Editing Merseburg (section)

===17th century to 20th century===
From 1657 to 1738 Merseburg was the residence of the Dukes of [[Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg|Saxe-Merseburg]], after which it fell to the [[Electorate of Saxony]]. In 1815 following the [[Napoleonic Wars]], the town became part of the [[Prussia]]n [[Province of Saxony]].

Merseburg is where the [[Merseburg Incantations]] were rediscovered in 1841. Written down in [[Old High German]], they are hitherto the only preserved German documents with a heathen theme. One of them is a charm to release warriors caught during battle, and the other is a charm to heal a horse's sprained foot.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Merseburg was transformed into an industrial town, largely due to the pioneering work done by [[Carl Bosch]] and [[Friedrich Bergius]], who laid down the scientific fundamentals of the catalytic high-pressure [[ammonia]] synthesis from 1909 to 1913. The nearby [[Leuna works]] continue this tradition of chemical industry.<ref>{{cite web |title=InfraLeuna Producers |url=http://www.infraleuna.de/en/companies-on-site/producers/ |website=infraleuna.de/ |publisher=InfraLeuna GmbH |access-date=15 May 2020}}</ref> The ''Merseburger Tageblatt'' was published as a local newspaper in Merseburg.

Merseburg was badly damaged in [[World War II]]. In 23 air raids, 6,200 dwellings were completely or partly destroyed.<ref>Eckardt Götz (1980) ''Schicksale deutscher Baudenkmale im zweiten Weltkrieg, Band 2'', p. 332, Henschelverlag, Berlin</ref> The historic town centre was almost completely destroyed.

Briefly part of [[Saxony-Anhalt]] after the war, it was then administered within the [[Bezirk Halle|''Bezirk'' Halle]] in [[East Germany]]. It became part of Saxony-Anhalt again after the [[reunification of Germany]].