Naumburg

History

The first written record of Naumburg dates from 1012, when it was mentioned as the new castle of the Ekkehardinger, the Margrave of Meissen. It was founded at the crossing of two trade-routes, Via Regia and the Regensburg Road. The successful foundation not long beforehand of a Propstei Church on the site of the later Naumburg Cathedral was mentioned in the Merseburg Bishops' Chronicles in 1021. In 1028 Pope John XIX gave his approval for the transfer of the bishopric from Zeitz to Naumburg. Until 1568, during the Reformation, Naumburg was the seat of the bishops. The last Catholic bishop was Julius von Pflug. The foundation of the cathedral school is dated to 1030. Naumburg has been known as a town since 1144.

Naumburg was a significant trading centre on the Via Regia in the Middle Ages, especially because of the Naumburg Trade Fairs, first known to have taken place in 1278. The emergence of Leipzig as a trade-fair centre from 1500 and the Thirty Years' War adversely affected the Naumburg economy.

In 1561, the Naumburg Diet recognized the unaltered Augsburg Confession and is recognized as part of the pre-history of the Book of Concord. The ecclesiastical domain was secularised in middle of the 16th century and transferred to the Dukes of Saxony, who administered the district through a government endowment (Stiftsregierung) and later provided administrators. After the fraternal agreement between the four brothers of John George I, Elector of Saxony, in 1657 the Naumburg district came into the possession of the secondogeniture of Saxe-Zeitz, which was inherited by Moritz, the youngest of the brothers.

Before the Moritzburg castle was built in nearby Zeitz, the city castle in Naumburg served as the residence of this line. This period came to an end with the death of the last Protestant representative of the Saxe-Zeitz line in the year 1718. The Naumburg district reverted to the Dukes of Saxony in Dresden and became fully integrated into Albertine Saxony. However, it remained until 1815 the seat of its own administrative authority (Consistory of the district of Naumburg-Zeitz). After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Naumburg was ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia, becoming part of the Province of Saxony. It gained control over the cathedral and its close in 1832.

In 1846 the city was connected to the rail line from Halle to Erfurt, in 1889 to Artern and eventually in 1900 to Teuchern. On 15 September 1892 a steam tramway opened in Naumburg. From 2 January 1907 the Naumburg tramway was electrified.

Geography

Location

Naumburg lies in the south of Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the Unstrut and the Saale near the border with Thuringia, approximately 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Leipzig, 50 km (31 mi) south-southwest of Halle, and 40 km (25 mi) north-northeast of Jena.

To the town itself belong the quarters of Almrich (formerly Altenburg), Grochlitz, Henne and Weinberge. In addition, the borough of Naumburg consists of the following villages:

Climate

Naumburg has a mild climate with warm summers and cool winters that is relatively dry for German standards.

Demographics

Population levels:

1: 29. October

2: 31. August

3: 30. June

Attractions

Naumburg Cathedral

Naumburg Cathedral is a UNESCO world heritage site. The cathedral is composed of a Romanesque core structure flanked by two Gothic choirs in the east and in the west. Naumburg Cathedral was one of the large double-choir cathedrals built in the transitional style between Late Romanesque and Early Gothic. The four towers form part of the Romanesque structure of the cathedral, even though parts of the upper floors and domes date from more recent style periods. The cathedral is a vaulted, cruciform basilica in a bound system with a segregated crossing.

The Late Romanesque structure of Naumburg Cathedral replaced the first, Early Romanesque cathedral, which had been consecrated around 1042. The new construction was initiated in 1242 under the patronage of the Princes of the Apostles – Peter and Paul.

Naumburg Masters

The workshop organization of sculptors and stonemasons, the Naumburg Master innovated architecture and sculpture of the Hohenstaufen period of the 13th century that were particularly developed at the cathedral in Reims.

No written sources about the chief sculptor-architect of this workshop who was named after his main work in Naumburg. However, there is a general consensus with regard to the itinerary of the building workshop from Mainz via Naumburg to Meissen. An assumption relying on the analysis of historic sources is based on the idea that the milestones of his creative work are marked by the completion of the choir screen in Mainz in 1239, the west choir in Naumburg in 1249/50 and the work of the building workshop in Meissen from 1250 up until prior to 1268.

Next to the plant ornaments, based on the thorough observation of nature and found in all three places, and next to the many matching architectural details, identical stonemason's marks recently found in Iben, Naumburg and Meissen support the evidence. The migration of the building workshop of the Naumburg Master, from Northern France over the Middle Rhine area up to the eastern boundaries of the German Empire and further on to southwestern Europe, reflects the extensive European cultural exchange during the High Middle Ages.

Choir screens

Old Town of Naumburg

The layout of both the bishop's district and the old town, still intact to this day, were both created between the 11th and 13th centuries. They feature a number of high medieval monuments like the cathedral itself, the romanic residential tower next to the cathedral, the early gothic residential tower at the market square as well as the city wall.

Naumburg, a bishop's seat and an important market place, was founded at the beginning of the 11th century. It was first mentioned in the records in the year 1012.

Some settlements already existed in the immediate neighbourhood of the newly founded town, as evidenced by pottery found at Domberg Hill, in the Othmarsviertel and in the western part of today's town. There are no traces of the former Slav fortress of Wethau, which only survives in the name of the municipality of Wethau, where it is assumed to have been located.

The early development of the town of Naumburg is closely connected with the Ekkehardine dynasty, Emperor Conrad II and Bishop Hildeward of Zeitz, who transferred the family seat from Kleinjena to their own estate at the new castle in Naumburg (Nuenburch) around 1028.

In 1030, Naumburg appears in the sources with the addition ″civitas″. Encouraged by a privilege granted by Emperor Conrad II in 1033 the merchants of Kleinjena also moved to Naumburg, being guaranteed free trade and the heritable, interest-free ownership of their enclosed domicile. Ekkehard II and Hermann also established two monasteries: The Benedictine Monastery of St George and the St Moritz Monastery of the Augustinian Canons.

When the Ekkehardine dynasty died out by 1046, the bishops became the rulers of the town. By that time, Naumburg had already developed into a political, economic and religious centre. The foundation of Naumburg with its merchant settlement had also caused the trade routes in the region to relocate, concentrating on Naumburg located at the crossing of the Via Regia and the Regensburg Road.

The cathedral district (cathedral precincts, cathedral town) and the civil district as well as the immunities of the two monasteries coexisted for centuries and were visibly separated from each other by means of fortifications, forming districts subject to special rights. The relevant areas, subject to special rights held by the bishop and his cathedral chapter, included castles, towns, church institutions, villages, forums, but also fields, meadows and forests, and were enclosed by trenches, ramparts, walls, or fences.

Politics

The office of Oberbürgermeister (Lord Mayor) was held by Bernward Küper (CDU) between 2007 and 2021. In April 2021, Armin Müller (CDU) was elected Lord Mayor.

Economy

Local industries include the manufacture of foodstuffs, textiles, machinery and toys. Naumburg is in a wine-growing region, with numerous vineyards in the surrounding area.

Sports

SC Naumburg was a former football club in the city from September 1899 to 1908.

Arts and culture

Hussite Cherry Festival

Every year on the last weekend in June, when the cherries are ripe, the city of Naumburg celebrates the Hussite Cherry Festival. This festival has a long tradition and dates back to at least the 16th century. Since the 17th century the celebrations have been connected with the legendary siege of Naumburg by the Hussites in 1432. A teacher is said to have led his pupils outside the gates of the beleaguered city to beg the Hussite commander Andreas Prokop for mercy. The latter granted their request and gave the children cherries. The legend is commemorated in the song "Die Hussiten zogen vor Naumburg" (The Hussites marched on Naumburg) written by Karl Friedrich Seyferth in 1832.

Central German St. James Way

Naumburg is located on the central German route of the St. James pilgrims way to Santiago de Compostela, the so-called Camino de Santiago. It follows the old Via Regia which has been designated a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe in 2005.

Transromanica

Another recognised cultural route is the German section of the international

Transromanica (a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe since 2007).

Education

Naumburg had two grammar schools, the Domgymnasium and the Lepsiusgymnasium. After the fusion of both and the migration from the school site Seminarstraße in the year 2007, the Domgymnasium is now housed in the buildings of the former Lepsiusgymnasium. Since the incorporation of Bad Kösen, the town has a second gymnasium again, Pforta.

Between 1948 and 1993 Naumburg possessed an ecclesiastical university with the name Katechistisches Oberseminar (Catechetical advanced seminar), where theology, philosophy, religious education and for a while religious law was taught. At the same time there was an ecclesiastical proseminar. Here pupils, who were refused the Abitur at public schools during the SED regime, were able to attain an ecclesiastical qualification.

Twin towns – sister cities

Naumburg is twinned with:

Aachen, Germany

Nidda, Germany

Les Ulis, France

Armavir, Armenia (since 2025)

Notable people

Volkwin (?–1236), Master of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword

Elias Ammerbach (c. 1530–1597), organist

Johann Georg Graevius (1632–1703), classical scholar and critic.

Johann Theile (1646–1724), composer of the Baroque era

Johann Heinrich Acker (1647–1719), writer

Johann Gottfried Gruber (1774–1851), critic and literary historian.

Christian Lobeck (1781–1860), classical scholar.

Karl Richard Lepsius (1810–1884), egyptologist, linguist and librarian.

Gustav von Goßler (1838–1902), politician (German Conservative Party)

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), philosopher, cultural critic, poet and philologist, lived in Naumburg 1849-1864.

Oskar Hergt (1869-1967), politician

Gisela von Poswik (1875–1940), radiologist

Götz Friedrich (1930–2000), director and theater director

Klaus Keitel (1939-2026) journalist and politician

Bärbel Podeswa (born 1946), athlete

Botho Strauß (born 1944), playwright, novelist and essayist

Sophia Martineck (born 1981), illustrator, designer and comics artist

Bishops of Naumburg

Engelhard of Naumburg (1206–1242), see List of religious leaders in 1220

John of Neumarkt (1310–1380) was Chancellor of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Johannes Ambundii (1384–1424) was a German ecclesiastic.

Nicolaus von Amsdorf (1483–1565), a German Lutheran theologian and an early Protestant reformer.

Johannes Agricola (1494–1566), a German Protestant Reformer

Julius von Pflug (1499–1564), the last Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Naumburg