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Mansfeld Land () is a region in the southwestern corner of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The region derives its name from the counts of Mansfeld, who ruled this region for about 1,000 years.
Until the Second World War, Mansfeld Land was made up of the counties of Mansfelder Gebirgskreis (roughly northwest of a line from Annarode via Siersleben to Gerbstedt) and Mansfelder Seekreis (villages southeast of the line).
After the foundation of East Germany, these 2 counties were disbanded and transferred to the counties of Kreis Hettstedt and Kreis Eisleben, small areas of Mansfeld Land in the west went to Sangerhausen and in the south to Saalkreis and Kreis Querfurt.
Since the county reform of 2007, Mansfeld Land – after several years as the independent county of Mansfelder Land – has belonged to the county of Mansfeld-Südharz.
The extent of Mansfeld Land described above is roughly identical with the former County of Mansfeld.
The closure of mines and smelteries that had been working for almost eight hundred years resulted in an abrupt change to this monostructured economic area whose problems were exacerbated by the political changes of 1989/90. And newly created business parks and the remediation of contaminated sites did not bring the expected economic recovery.
Since 1946 the town of Eisleben has had the official "nickname" of the Luther town ( Lutherstadt). That takes into account the fact that Martin Luther was born here shortly before his parents moved the few kilometres to Mansfeld. Coincidentally, Luther died in his native town, where he was staying to mediate a dispute between the counts of Mansfeld (one branch of whom maintained a town castle in Eisleben).
Tourist attractions include the houses where the Reformer was born and died.
The town of Mansfeld was - as regards Luther - always rather overshadowed by the larger Eisleben; after the Wende Mansfeld was allowed to bear the official name: "Mansfeld-Lutherstadt".
Today, on the remaining stretch of railway line from Klostermansfeld to Hettstadt via Siersleben, trains of the old Mansfeld Mining Railway recall formerly busy operations on this narrow gauge industrial railway that linked all the shafts, numerous smelteries and other premises of the Mansfeld combine. In addition to its very wide-ranging goods traffic, the mining railway also ran passenger services - and primarily commuter services for the workers.
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