Bad Dürrenberg

Bad Dürrenberg
Bad Dürrenberg
Town
	Train station
	Coat of arms
	Location of Bad Dürrenberg within Saalekreis district
	Bad Dürrenberg Bad Dürrenberg
	Coordinates: 51°17′N 12°4′E / 51.283°N 12.067°E
Country	Germany
State	Saxony-Anhalt
District	Saalekreis
Government
• Mayor	Christoph Schulze (CDU)
Area
• Total	36.13 km2 (13.95 sq mi)
Elevation	104 m (341 ft)
Population (2022-12-31)
• Total	11,752
• Density	330/km2 (840/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	06231
Dialling codes	03462
Vehicle registration	SK
Website	www.stadt-bad-duerrenberg.de

Bad Dürrenberg is a spa town in the Saalekreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 8 km southeast of Merseburg. It is known for its graduation tower, the largest one in Germany.

Geography

The town of Bad Dürrenberg is located on the river Saale between the cities of Leipzig, Merseburg and Weißenfels. In the south of the town, the Ellerbach flows into the right side of the Saale.

Neighboring districts

The neighboring districts are Leuna to the north, Markranstädt in (Leipzig district) to the east, Lützen (Burgenlandkreis) to the south and, to the west, Weißenfels (Burgenlandkreis).

Town and hinterland

The following table shows the population of the town itself and those of the surrounding villages which were formerly in the Bad Dürrenberg administrative area but are now (since 2010) officially part of the town.

Town	Population	Areas
Bad Dürrenberg	10,805	Bad Dürrenberg, Balditz, Goddula, Keuschberg, Kirchfährendorf, Lennewitz, Ostrau and Vesta
Nempitz	293	Nempitz
Oebles-Schlechtewitz	209	Oebles-Schlechtewitz
Tollwitz	1,175	Ellerbach, Kauern, Ragwitz, Teuditz, Tollwitz and Zöllschen

Events and Festivals

Each year on the last weekend of June the town has a festival held over a period of three days, which is known as Brunnenfest (Well Celebration).

Population development

Historical population (from 1995 as of 31 December). Values since 2010 also include neighboring villages which were annexed by the town.

Year	Inhabitants
1990	13,008¹
1995	12,214
2000	11,902
2005	11,391
2006	11,287
2012	11,844

¹ 3 October

Mayors

Kurt Eckart (SPD), May–June 1945
Karl Herfurth (KPD), July 1945 – 1946
Paul Drese (SED), 1946-1947
Fritz Singer, 1948-1952
Kurt Boose, from 1951 (deputy)
Gerry Chisel (SED), from 1952 acting / Edmund Jatz
Martha Wessler (SED), 1953-1976
Liselotte Wehowski (SED), 1976-1986
Frank Klappach (SED), 1986-1988
Karin Zeisler (SED), 1988-1990
Thomas Heilmann (CDU), 1990-2001
Jürgen Elste (FDP), 2001-2008
Árpád Nemes (CDU), 2008-2015
Christoph Schulze (CDU), since 2015

Personality

Sons and daughters of the town

Ibrahim Böhme (1944–1999), politician
Lars-Broder Keil (born 1963), journalist and author
Andreas Ihle (born 1979), world champion and Olympic champion in canoe racing

Those associated with the town

Novalis (1772–1801), early Romantics, philosopher and lawyer
Johann Trommsdorff (1770–1837), pharmacist and chemist
Karl von Fritsch (1838–1906), a paleontologist and geologist, president of the Leopoldina
Ernst Fraenkel (political scientist) (1898–1975), political scientist and lawyer
Karin Haftenberger, (born 1948), canoeist, competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics