Tanne, Saxony-Anhalt

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Tanne is a small village in the Harz district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was its own municipality until January 1, 2010, when it became part of the town Oberharz am Brocken. The village has about 445 residents and covers 27.8 square kilometers. It sits at elevations between roughly 460 and 540 meters above sea level.

History
- The area has a long history of iron and copper smelting dating back to the early 13th century.
- The copper smelter at Silberkulk, near the Thuringian Way and the Warme Bode River, is one of the oldest sites. It is first mentioned in 1226 and later appears in records as “Silberkolch.”
- The Tanne iron smelter is first mentioned in 1355 and became one of the oldest ironworks in the Harz.
- Over the centuries, control of the smelter and toll rights shifted among local rulers and bishops, including the Counts of Regenstein, the Bishop of Halberstadt, and the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Key changes occurred in 1427, 1494, 1515, and 1599.
- Until 1945, Tanne belonged to the state of Brunswick and the Blankenburg district. In 1950 it moved to the Wernigerode district, and since July 1, 2007 it has been part of the Harz district after district mergers.
- The Tanne smelter ceased operations in 1965/66, with production moved to Königshütte.
- On January 1, 2010, Tanne merged with Sorge, Stiege, Elend, Elbingerode, Hasselfelde, and Benneckenstein to form the town of Oberharz am Brocken.