Saxony-Anhalt is situated in the middle of Germany and shares borders with Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. A total of 2.5 million people live on a land area of 20,445 square kilometres. Magdeburg is the state capital and the second-biggest city after Halle/Saale. Wolfgang Böhmer has been minister president since 2002; he heads a CDU/SPD coalition government since 2006.
www.sachsen-anhalt.de
Saxony-Anhalt has no real traditions in its present form, having only existed as a federal state from 1947 to 1952 before being split up in the course of major administrative reforms in the GDR. Not until German reunification in 1990 did Saxony-Anhalt reappear as one of the five new Länder. Yet the history of the Saxony-Anhalt region goes back to the very beginnings of German history. Emperor Otto I (936–973) is regarded as the first ruler to promote the Middle-Elbe region. He is buried at Magdeburg Cathedral.
Internationally, Saxony-Anhalt is primarily known for its chemical industry in the triangular region of Halle/Saale, Merseburg and Bitterfeld. Since reunification it has attracted more foreign direct investment than any other of the new Länder. Today, Total refines crude oil in Leuna, Dow Chemical produces plastics in Schkopau, Enercon builds wind turbines in Rothensee near Magdeburg, and Mifa makes branded bicycles in Sangerhausen.
www.wisa.de
Saxony-Anhalt has a 500-year-old institution in the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg, founded in 1993, is Germany’s youngest university. The Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle has a nationwide reputation. The core of research activities is formed by five Leibniz institutes, three Max Planck institutes, two Fraunhofer institutes and the Leipzig-Halle Environmental Research Centre.
Saxony-Anhalt has more UNESCO World Heritage Sites per square kilometre than any other state in Germany. They include the Bauhaus in Dessau, the Luther cities of Wittenberg and Eisleben, Quedlinburg’s old town and the Wörlitz Garden Kingdom. The Romantic Road with its castles, palaces, churches, monasteries and cathedrals offers visitors a time journey back to the Middle Ages. The region’s most famous son is the reformer Martin Luther.
