The New International Encyclopædia/Zerbst

ZERBST, tsĕrpst. A town of the Duchy of Anhalt, Germany, 68 miles southwest of Berlin, on the river Nuthe, a tributary of the Elbe (Map: Germany, E 3). Close by is the beautiful ducal castle, built in the seventeenth century, containing the archives of Anhalt from 941 on. The Church of Saint Nicholas, begun in the eleventh century, is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture. The chief manufactures are articles in gold and silver, and silk, wax, soap, machinery, chemicals, stoneware, and carriages. There are breweries famous for their bitter beer. Population, in 1900, 17,094. Zerbst is of Slavic origin. The town dates from 1007. From 1603 to 1793 it was the capital of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst.