History
Zeitz was first recorded under the name Cici in the synode of Ravenna in 967. Between 965 and 982, it was the chief fortress of the March of Zeitz. Between 968 and 1028 Zeitz was a bishops residence which has later been laid to Naumburg. But since the end of the 13th century the bishops were again residing in their castle at Zeitz. The Herrmannsschacht (Built in 1889) is one of the oldest brick factories in the world.
A bombing target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, the Brabag plant northeast of Zeitz used lignite coal to synthesize Ersatz oil – forced labor was provided by the nearby Wille subcamp of Buchenwald in Rehmsdorf and Gleina. In the middle of the 1960s work started on the "Zeitz-Ost" residential area, and in the mid-1980s, housing estates such as the "Völkerfreundschaft" (English: International Friendship) were built.
On the 18th August 1976, the Protestant clergyman Oskar Brüsewitz from Rippicha burnt himself to death in front of the Michaeliskirche. This was a protest against the DDR system and was one of the roots of the 1989 uprising.
The town was an industrial centre until German Reunification made many companies in eastern Germany uncompetitive. The town still has a large sugar factory.
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