... is the city of Barby. Its first documentary mention goes back to the year 961. At that time the place served as a starting point for conquests in the Slavic areas east of the Elbe. In 1497 Barby was raised to the imperial county. The Counts of Barby wrote a good deal of town history. In the years 1687-1715 Duke Henry had the castle built, in which the Moravian Brethren later established a school and Barby so moved for 13 years in the center of the spiritual life of Germany. Today, the castle houses the land registry archive of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.
For shipping, the name Barby has been particularly important for more than 150 years. Since 1848, the level in Barby provides the readings for the water level reports of the Elbe. Industrialization began in Barby in the mid-19th century. The domain tenant Dietze built 1840 the first sugar factory. Economic development was favored by Barby's leading Berlin-Güsten railway line. 1884-1885, the Elbe port was built. In 1923, the German Maizena AG founded a factory for the production of starch from agricultural products. Cerestar established one of the world's most advanced wheat starch factories in the early 1990's.
What are the agricultural products for the food industry are the rich gravel and sand deposits around Barby for the building materials industry. The commercial and industrial area on the outskirts of the city offers both building material producers as well as interested investors in all other sectors location conditions on favorable terms. With the establishment of the rehabilitation clinic "Elbe-Saale" in 1995, the development of the city was initiated to the resort. The clinic with its modern facilities was architecturally included in the historic ambience of the city and the design of the Elbvorland. The tourist infrastructure of the city and the surrounding area will be further expanded. The landscape around Barby, which belongs to the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve "Mittlere Elbe", offers pure nature to the visitor. Well signposted hiking and biking trails make it easy for the "pedal knights" and hikers to explore the country by bike or "on foot." Coming from the city of Hof ends here at Barby - at the mouth of the river Saale in the Elbe, the "Saalhorn" - the Saaleradwanderweg.