established around 1170 and was part of an earlier building. Both of the towers at the east end of the church are octagonal and have Baroque canopies. The south-western spire was completed only in 1884; both western spires are closely modelled on the spires of the cathedrals of Laon and Bamberg. The pulpit dates from 1466.

Its interior includes windows from the Middle Ages, as well as the famous 13th-century statues of the founders of the cathedral, Margrave Ekkehard and his wife Uta, along with other local nobles.

The western tower has been open to the public since Easter 2007, after having long been closed for renovations.

Others

Some parts of the medieval city fortifications survive, including one of the old city gates, the Marientor.

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche spent his childhood and his later years in Naumburg in the home of his mother's family. The house, known as the Nietzsche-Haus, is now a museum.

Sports

SC Naumburg was a former football club in the city from September 1899 to 1908.

Hussite Cherry Festival

Every year on the last weekend in June, when the cherries are ripe, the city of Naumburg celebrates the Hussite Cherry Festival. This festival has a long tradition and dates back to at least the 16th century. Since the 17th century the celebrations have been connected with the legendary siege of Naumburg by the Hussites in 1432. A teacher is said to have led his pupils outside the gates of the beleaguered city to beg the Hussite commander Andreas Prokop for mercy. The latter granted their request and gave the children cherries. The legend is commemorated in the song "Die Hussiten zogen vor Naumburg" (The Hussites marched on Naumburg) written by Karl Friedrich Seyferth in 1832.

Education

In Naumburg existed two grammar schools, the Domgymnasium and the Lepsiusgymnasium. After the fusion of both and the migration from the school site Seminarstraße in the year 2007, the grammar school as Domgymnasium is now housed in the buildings of the former Lepsiusgymnasium. Since the incorporation of Bad Kösens, the town has with Pforta a second grammar school again.

Between 1948 and 1993 in Naumburg existed an ecclesiastical university with the name Katechistisches Oberseminar (Catechetical advanced seminar), where theology, philosophy, religious education and for a while religious law was taught. At the same time an ecclesiastical proseminar existed. Here pupils, who were refused the Abitur at public schools during the SED regiment, were able to catch up an ecclesiastical graduation.

Notable people