Kreis Halberstadt:

Stadt and surrounding Ämter

In addition to being the ecclesiastical seat of the Bishopric of Halberstadt, the city became the effective capital of the Bishopric’s secular realm in the late 10th century. Over time, the surrounding villages that were under the control of ecclesiastical officials were organized into formal Ämter. Harsleben differed from the others in that it was controlled by the cathedral provost instead of the bishop.

 

At some point after Halberstadt’s 1701 absorption into the Kingdom of Prussia (I estimate 1775), the various Ämter were organized into Kreise. Stadt Halberstadt and the surrounding Ämter and Gerichte were assigned to Kreis Halberstadt. Amt Schlanstedt soon shifted to Kreis Oschersleben (I estimate in 1800). The rest remained in Kreis Halberstadt until the end of the Holy Roman Empire, when the Halberstadt area was assigned to the Kingdom of Westphalia, a Napoleonic client state.

 

In 1816, beyond the scope of this project, the Kreise were reestablished. The villages of the former Amt Schlanstedt were restored to Kreis Oschersleben and were joined by the villages of the former Amt Gröningen, where they remained until after World War II. Harsleben and the villages of the Amt der Majorey were restored to Kreis Halberstadt and remained there until 1932.