Dessau, Germany

Germany-35, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 (June 2006).
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, but Dessau remained a prosperous town, and became the capital of the mini-state of Anhalt-Dessau. When Anhalt was reunified in 1863 as the duchy of Anhalt-Dessau, Dessau became the capital again and remained so until 1918.