Aschersleben is a town on the north-eastern edge of the Harz mountains in the valley of the river Eine in Saxony-Anhalt with around 27,000 inhabitants. It is the oldest documented town in Saxony-Anhalt. Aschersleben was a member of the Hanseatic League in the late Middle Ages and is today one of the few German cities with very well-preserved city fortifications and a largely intact medieval city centre.