Bitterfeld
quarter of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Anhalt-Bitterfeld district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; former borough
Bitterfeld (German pronunciation: [ˈbɪtɐfɛlt] ) is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Halle (Saale).
History and description
The name Bitterfeld most likely comes from the Middle High German words bitter and Feld and so means "boggy land".
Bitterfeld was built by a colony of Flemish immigrants in 1153. The first documentary mention is from 1224. It was captured by the landgrave of Meissen in 1476, and belonged thenceforth to Saxony, until it was ceded to Prussia in 1815.
By 1900, Bitterfeld station was an important junction of the Berlin–Halle and the Magdeburg–Leipzig railways. The population at that time was 11,839; it manufactured drainpipes, paper roofing, and machinery, and had sawmills. There were also several coal mines in the vicinity.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Bitterfeld” is quarter of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Anhalt-Bitterfeld district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; former borough. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Bitterfeld, quarter and Bitterfeld-Wolfen, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “quarter of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Anhalt-Bitterfeld district, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; former borough” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q836932. VIAF identifies the subject as 305372578. The Library of Congress control number is no2013116427. Authority coordinates are 51.624, 12.330. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2007, 1153, 1224 and 1476.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Bitterfeld”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Bitterfeld primary sources, Bitterfeld archive and Bitterfeld research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bitterfeld”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Bitterfeld” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.