Bernburg

Bernburg is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the district of Salzlandkreis. It is situated on the river Saale, approx. 30 km downstream from Halle. The town is dominated by its huge Renaissance castle featuring a museum as well as a popular, recently updated bear pit in its moat.

The church of St. Stephen in the village of Waldau (which became part of Bernburg in 1871) was first mentioned in 964; the present building dates from around 1150. It is a stop on the Romanesque Road or Strasse der Romanik.

Bernburg has one of the campuses of the regional university. In the Nazi era during World War II, a wing of the town's mental hospital was allegedly used for the so-called T-4 Euthanasia Programme (see Bernburg Euthanasia Centre).