EISLEBEN

city, Saxony-Anhalt Land (state), central Germany, in the eastern foothills of the Harz Mountains. First mentioned in 994 as a market, called Islebia, and in 1180 as a town, it belonged to the counts of Mansfeld until it passed to Saxony in 1780 and was assigned to Prussia in 1815. It is divided into the old and new towns (Altstadt and Neustadt), the latter having originated as a residential district for miners in the 14th century. The houses where Martin Luther was born (1483) and where he died (1546) have been preserved, and the SS. Peter and Paul's Church (14861513) contains his baptismal font. The town has a mining-engineering school and a training institute for miners. The centre of the Mansfeld copperslate-mining region, Eisleben manufactures textiles, clothing, machinery, and furniture and has important seed nurseries. Pop. (1990 est.) 26,530.