Editing Wittenberg (section)

==History==
{{Quote box |width=20em |align=left |bgcolor=GhostWhite
|title=Historical affiliations
|quote={{flagicon image|Coat of arms of Lower Saxony.svg}} [[Duchy of Saxony]] 1180–1296<br />
{{flagicon image|Coat of arms of Saxony.svg}} [[Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg]] 1296–1356<br />
{{flag|Electorate of Saxony}} 1356–1806<br />
{{flagicon image|State flag of Saxony before 1815.svg}} [[Kingdom of Saxony]] 1806–1815<br />
{{flag|Kingdom of Prussia|1803}} 1815–1871<br />
{{flag|German Empire}} 1871–1918<br />
{{flag|Weimar Republic}} 1918–1933<br />
{{flag|Nazi Germany}} 1933–1945<br />
{{flagicon|Allied-occupied Germany}} [[Soviet occupation zone]] 1945–1949<br />
{{flag|East Germany}} 1949–1990<br />
{{flag|Germany}} 1990–''present''
}}

{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| Part_of     = Luther Memorials in [[Eisleben]] and Wittenberg
| Includes    = [[Lutherhaus]], [[Melanchthonhaus (Wittenberg)|Melanchthonhaus]], [[Stadtkirche Wittenberg]] and [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg]]
| Image       = Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Denkmalensemble Markt.jpg
| Caption     = Market square with [[Stadtkirche Wittenberg]]
| Criteria    = Cultural: iv, vi
| ID          = 783
| Year        = 1996
}}
Historical documents first mention the settlement in 1180 as a small village founded by [[Flemish people|Flemish]] colonists under the rule of the [[House of Ascania]]. In 1260 this village became the residence of the dukes of [[Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg|Saxe-Wittenberg]], and in 1293 the settlement was granted its [[German town law|town charter]] as a free-standing town.

Wittenberg developed into an important trade centre during the following few centuries because of its central location. When the local branch of the Ascanians died out in 1422, control of Saxe-Wittenberg passed to the [[House of Wettin]]. The town became an important regional political and cultural centre at the end of the 15th century when [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony|Frederick III "the Wise", the Elector of Saxony]] from 1486 to 1525, made his residence in Wittenberg. Several parts of the boundaries of the town were extended soon afterwards. The second bridge over the [[Elbe River]] was built between 1487 and 1490 and the castle church (the ''Schlosskirche'' in German) was erected between 1496 and 1506. The Elector's palace was rebuilt at the same time.

In 1502 , Elector Frederick founded the [[University of Wittenberg]], which attracted some writers such as Luther, —a professor of theology beginning in 1508 — and Melanchthon (1497–1560) — a friend and disciple along with a theologian and professor of Greek starting a decade later in 1518.

On 31 October 1517, according to legend, Luther nailed his [[Ninety-five Theses|"95 Theses"]] against the selling of [[indulgence]]s to the huge wooden double-doors  front entrance (which longtime served as an informal bulletin board for the parish and local academic community) of the [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg|All Saints' Church / Castle Church]] – an event taken as marking the beginning of the [[Protestant]] [[Reformation]] and the start of a major branch of [[Western Christianity]] of [[Lutheranism|Evangelical Ltheranism]]. The more radical later Protestant group of the [[Anabaptist]] movement also had one of its earliest homes in Wittenberg, when the [[Zwickau prophets]] moved there in late 1521 only to be suppressed by upset and angry Luther when he returned from temporary hiding and exile at the remote hilltop  [[Wartburg|Wartburg Castle]] in the spring of 1522. There he had spent months of time, effort and research into translating the texts in the languages [[Ancient Hebrew writings|ancient Hebrew]], [[Ancient Greek]] and [[Latin]] and manuscripts of the  [[Old Testament]] and [[New Testament]] in the Bible into then common 16th century version of their German language so that the  Christian lay people could read the [[Luther Bible|Holy Scriptures in Luther's Bible]] in their own tongue.
[[File:Wittenberg-1536.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|left|Wittenberg, 1536]]
The [[Capitulation of Wittenberg]] (1547) is the name given to the treaty by which [[John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony|John Frederick the Magnanimous]] was compelled to resign the electoral dignity and most of his territory to the Albertine branch of the noble [[House of Wettin]].
[[File:Uni-WB-1644.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.5|University of Wittenberg in 1644]]
During the 18th century in 1760, during the [[Seven Years' War]] (1753 / 1756–1763,  the military forces of the [[Habsburg monarchy]] of the [[Austrian Empire]] bombarded the [[Kingdom of Prussia]]'s [[Royal Prussian Army]], which occupied the town. 

Warfare again touched Wittenberg by the [[First French Empire]] of neighboring France far to the west, took control in 1806, during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] (1803–1815) and [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] (1769–1821), (Emperor [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon I]] commanded the refortification of around the edges of town in 1813. The following year in 1814, the [[Prussian Army|Royal Prussian Army]] under [[Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien]] had returned now a half-century later, this time storming the outskirts of Wittenberg; he received the title of "von Wittenberg" as a battle reward. Following the fall and exile of Napoleon in 1814 and 1815, and as a result of the negotiations at the ensuing major European peace conference at the [[Congress of Vienna]], in the capital of [[Vienna]], Austria, Wittenberg and [[Saxony]] was transferred to became part of the [[Prussia|Kingdom of Prussia]] mostly further to the north and east, and administered within the [[Province of Saxony]]. Wittenberg continued to be a fortress and military post of the third class during the rest of the 19th century with the reorganisation of German defences until later dismantled two years after the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870–1871. That important Central Europe conflict resulting in the organization and proclamation of the [[German Empire]] in 1871, which endured under the rule of the [[German Emperor]] from the [[House of Hohenzollern]] in Berlin until the [[First World War]]

A prisoner-of-war camp outside of town from 1914 to 1918 was built and set up. A {{convert|10+1/2|acre|ha|adj=on}} camp was set up at Klein Wittenberg, {{convert|2|mi}} from the city. Eight compounds held 13,000 men of soldiers, sailors and pilots captured from the [[Allies of World War I|Allied armies]] of several opposing  enemy nations. During the [[typhus epidemic]] of 1914–1915, conditions were harsh. The camp medical officer, Dr. Aschenbach who supposedly did the best he could, was later awarded the Imperial German military decoration of the [[Iron Cross]] for his part in the epidemic. The award however was controversial and later questioned by the Allies, who won the conflict.
The use of dogs to attack P.O.W.'s was mentioned and criticised by the [[United States Ambassador to Germany]] from 1913 to 1917, [[James W. Gerard]].  His book of the era was later produced by the [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood motion pictures industry]] as a [[silent film]] "[[My Four Years in Germany]]", in 1918.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

Unlike many other historic German cities during [[World War II]], Wittenberg's town centre was spared destruction during the conflict. The [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] agreed not to bomb Wittenberg, though fighting took place in the town, with bullet pock-marks visible on the statues of Luther and Melanchthon in the market square – or so the popular version of the town's history goes. In actual fact the Luther statue was not even present in the town square during much of the war but in storage at Luther Brunnen, a roadhouse a few kilometres north of the town.
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R92213, Wittenberg, Marktplatz, Rathaus, Stadtkirche.jpg|thumb|right|Market square in 1949]]
Wittenberg's reputation as a town protected from Allied bombing is largely accurate. However, just outside Wittenberg the government had built the ''[[Arado Flugzeugwerke]]'' (the Arado Aircraft Factory), which produced components of airplanes for the [[Luftwaffe]]. This war factory was worked by Jews, Russians, Poles, [[political prisoner]]s and even a few Americans—all prisoners engaging in [[forced labour]], including POW's who were supposed to be exempt from this sort of labor. American and British planes bombed the factory near the end of the war, and in destroying it killed over one thousand of the prisoners and POW's placed by the Germans in this war plant. The 1995 publication of ''"...und morgen war Krieg!"'' by Renate Gruber-Lieblich<ref>
{{cite book
| last1                 = Gruber-Lieblich
| first1                = Renate
| title                 = "... und morgen war Krieg!": Arado Flugzeugwerke7 GmbH Wittenberg 1936–1945 ; ein KZ-Lager entsteht
| year = 1995
| url                   = https://books.google.com/books?id=jO4hAQAAIAAJ
| language              = de
| publisher             = R. Gruber-Lieblich
| publication-date      = 1995
| isbn                  = 9783866343122
| access-date            = 29 May 2016
}}
</ref>
attempts to document this tragic bombing outside Wittenberg.
In 1945, Wittenberg issued 19 of its own postage stamps, each depicting Hitler but with a large black round overprint covering his face. At the end of the war, [[Red Army|Soviet forces]] occupied Wittenberg; it became part of [[German Democratic Republic|East Germany]] in 1949. During the East German period, it formed part of [[Halle District]]. By means of the [[peaceful revolution]] in 1989, the communist régime dissolved and the town has been governed democratically since 1990.

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| image1            = Arsenal Shoppingcenter Wittenberg.jpg
| width1            = 260
| caption1          = Arsenal shopping centre, opened in 2012
| image2            = J41 376 Wittenberg, Collegienstraße und Melanchthonhaus.jpg
| width2            = 265
| caption2          = Restored houses in the city center, 2023
}}

Wittenberg is currently characterized by renovation and new construction work, an economic recovery and tourism development as a "place of pilgrimage for the Reformation". With the Luther Decade starting in 2008, the city began preparing for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, which took place in 2017. Numerous buildings have been restored, the infrastructure has been partially renewed and numerous new attractions have been created in the city (e.g. the new [[Lutherstadt Wittenberg Hauptbahnhof]], Arsenal shopping centre, Luthergarden or the Panometer).

In 2014 Lutherstadt Wittenberg was awarded the honorary title [[European City of the Reformation]] by the [[Community of Protestant Churches in Europe]].

=== Historical population ===
The figures are given for the metropolitan district at the point in time. Up to 1791 the figures are generally estimated, later figures are from census or local authorities.

[[File:Wittenberg Einwohner.svg|thumb|Historical population 1800 to 2015]]
{{historical populations
|cols=3|align=none|percentages=pagr
| 1500 | 2,000
| 1532 | 4,500
| 1791 | 4,860
| 1792 | 4,703
| 1793 | 4,662
| 1794 | 4,617
| 1814 | 4,727
| 1826 | 6,725
| 1834 | 8,107
| 1846 | 10,283
| 1875 | 12,479
| 1880 | 13,448
| 1885 | 13,836
| 1890 | 14,443
| 1895 | 16,479
| 1900 | 18,345
| 1905 | 20,331
| 1910 | 22,419
| 1925 | 24,160
| 1939 | 35,130
| 1946 | 41,304
| 1950 | 49,852
| 1964 | 46,828
| 1971 | 47,323
| 1981 | 53,874
| 1989 | 51,754
| 1990 | 49,682
| 1992 | 55,096
| 1995 | 53,207
| 2000 | 49,643
| 2005 | 47,805
| 2006 | 46,776
| 2007 | 45,615
| 2008 | 47,695
| 2009 | 50,113
| 2010 | 49,496
| 2011 | 49,076
| 2012 | 46,930
| 2013 | 46,729
}}
Source: 2012 census.