Ströbeck

Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Name = Ströbeck
image_photo =
Wappen = Wappen Schachdorf Ströbeck.pnglat_deg = 51 |lat_min = 55 |lat_sec = 0
lon_deg = 10 |lon_min = 56 |lon_sec = 59
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Sachsen-Anhalt
Landkreis = Harz
Verwaltungsgemeinschaft = Harzvorland-Huy
Höhe = 156
Fläche = 13.46
Einwohner = 1149
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 38822
Vorwahl = 039427
Kfz = HZ
Gemeindeschlüssel = 15 0 85 320
Adresse-Verband = Bahnhofstraße 210
38822 Ströbeck
Bürgermeister = Rudi Krosch

Ströbeck is a small village in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, near the city Halberstadt. It is famous as the "Schachdorf" (chess village), due to a long historic connection with chess. The village has about 1,200 citizens.

The first mention of the village in history was in the year 995. However, the main historic fact for which the village is known occurred possibly in 1011. According to legend, Arnulf, Bishop of Halberstadt imprisoned the duke Gunzelin. He did this in the "Wartturm", a tower in Ströbeck, and ordered the local farmers to guard him. Due to the boredom in his prison, Gunzelin created a chess set and taught his guards the game. The game became a tradition among the local people, even though at that time chess was only played by peers.

The local school is the only public school in Germany which teaches chess as part of the curriculum, and it has done so since 1823. As of 2004, the school is threatened to be closed due to too few pupils.

Ströbeck is part of the network Cultural Village of Europe and will act as a host village in 2006 (also see external link).

Notable Residents

*Edward Salomon (1827 - 1909), politician

External links

* [http://www.culturalvillage2006.de Ströbeck, Cultural Village 2006]