WERNIGERODE

city, Saxony-Anhalt Land (state), central Germany, at the confluence of the Holtemme and the Zillierbach rivers, north of the Harz Mountains and southwest of Magdeburg. First mentioned in 1121 and chartered in 1229, it joined the Hanseatic League in 1267. In 1429 it became the seat of the counts of Stolberg, later the counts of Stolberg-Wernigerode. The old castle (first mentioned in 1213) houses a feudal museum. Many old timber-framed buildings, including the town hall (149498), survive. A road and rail junction and vacation resort, Wernigerode manufactures electric motors, machine tools, chocolate, glass, paper, leather goods, bricks, and wood products. Iron ore, pyrites, and limestone are worked locally. Pop. (1989 est.) 36,909.