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Anhalt

Anhalt is a historic region and former state in central Germany. The name survives as a historical region within the modern federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. From the Middle Ages onward, the territory was ruled by the House of Ascania and existed in several partitions before being temporarily unified as a duchy in the early 19th century.

In the medieval period Anhalt was divided into several lines: Anhalt-Dessau, Anhalt-Köthen, Anhalt-Bernburg and Anhalt-Zerbst. These

Geographically, Anhalt lay along the middle Elbe and the northern Harz foothills, and its historic towns include

Rulers of Anhalt were from the House of Ascania, and later the duchies and free state bore

principalities
persisted
under
the
overarching
title
of
Anhalt
until
1806,
when
the
territories
were
reorganized
into
the
Duchy
of
Anhalt.
The
duchy
existed
until
the
German
Revolution
of
1918,
when
it
became
the
Free
State
of
Anhalt
in
the
Weimar
Republic.
After
World
War
II,
Anhalt
was
incorporated
into
East
Germany
and
dissolved
as
a
state
in
1952
during
administrative
reform.
With
German
reunification
in
1990,
the
historic
lands
of
Anhalt
largely
became
part
of
the
re-established
state
of
Saxony-Anhalt.
Dessau-Roßlau,
Köthen,
Bernburg,
Zerbst
and
Wittenberg.
The
region
is
notable
for
cultural
landmarks
such
as
the
Bauhaus
in
Dessau
(1919–1933)
and
Wittenberg,
a
center
of
the
Reformation.
The
Dessau-Wörlitz
Garden
Realm,
a
UNESCO
World
Heritage
Site,
is
also
associated
with
Anhalt.
the
Anhalt
name
as
a
provincial
identity
within
larger
German
states.