Ilsenburg

Ilsenburg
Ilsenburg about 1900
Coat of arms
Ilsenburg
Location of Ilsenburg within Harz district
Coordinates: 51°52′0″N 10°41′0″E / 51.86667°N 10.68333°E / 51.86667; 10.68333Coordinates: 51°52′0″N 10°41′0″E / 51.86667°N 10.68333°E / 51.86667; 10.68333
Country	Germany
State	Saxony-Anhalt
District	Harz
Government
• Mayor	Denis Loeffke (CDU)
Area
• Total	63.10 km2 (24.36 sq mi)
Elevation	267 m (876 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	9,475
• Density	150/km2 (390/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	38865–38871
Dialling codes	039452, 03943
Vehicle registration	HZ

Ilsenburg is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. It is situated under the north foot of the Harz Mountains, at the entrance to the Ilse valley with its little river, the Ilse, a tributary of the Oker, about six 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of the town of Wernigerode. It received town privileges in 1959. Owing to its surrounding of forests and mountains as well as its position on the edge of the Harz National Park, Ilsenburg is a popular tourist resort.

The old castle, Schloss Ilsenburg, lying on a high crag above the town, was originally an imperial stronghold and probably built by King Henry I. In 995 Emperor Otto III resided in Elysynaburg, which Henry II bestowed in 1003 upon the Bishop of Halberstadt, who converted it into a Benedictine monastery. The school attached to it enjoyed a great reputation towards the end of the 11th century. The abbey was finally devastated during the German Peasants' War in 1525.

After the Reformation the castle passed to the counts of Wernigerode, who restored it and made it their residence until 1710. Higher still, on the edge of the plateau rises the Ilsenstein, a granite peak standing about 500 ft (150 m) above the valley, crowned by an iron cross erected by Count Anton von Stolberg-Wernigerode in memory of his friends who fell in the Napoleonic Wars of 1813-1815. Around this rock cluster numerous legends.