Burgenland – Saalekreis

Burgenland – Saalekreis is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 72. It is located in southern Saxony-Anhalt, comprising the Burgenlandkreis distinct and eastern parts of the Saalekreis district.^[1]

72 Burgenland – Saalekreis
Electoral district for the Bundestag
Burgenland – Saalekreis in 2025
State	Saxony-Anhalt
Population	225,700 (2019)
Electorate	184,352 (2021)
Major settlements	Weißenfels Merseburg Naumburg
Area	1,753.27 km2
Current electoral district
Created	1990
Party	CDU
Member	Dieter Stier
Elected	2009, 2013, 2017, 2021

Burgenland – Saalekreis was created for the inaugural 1990 federal election after German reunification. Since 2009, it has been represented by Dieter Stier of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).^[2]

Geography

Burgenland – Saalekreis is located in southern Saxony-Anhalt. As of the 2025 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the Burgenlandkreis district and the municipalities of Bad Dürrenberg, Braunsbedra, Leuna, Merseburg, and Schkopau from Saalekreis district.^[1]

History

Burgenland – Saalekreis was created after German reunification in 1990, then known as Zeitz – Hohenmölsen – Naumburg – Nebra. In the 2002 and 2005 elections, it was named Burgenland. It acquired its current name in the 2009 election. In the 1990 through 1998 elections, it was constituency 294 in the numbering system. In the 2002 through 2009 elections, it was number 74. In the 2013 through 2021 elections, it was number 73. From the 2025 election, it has been number 72.

Originally, it comprised the districts of Zeitz, Hohenmölsen, Naumburg, and Nebra. It acquired its current borders in the 2002 election, but without the municipality of Merseburg. Merseburg was acquired ahead of the 2025 election.

Election	No.	Name	Borders
1990	294	Zeitz – Hohenmölsen – Naumburg – Nebra	Zeitz district Hohenmölsen district Naumburg district Nebra district
1994
1998
2002	74	Burgenland	Burgenlandkreis district Saalekreis district (only Bad Dürrenberg, Braunsbedra, Leuna, and Schkopau municipalities)
2005
2009		Burgenland – Saalekreis
2013	73
2017
2021
2025	72		Burgenlandkreis district Saalekreis district (only Bad Dürrenberg, Braunsbedra, Leuna, Merseburg, and Schkopau municipalities)

Members

The constituency was first represented by Harald Schreiber of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1990 to 1994, followed by Margarete Späte from 1994 to 1998. It was won by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1998, and Eckhart Lewering served until 2005, followed by Maik Reichel until 2009. Dieter Stier of the CDU was elected in 2009, and re-elected in 2013, 2017, and 2021.

Election		Member	Party	%
	1990	Harald Schreiber	CDU	45.5
	1994	Margarete Späte	CDU	43.6
	1998	Eckhart Lewering	SPD	38.6
	2002			35.5
	2005	Maik Reichel	SPD	31.6
	2009	Dieter Stier	CDU	33.0
	2013			44.8
	2017			34.0
	2021			26.3

Election results

2021 election

Federal election (2021): Burgenland – Saalekreis[3]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Y Dieter Stier		32,649	26.3	7.3	26,535	21.3	8.6
	AfD	Martin Reichardt		32,328	26.0	2.7	31,000	24.9	0.3
	SPD	Jens Wojtyscha		27,165	21.9	8.7	28,460	22.8	9.6
	Left	Birke Bull-Bischoff		12,419	10.0	6.9	10,630	8.5	7.8
	FDP	Carsten Sonntag		11,764	9.5	2.8	12,785	10.3	2.4
	Greens	Martina Hoffmann		4,207	3.4	0.9	5,002	4.0	1.4
	dieBasis	Jens Jahr		3,761	3.0		2,647	2.1
	FW						1,629	1.3	0.0
	Human Environment Animal Protection						1,507	1.2
	Tierschutzallianz						1,184	1.0	0.4
	PARTEI						1,006	0.8	0.1
	Gartenpartei						761	0.6	0.3
	NPD						412	0.3	0.8
	Pirates						404	0.3
	Volt						158	0.1
	du.						156	0.1
	Humanists						121	0.1
	MLPD						99	0.1	0.0
	ÖDP						83	0.1
Informal votes				1,573			1,287
Total valid votes				124,293			124,579
Turnout				125,866	68.3	0.2
	CDU hold		Majority	321	0.3	9.9

2017 election

Federal election (2017): Burgenland – Saalekreis[4]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Y Dieter Stier		43,254	33.6	11.3	38,678	29.9	12.9
	AfD	Uwe Gewiese		30,112	23.4		31,781	24.6	20.3
	Left	Birke Bull-Bischoff		21,819	16.9	8.8	21,042	16.3	7.5
	SPD	Hans-Jürgen Schmidt		16,930	13.1	2.3	17,098	13.2	3.1
	FDP	Eiko Precht		8,538	6.6	5.1	10,132	7.8	5.1
	FW	Ronny Schneider		3,495	2.7	0.6	1,687	1.3	0.1
	Greens	Miriam Matz		3,198	2.5	1.4	3,366	2.6	0.5
	Tierschutzallianz						1,768	1.4
	NPD	Steffen Thiel		1,569	1.2	2.8	1,470	1.1	2.1
	PARTEI						1,127	0.9
	MG						407	0.3
	BGE						315	0.2
	DiB						207	0.2
	MLPD						134	0.1	0.0
Informal votes				2,304			2,007
Total valid votes				128,915			129,212
Turnout				131,219	68.5	6.9
	CDU hold		Majority	13,142	10.2	8.9

2013 election

Federal election (2013): Burgenland – Saalekreis[5]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Y Dieter Stier		54,544	44.8	11.8	52,194	42.8	11.0
	Left	Roland Claus		31,300	25.7	6.0	28,933	23.7	8.1
	SPD	Florian Hüfner		18,791	15.4	3.4	19,850	16.3	0.7
	AfD						5,234	4.3
	NPD	Hans Püschel		4,854	4.0	0.5	3,920	3.2	0.2
	Greens	Dieter Kmietczyk		4,760	3.9	0.8	3,732	3.1	0.7
	FW	Günther Weiße		2,581	2.1		1,695	1.4
	Pirates	Manfred Dott		2,488	2.0		2,097	1.7	0.3
	FDP	Florian Hüfner		1,879	1.5	7.4	3,374	2.8	8.6
	PRO						475	0.4
	Independent	Erich Jaschkowski		442	0.4
	ÖDP						192	0.2
	MLPD						151	0.1	0.1
Informal votes				2,170			1,962
Total valid votes				121,639			121,847
Turnout				123,809	61.6	2.0
	CDU hold		Majority	23,244	19.1	17.8

2009 election

Federal election (2009): Burgenland – Saalekreis[6]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Dieter Stier		41,281	33.0	3.6	39,777	31.8	5.8
	Left	Roland Claus		39,610	31.7	5.5	39,876	31.9	5.3
	SPD	N Maik Reichel		23,592	18.9	12.7	19,513	15.6	14.0
	FDP	Wolf-Henry Dreblow		11,224	9.0	3.3	14,153	11.3	2.3
	NPD	Andreas Karl		4,399	3.5	1.1	3,792	3.0	1.2
	Greens	Jochen Dreetz		3,950	3.2	1.0	4,740	3.8	0.5
	Pirates						2,541	2.0
	Independent	Erich Jaschkowski		912	0.7
	DVU						380	0.3
	MLPD						257	0.2	0.1
Informal votes				2,535			2,474
Total valid votes				124,968			125,029
Turnout				127,503	59.6	10.6
	CDU gain from SPD		Majority	1,671	1.3

References

1. "Constituency Burgenland – Saalekreis". Federal Returning Officer.
2. "Results for Burgenland – Saalekreis". Federal Returning Officer.
3. Results for Burgenland – Saalekreis
4. Results for Burgenland – Saalekreis
5. Results for Burgenland – Saalekreis
6. Results for Burgenland – Saalekreis