Battle of Dessau Bridge

Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the... merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 . Dessau is situated on a floodplain where the Mulde flows into the Elbe. This causes yearly floods. The worst flood took place in the year 2002, when the Waldersee district was nearly completely flooded. The south of Dessau touches a well-wooded area called Mosigkauer Heide. The highest elevation is a 110m high former rubbish dump called Scherbelberg in the southwest of Dessau. Dessau is surrounded by numerous parks and palaces that ranks Dessau as one of the greenest towns in Germany. Dessau was first mentioned in 1213. It became an important centre in 1570, when the principality of Anhalt was founded. Dessau became the capital of this state within the Holy Roman Empire. Anhalt was dissolved In 1603 it was split into four – later five – Anhalts, Dessau becoming the capital of the mini-state of Anhalt-Dessau until 1918. In 1863 two of the noble line died out, and became reunited. Dessau is famous for its college of architecture Bauhaus.
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The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the... longest and most destructive conflicts in European history. The conflict lasted, unceasing, for 30 years, making it the longest continuous war in modern history. The origins of the conflict and goals of the participants were complex, and no single cause can accurately be described as the main reason for the fighting. Initially, the war was fought largely as a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire, although disputes over the internal politics and balance of power within the Empire played a significant part. Gradually, the war developed into a more general conflict involving most of the European powers. In this general phase, the war became more a continuation of the Bourbon–Habsburg rivalry for European political pre-eminence, and in turn led to further warfare between France and the Habsburg powers, and less specifically about religion. A major impact of the Thirty Years' War was the extensive destruction of entire regions, denuded by the foraging armies .
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