Dessau-Roßlau (German pronunciation: [ˈdɛsaʊ̯ ˈʁɔslaʊ̯] (listen)) is a kreisfreie Stadt (urban district) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Elbe and Mulde. The town was formed by merger of the towns of Dessau and Roßlau in the course of the "Kreisreform Sachsen-Anhalt" (Sachsen-Anhalt Regional Boundary Reforms) on 1 July 2007. The reform involved a reduction in the number of rural districts in Sachsen-Anhalt from 21 to 11 and reflected an expected continuation of the significant population decline being experienced.

Dessau-Roßlau
Town
Aerial view of Dessau
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Dessau-Roßlau
Dessau-Roßlau Show map of Germany Dessau-Roßlau Show map of Saxony-Anhalt
Coordinates: 51°50′N 12°15′E
Country	Germany
State	Saxony-Anhalt
District	Urban district
Government
• Lord mayor (2021–28)	Robert Reck[1]
Area
• Total	244.62 km2 (94.45 sq mi)
Elevation	61 m (200 ft)
Population  (2020-12-31)[2]
• Total	79,354
• Density	320/km2 (840/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	06811-06849 06861, 06862
Dialling codes	0340 (Dessau) 034901(Roßlau)
Vehicle registration	DE, RSL
Website	www.dessau-rosslau.de

Dessau-Roßlau is the third largest town of Saxony-Anhalt by population, after Magdeburg and Halle.

Dessau

Dessau is the largest population centre within Dessau-Roßlau, with approximately 77,000 inhabitants (2006). Most of the town is located on the left bank of the Mulde, south of its confluence with the Elbe. Dessau was first mentioned in 1213, and became the capital of a small state (Anhalt-Dessau) in the 14th century. Between 1863 and 1918, it was the capital of Anhalt. Since the second half of the 19th century, Dessau has been an industrial town. With the famous art and architecture school Bauhaus, located in Dessau between 1925 and 1932, and the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm the town features two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The town could be referred to as the one of the birthplaces of the "jet age" because the Junkers factory that designed the Jumo 004 jet engine for the German Me 262 jet fighter (operational from mid-1944) was designed there. Because the western shore of the Elbe-Mulde rivers was the stopping point for U.S. troops in World War II, the capture of the town allowed the U.S. Army to evacuate the Junkers people towards the west before the Russians took over occupation of the area on 1 July 1945. A number of principals of the jet engine development team at Junkers ended up at the Lycoming engine plant in Stratford, Conn. building gas turbine engines for the U.S. Army from 1952 on.

Roßlau

Roßlau has approximately 13,000 inhabitants (2006). It is located on the right bank of the Elbe, near its confluence with the Mulde, about 7 kilometers north of the centre of Dessau. Roßlau was first mentioned in 1215. Before it merged with Dessau, it was part of the district Anhalt-Zerbst.

Governance

Municipal assembly

Seats in the municipal assembly (Stadtrat) as of the May 2019 elections:[3]

• Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 12
• Alternative for Germany (AfD): 8
• The Left: 7
• Alliance '90/The Greens: 5
• Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD): 5
• Pro Dessau-Roßlau (independent): 4
• Forum-Bürgerliste (independent): 4
• Free Fraction Dessau-Roßlau (independent): 3
• Free Democratic Party (FDP): 2

Mayor

The Lord Mayor (Oberbürgermeister) of Dessau-Roßlau is Robert Reck, elected in June 2021 for a term of seven years.[1]

Twin towns – sister cities

Dessau-Roßlau is twinned with:[4]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dessau-Roßlau.

• Official website (in German)

На других языках

[de] Dessau-Roßlau

[es] Dessau-Roßlau

[ru] Дессау-Рослау