Eisleben īs´lābən [key], city (1994 pop. 24,350), Saxony-Anhalt, E Germany, at the foot of the Harz Mts. It is an industrial city and has been a copper-mining center since the 14th cent. Manufactures include textiles, clothing, machinery, and furniture. The city also has significant seed nurseries. Eisleben was first mentioned c.1000 as a market settlement. It passed to Prussia in 1815. In Eisleben are the house in which Luther was born (1483), the church where he was baptized, and the house in which he died (1546). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: German Political Geography