is a town (sometimes itself called 'Harz' in historical references) and a former municipality in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in the southern part of the Harz mountains, about west of Sangerhausen, and northeast of Nordhausen. Since 1 September 2010, it has been part of the municipality of Südharz. History Stolberg was established as a settlement for miners in around AD 1000, although there is evidence of mining in the area as far back as 794. The name is derived from the German words Stollen = "[mining] gallery" and Berg = "hill". Iron, copper, silver, tin and gold were extracted there. Town status was awarded to Stolberg (Harz) before 1300. During the German Peasants' War, Stolberg was the site of several battles, the peasants being led by Thomas Müntzer who was born in the town. On 2 May 1525, rebellious peasants invaded the town and forced the ruling Count Botho of Stolberg to accept their demands, the 24 Stolberg Articles. These were quickly revoked, however, following the defeat of the peasants. Coins were minted in Stolberg as early as the High Middle Ages, the industry reaching its heyday during the 16th century. By contrast, mining ceased in the 17th century. From its earliest days, Stolberg had been the residence and family seat of the counts of Stolberg. In 1548 it became the seat of Stolberg-Stolberg. In 1738 the counts of Stolberg were forced to recognize the suzerainty of the Electorate of Saxony. The town was awarded to the Kingdom of Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna and Stolberg was subsequently administered by the Prussian Province of Saxony. The counts of Stolberg-Stolberg established a consistory in the mid-16th century to head the Lutheran Church in the county. In 1645 the County of Stolberg split into 2 new counties – called Stolberg-Stolberg and Stolberg-Wernigerode. When the latter established its own church seat in 1658, the one in Stolberg became known as the Comital Consistory of Stolberg-Stolberg. In 1893 it was further renamed into the Princely Consistory of Stolberg-Stolberg. Since 1821 the Lutheran parishes on the territory of the former county have been part of the Church Province of Saxony, itself part of the administratively united Evangelical State Church of Prussia. Today they belong to the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, founded in 2009. Nevertheless, the consistory continued to have regional responsibility for