is a small town in central Germany, about 30 km north of Halle. It is located at .

Köthen was chartered in 1200. For over two centuries (1603-1847), it was the capital of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. Architecture of note includes the 15th-century St. James' Church. The St. Agnus Church, where Bach worshipped, possesses masterpieces by Lucas Cranach. The palace of the reigning princes (1597-1604) (now museum) features a Versailles-style Hall of Mirrors as well as the actual rooms where much of Johann Sebastian Bach's secular music was first performed. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, practiced here from 1821 to 1834 and published many of his best-known works.

The town has long been known to classical music enthusiasts as the place of origin of Bach's best-known works, including the Brandenburg concertos and the Well-Tempered Clavier. Bach worked in Köthen from 1717 to 1723 as Kapellmeister for Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. It is also the birthplace of the composer Carl Friedrich Abel who, together with Johann Christian Bach, founded the "Bach-Abel Concerts" in London, the first subscription concert series in England.

Today, Köthen has a college, a teacher-training institute, an airport, and rail links. Lignite is mined, and sugar-beets are grown in the area. The population in 1966 was 38.600. Population in 2004: about 25,000.

Towns in Saxony-Anhalt

Köthen (Anhalt) | Köthen (Anhalt) | Köthen (Anhalt) | Köthen (Anhalt) | Köthen (Anhalt) | Кётен | Köthen (Anhalt)