Since the mid 13th century, the area was part of the Ascanian Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg and, from 1356, of the Saxon electorate. Located on its northeastern border, it was the scene of numerous conflicts with Brandenburg knights and the forces of the Magdeburg archbishops. The town again suffered from Hussite raids in 1429, marauding Imperial troops after the Saxon defeat at the 1547 Battle of Mühlberg, and was devastated in the Thirty Years' War.