Kreis Aschersleben:

Stadt and surrounding Ämter

Stadt Aschersleben received its charter in 1266, while it was serving as the seat of an Ascanian principality. In 1316, however, the last male heir in that particular Ascanian line died, and the territory fell under dispute. The winner of that dispute was the Bishop of Halberstadt, who incorporated it into his secular realm. The Ämter of Gatersleben and Schneitlingen, previously Ascanian, also fell to Halberstadt. Amt Hausneindorf, in contrast, belonged to the Halberstadt cathederal chapter. In 1604, The cathederal chapter traded Amt Hausneindorf to the Bishop for Amt Schneitlingen.

 

At some point after Halberstadt’s 1701 absorption into the Kingdom of Prussia (I estimate 1775), the various Ämter were organized into Kreise. Stadt Aschersleben and the surrounding Ämter were assigned to Kreis Aschersleben, where they remained until the end of the Holy Roman Empire, when the Aschersleben area was assigned to the Kingdom of Westphalia (a Napoleonic client state).

 

In 1816, beyond the scope of this project, Kreis Aschersleben was reestablished. Aschersleben and the villages of the former Ämter of Gatersleben, Hausneindorf, and Schneitlingen remained there until 1901.