built in the lowland of the river Fuhne between Radegast and Zörbig, which created an important trade-route between the cities of Magdeburg and Leipzig. In 1688 a boundary stone named the "Theure Christian" was set at this route. It marked the boundary between the former countries of Saxony and Anhalt-Dessau. In 1702 Radegast became a market-town, and in the same year the building of Radegast's first church began. The church-tower collapsed in 1752 and was rebuilt subsequently. Two historical guesthouses were built at that time; both of them exist today. From 1780 on a counterfeiter named Ziervogel did his foul work in the town, until he was imprisoned in 1786. In 1820 the imperial post office was opened. In the first years of its existence it was a simple post station for the town of Radegast and the villages Wehlau, Lennewitz, Riesdorf, Cosa, Fernsdorf, Station Weißandt, Priesdorf and Cösitz. In 1929 a telephone exchange was installed. The post office was closed on April 6, 1999. In the following years the town expanded. The number of inhabitants was 885 in 1867. Already in 1859 a liqueur factory was founded, followed by a sugar-refinery in 1860, where up to 120 people worked at its best times. In 1930 the refinery was closed and most of the buildings were pulled down, but some of them exist until today. In 1871 an oak tree was planted at the market-place as a symbol for the end of the war between Germany and France, which lasted from 1870 to 1871. The tree called "Friedenseiche" ("oak of peace") is a mark of Radegast today and a natural landmark. Two years later, in 1873, the fire-brigade of Radegast was founded. In 1874 the nave of the church was rebuilt. The tower of the church was raised to a height of 35 m. A railway was opened in 1897 and extended in the following years, but at the end of World War II the railway history of Radegast came to an end because the railway was disassembled as reparation payment to the Soviet Union. Since 1939 it had transported goods but no more passengers between the towns of Radegast and Zörbig. Culture developed in the small town: In 1911 a football team named "Britannia" was founded, followed by a gardeners' club in 1919. In 1925, 911 people lived in the town. Also in this year a new town hall