After Henry's death, members of many leading families settled in Quedlinburg. Later, a women's convent was established there, where daughters of the higher nobility received educations.
The Quedlinburg castle complex, founded by Otto I the Great in 936, was an imperial seat of the Saxon emperors.
In 972 a Reichstag (Imperial Convention) was held at the court of emperor Otto I the Great where many nobles, including Mieszko, duke of Poland and Boleslav, duke of Bohemia, gathered to pay homage to the emperor.
After the 1945 take-over by the communists many buildings deteriorated. The suppression of former history before communism was somewhat slowed down and inhabitants started conservation and restoration measures. A good number of historical buildings and timbered houses (Fachwerkbauten) were declared National Monuments and are listed with the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.