Wittenberg - Wittenberg (English spelling)

Japanese: ウィッテンベルク - うぃってんべるく（英語表記）Wittenberg

A city in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central-eastern Germany. From 1949 to 1990 it was part of the former East Germany. It is located at an altitude of 63 meters on the right bank of the Elbe River, at the southern end of the Flaming Hills. It has a population of 49,000 (2000). It is a mining and manufacturing center and a railway hub. Industries include machinery, chemicals, food processing, and rubber, and there is a nitrogen plant. Blessed by water transportation, in the Middle Ages the city had the right to transship grain, wine, timber, iron, and fish, as well as the monopoly on salt within Saxony. It was the center of the 16th century Protestant Reformation, and is also known as the Luther City.

[Hiroshi Sasaki]

history

It was first mentioned in historical documents in 1180, but was not recognized as a city until 1293. It belonged to the Ascanian dynasty until 1422, but in 1423 it became part of the Wettin family of the Electors of Saxony. After 1485, it became the castle location of the Wettin family, a branch of the Electors Ernst. Duke Frederick the Wise built a university there in 1502, and after the Protestant Reformation movement began by Luther, a professor in the theology department of the university, it suddenly became known as the center of the Protestant Reformation. The church attached to the castle, where Luther is said to have posted his "95 Theses" on its door in 1517, and many other monumental buildings of the Protestant Reformation still remain, but the population at that time was only about 2,400 people. In 1547 it was ceded to the Wettin family of Albert, losing its status as an electoral residence, and in 1815 it became part of Prussia. In 1817 the university was moved to Halle and integrated into the University of Halle, becoming the University of Halle-Wittenberg.

[Kenjiro Nakamura]

World Heritage Registration

The group of buildings, including the castle church, along with Luther's birthplace in Eisleben in the same state, were registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1996 as the "Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg" (World Cultural Heritage).

[Editorial Department]

[References] | 95 Theses | University of Halle-Wittenberg

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ドイツ中東部、ザクセン・アンハルト州の都市。1949～90年は旧東ドイツに属した。フレーミング丘陵の南端、エルベ川右岸の標高63メートルにある。人口4万9000（2000）。鉱工業の中心地で鉄道の結節点。機械、化学、食品加工、ゴムなどの工業が行われ、窒素工場がある。水運に恵まれ、中世には穀物、ぶどう酒、木材、鉄、魚の積み換え権とザクセン領内の塩の専売権をもっていた。16世紀宗教改革の中心地であり、ルター都市ともよばれる。

［佐々木博］

歴史

1180年に史料に初出するが、都市として認められたのは1293年のことである。1422年までアスカニア家領に属したが、1423年ザクセン選帝侯家のウェッティン家領に属することになった。1485年以後は選帝侯家のエルンスト系ウェッティン家の居城所在地となった。フリードリヒ賢公は1502年そこに大学を建設し、その大学の神学部教授ルターによる宗教改革運動開始後は、宗教改革の中心地として一躍脚光を浴びた。1517年にルターが「九十五か条の論題」をその扉に貼付(ちょうふ)したと伝えられる城付属の教会やその他多くの宗教改革の記念碑的な建築物はいまも残るが、当時の人口は約2400人にすぎなかった。1547年アルベルト系ウェッティン家に割譲されて、選帝侯の居城の所在地としての地位を失い、1815年にはプロイセン領となり、1817年大学はハレに移されて、ハレ大学に統合され、ハレ・ウィッテンベルク大学となった。

［中村賢二郎］