Querfurt

Querfurt is a town in the Saalekreis district, or Kreis, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located in a fertile area on the Querne, 18mi west from Merseburg. In 2005, the town had a population of 12,935.HistoryFor some time, Querfurt was the capital of a principality covering nearly 200sqmi, with a population of about 20,000. The ruling family having become extinct in 1496, it passed to that of Mansfeld. In 1635, according to the terms of the Peace of Prague, it was ceded to the Elector of Saxony, John George I, who handed it over to his son Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels; in 1746, it was united once more with Saxony. It was incorporated into Prussia in 1815.Querfurt is known as the birthplace of Saint Bruno of QuerfurtSons and daughters of the town Jacob Christian Schäffer (1718-1790), a Protestant minister, naturalist, pioneer of the washing machine and the wood paper Georg Muche (1895-1987), Bauhaus artist, painter and graphic artist Walter Herrmann (1910-1987), physicist Ulrich Willerding (born 1932), botanist Dietmar Demuth (born 1955), football player and coach