Quedlinburg
The city of Quedlinburg in the German Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt has existed since at least the early ninth century, when a settlement known as Gross Orden existed at the site of the modern Quedlinburg. As such the city first appears in 922, as part of a donation by Henry I the Fowler. The records of this donation were collected at the abbey of Corvey.After Henry's death 936, members of many leading families settled in Quedlinburg and a women's convent was established there, where daughters of the higher nobility received educations. The main task of this convent was to pray for the memory for king Henry.
The Quedlinburg castle complex, founded by Otto I the Great in 936, was an imperial seat of the Saxon emperors. The emperors seat was in the valley, while the convent was placed on the castle hill.
In 961 and 963 a men's convent for canonicens was established on the place south to the castle hill. Still remains the church of St. Wicbert on this place.
In 972 a Reichstag (Imperial Convention) was held at the court of emperor Otto I the Great where many nobles, including Mieszko, duke of Poland and Boleslav, duke of Bohemia, gathered to pay homage to the emperor.
In 994 Otto III gives the right of marked, tax and coining and established north from the castle hill the first marked place. Between this upcoming town and the women's convent the next centuries were a competition about the power in the area. In 1477 the leaderness of that convent so called "Aebtissin" fought against the town and was winning.
After the 1945 take-over by the communists many buildings deteriorated. The suppression of former history before communism was somewhat slowed down and inhabitants started conservation and restoration measures. A good number of historical buildings and timbered houses (Fachwerkbauten) were declared National Monuments and are listed with the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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