Editing Zeitz (section)

==History==
First a Slavic pagan settlement later Christianized, Zeitz was first recorded under the [[Medieval Latin]] name ''Cici'' in the [[Synod of Ravenna]] in 967. Between 965 and 982, it was the chief fortress of the [[March of Zeitz]]. Zeitz was a bishop's residence between 968 and 1028, when it was moved to [[Naumburg]]. Beginning at the end of the 13th century, the bishops again resided in their castle at Zeitz.  The Herrmannsschacht (built in 1889) is one of the oldest brown coal brickette factories in the world. The city was captured by Swedish troops during the [[Thirty Years' War]] and was given to [[Electorate of Saxony]] in 1644. It was the centre of [[Saxe-Zeitz]] between 1657 and 1718, before returning to the Electorate (which became the [[Kingdom of Saxony]] in 1806). In 1815, it was given to the [[Kingdom of Prussia]], becoming district (kreis) centre of the Merseburg region (regierungsbezirk) of the [[Province of Saxony]] until 1944, when it became part of the Province of [[Halle-Merseburg]]. It became a county free city between 1901 and 1950. It was occupied by U.S. troops on 27 April 1945 and was transferred to [[Soviet]] control on 1 July 1945. It was a district centre in the Halle region of [[Saxony-Anhalt]] state in 1945 – 1952 and again in 1990 – 1994, and in [[Bezirk Halle]] between 1952 and 1990. It lost its status as county centre and became part of the Burgenlandkreis on 1 July 1994.

A bombing target of the [[Oil Campaign of World War II]], the [[Brabag]] plant northeast of Zeitz used [[lignite coal]] for the production of [[synthetic fuel]]s<ref name=Becker>{{cite journal |last=Becker |first=Peter W. |year=1981 |title=The Role of Synthetic Fuel in World War II Germany: implications for today? |journal=Air University Review |location=[[Maxwell AFB]] }}</ref> – [[forced labor]] was provided by the nearby [[Imre Kertész|Wille]] subcamp of [[Buchenwald concentration camp|Buchenwald]] in Rehmsdorf and Gleina.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} In the middle of the 1960s work started on the "Zeitz-Ost" residential area, and in the mid-1980s, housing estates such as the "Völkerfreundschaft" ({{langx|en|International Friendship}}) were built.

On 18 August 1976, the Protestant clergyman [[Oskar Brüsewitz]] from [[Rippicha]] burnt himself to death in front of the Michaeliskirche. This was a protest against the [[German Democratic Republic|DDR]] system.  
The town was an industrial centre until [[German Reunification]] made many companies in eastern Germany uncompetitive, and 20,000 people lost jobs or moved to other employment. The town still has a large sugar factory, and the nearby [[lignite]] mines ([[Profen coal mine|Profen]] and [[United Schleenhain coal mine|Schleenhain]]) and [[Lippendorf Power Station]], together employing 2,000 people from Zeitz.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wecker |first1=Katharina |title=Germany's mining communities brace themselves for post-coal era {{!}} DW {{!}} 01.06.2018 |url=https://p.dw.com/p/2ym4b |website=DW.COM |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180619044229/https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-mining-communities-brace-themselves-for-post-coal-era/a-44037149 |archive-date=2018-06-19 |date=1 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 1 July 2009 Zeitz absorbed the former municipalities [[Döbris]], [[Geußnitz]], [[Kayna]], [[Nonnewitz]] and [[Würchwitz]].<ref>[https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Laender-Regionen/Regionales/Gemeindeverzeichnis/Namens-Grenz-Aenderung/2009-januar-dezmber.html Gebietsänderungen vom 02. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2009], [[Statistisches Bundesamt]]</ref> On 1 January 2010 it absorbed [[Luckenau]] and [[Theißen]].<ref>[https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Laender-Regionen/Regionales/Gemeindeverzeichnis/Namens-Grenz-Aenderung/2010.html Gebietsänderungen vom 01. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2010], [[Statistisches Bundesamt]]</ref>