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Brandenburg an der Havel
Brandenburg an der Havel
Coordinates	52°25′0″N 12°32′0″E / 52.416667°N 12.533333°E / 52.416667; 12.533333Coordinates: 52°25′0″N 12°32′0″E / 52.416667°N 12.533333°E / 52.416667; 12.533333
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Urban district
Lord Mayor	Dr. Dietlind Tiemann (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area	228.80 km2 (88.34 sq mi)
Elevation	32 m  (105 ft)
Population	71,778 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	314 /km2 (813 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	BRB
Postal codes	14772–14778
Area code	03381
Website	www.stadt-brandenburg.de

Flag of Brandenburg

Brandenburg an der Havel is a town in the state of Brandenburg (which is why it is also called Brandenburg City in English), Germany, with a population of 71,778 (as of 2010). It is located on the banks of the River Havel. The town of Brandenburg, which is almost as widely known as the state of Brandenburg, provided the name for the medieval Bishopric of Brandenburg, the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and the current state of Brandenburg. Today it is a small town compared to nearby Berlin, but it was the original nucleus of the former realms of Brandenburg and Prussia.

History[link]

The castle of Brandenburg, which had been a fortress of the Slavic tribe Stodoranie, was conquered in 929 by King Henry the Fowler. The town remained German only until 983, when a Slavic rebellion was successful. During the next 170 years the area was ruled by Slavic princes of the Hevelli tribe. The last of them, Pribislav, died in 1150. Afterwards Albert I settled here and became the first margrave of Brandenburg. The town was restricted to the western bank of the Havel until 1196, when it was extended to the eastern side. The parts on either side of the river were regarded as three different towns (Old Town, New Town and Brandenburg cathedral district) for centuries.

In 1314–1315 the Old and New Towns joined the Hanseatic League. In the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) the towns suffered plundering and destruction which led to a loss of power; Potsdam became the new capital, and the court left the town of Brandenburg. In 1715 Old Town and New Town were merged to form a single town. In 1928 the Brandenburg cathedral district was added.

In the late 19th century Brandenburg an der Havel became a very important industrial center in the German Empire. Steel industries settled there, and several world famous bicycle brands such as Brennabor, Corona and Excelsior were manufactured in the city. A world famous toy industry was also established. With a giant industrial complex, the Deutsche Reichsbahn (German Imperial Railways) was located in Brandenburg-Kirchmöser during the time between the two world wars and the time of the former GDR. The city's excellent transport infrastructure was a big advantage.

Nazi era[link]

A concentration camp, one of the first in Germany, was located on Neuendorfer Straße in Brandenburg Old Town. After closing this inner city concentration camp, the Nazis used the Brandenburg-Görden Prison, located in Görden, a suburb of Brandenburg. Later the old gaol became the Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre where the Nazis killed people with mental diseases, including children. They called this operation "Action T4" because of the Berlin address, Tiergartenstraße 4, the headquarters of this planned and well-organized killing "euthanasia" organisation. Brandenburg an der Havel was one of the very first locations in the Third Reich where the Nazis experimented with killing their victims by gas. Here, they prepared the mass killings in Auschwitz and other extermination camps. After complaints by local inhabitants about the smoke, the mobile furnaces used to burn the corpses ceased operation. Shortly after this, the Nazis closed the old prison.

In 1934, the Arado Aircraft Company (Arado Flugzeugwerke), which originated in Warnemünde, began building a satellite factory in Brandenburg that began producing planes in 1935. The factory was expanded over the next five years, and during World War II produced trainers and other aircraft for the Luftwaffe. The existence of this factory was one of the reasons Brandenburg was heavily bombed in later stages of the war; by 1945 the city was 70 percent destroyed.

Friedrich Fromm, a German officer involved in the July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler, was executed here in March 1945 for his part in the plot, even though Fromm betrayed those conspirators he knew and ordered their execution.

After the unification the city's population declined from over 100,000 in 1989 to roughly 75,000 in 2005 through emigration. The migration was mainly by young people. As a result, the future of the city is uncertain.

Population statistics[link]

Transport[link]

The city is located on the navigable River Havel, a European Waterway, and vessels travelling through the city have a choice of two routes. The original route used the Brandenburg City Canal, a 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) route through the city centre that descends through the Stadtschleuse Brandenburg, but this route is constrained in size and now limited to leisure craft. Commercial traffic instead uses the Silo Canal that passes through the eastern and northern fringes of the city.^[2]

The city is located at the junction of Federal Highways 1 and 102 and the A2 autobahn is nearby. The Berlin and Magdeburg railway also runs through Brandenburg an der Havel.

Sights[link]

Panoramic view over Brandenburg.

The Dominsel (Cathedral Island) is the historic heart of the town. Here stands its oldest edifice: the Dom St. Peter und Paul (Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul). Although construction began in the Romanesque style in 1165, it was completed as a Gothic cathedral during the 14th century. While the exterior is rather austere, the cathedral surprises the visitor with its sumptuous interior, especially the painted vault of the Bunte Kapelle (Coloured Chapel) and the Wagner organ (1725), one of the most famous Baroque organs in Germany.

The Katharinenkirche (St. Catherine's Church) built in 1401 in the Neustadt is an impressive example of northern German brick Gothic architecture. The Gotthardtkirche (St. Gotthardt's Church) was built of the same material just a few years later.

Another interesting building is the Altstädtisches Rathaus (Old Town Hall), a late Gothic brick building with stepped gables and an ornate portal. In front of it stands a 5.35m high statue of the knight Roland. Made of sandstone, the statue was erected in 1474 as a symbol of the town's independence.

There is also a part of Brandenburg's medieval city wall, with four preserved watchtowers: Steintorturm and Mühlentorturm (in the New Town), and Rathenower Torturm and Plauer Torturm (in the Old Town).

The Brandenburg Industrial Museum is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. Brandenburg has its own theatre (Brandenburger Theater), a professional symphony orchestra (Brandenburger Symphoniker) and a wide range of local history and archaeology museums.

• 

  Brandenburg Cathedral

• 

  St. Gotthardt's Church

• 

  Altstädtischer Markt, Old Town Hall

• 

  Roland statue in front of the Old Town Hall

• 

  Steintorturm

• 

  Hauptstraße and St. Catherine's Church

• 

  St. Catherine's Church

• 

  Archaeological Museum (former St. Paul's Church)

Notable residents[link]

• Gustav Noske (1868–1946), German politician, Minister of Defence between 1919 and 1920.

Twin towns[link]

• Ivry-sur-Seine, France
• Kaiserslautern, Germany
• Magnitogorsk, Russia

See also[link]

• Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre
• Brandenburg Gate in Berlin
• Brandenburg Hauptbahnhof
• Stahl Brandenburg
• Brandenburger SC Süd 05

References[link]

• Bevölkerungszahlen

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brandenburg an der Havel

Wikisource has the text of a 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article about Brandenburg an der Havel.

• (German) Municipal website
• (German) Cathedral of Brandenburg
• (German) City map
• (German) Inner City Brandenburg guide
• Tramway in Brandenburg

v t e Urban and rural districts in the state of Brandenburg in Germany Urban districts Brandenburg an der Havel Cottbus Frankfurt (Oder) Potsdam Rural districts Barnim Dahme-Spreewald Elbe-Elster Havelland Märkisch-Oderland Oberhavel Oberspreewald-Lausitz Oder-Spree Ostprignitz-Ruppin Potsdam-Mittelmark Prignitz Spree-Neiße Teltow-Fläming Uckermark

v t e Members of the Hanseatic League by Quarter Chief cities are highlighted; Free Imperial Cities of the Holy Roman Empire are shown in italics. Wendish Quarter Lübeck Anklam · Demmin · Greifswald · Hamburg · Kolberg (Kołobrzeg) · Lüneburg · Rostock · Rügenwalde (Darłowo) · Stettin (Szczecin) · Stolp (Słupsk) · Stockholm · Stralsund · Visby · Wismar Saxon Quarter Brunswick Berlin · Bremen · Erfurt · Frankfurt an der Oder · Goslar · Magdeburg Baltic Quarter Danzig (Gdańsk) Breslau (Wrocław) · Dorpat (Tartu) · Elbing (Elbląg) · Königsberg (Kaliningrad) · Kraków · Reval (Tallinn) · Rīga · Thorn (Toruń) Westphalian Quarter Cologne* Dortmund* Deventer · Groningen · Kampen · Münster · Osnabrück · Soest Principal Kontore Bryggen (Bergen) · Hanzekantoor (Bruges, Antwerp†) · Steelyard (London) · Peterhof (Novgorod) Subsidiary Kontore Bishop's Lynn · Falsterbo · Ipswich · Kovno (Kaunas) · Malmö · Polotsk · Pskov Other cities Bristol · Boston · Damme · Leith · Herford · Hull · Newcastle · Stargard · Yarmouth · York * Cologne and Dortmund were both capital of the Westphalian Quarter at different times. † Antwerp gained importance once Bruges became inaccessible due to the silting of the Zwin channel.

Brandenburg
—  State of Germany  —
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 52°21′43″N 13°0′29″E / 52.36194°N 13.00806°E / 52.36194; 13.00806
Country	Germany
Capital	Potsdam
Government
• Minister-President	Matthias Platzeck (SPD)
• Governing parties	SPD / The Left
• Votes in Bundesrat	4 (of 69)
Area
• Total	29,478.63 km2 (11,381.76 sq mi)
Population (2010-12-31)[1]
• Total	2,503,273
• Density	85/km2 (220/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code	DE-BB
Vehicle registration	formerly: BP (1945–1947), SB (1948–1953)[2]
GDP/ Nominal	€ 48 billion (2005)[citation needed]
NUTS Region	DE4
Website	brandenburg.de

Brandenburg ( listen (help·info); Low German: Brannenborg, Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam. Brandenburg surrounds but does not include the national capital and city-state of Berlin.

Originating in the medieval Northern March, the Margraviate of Brandenburg grew to become the core of the Kingdom of Prussia, which would later become the Free State of Prussia. The eastern third of historic Brandenburg (Ostbrandenburg/Neumark) was ceded to Poland in 1945.

History[link]

History of Brandenburg and Prussia
Northern March pre-12th century		Old Prussians pre-13th century
Margraviate of Brandenburg 1157–1618 (1806)		Ordensstaat 1224–1525
		Duchy of Prussia 1525–1618	Royal (Polish) Prussia 1466–1772
Brandenburg-Prussia 1618–1701
Kingdom in Prussia 1701–1772
Kingdom of Prussia 1772–1918
Free State of Prussia 1918–1947			Klaipėda Region (Lithuania) 1920-39 / 1945-present
Brandenburg (Germany) 1947–1952 / 1990–present	Recovered Territories (Poland) 1918/45-present	Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia) 1945-present

In late medieval and early modern times, Brandenburg was one of seven electoral states of the Holy Roman Empire, and, along with Prussia, formed the original core of the German Empire, the first unified German state. Governed by the Hohenzollern dynasty from 1415, it contained the future German capital Berlin. After 1618 the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were combined to form Brandenburg-Prussia, which was ruled by the same branch of the House of Hohenzollern. In 1701 the state was elevated as the Kingdom of Prussia. Franconian Nuremberg and Ansbach, Swabian Hohenzollern, the eastern European connections of Berlin, and the status of Brandenburg's ruler as prince-elector together were instrumental in the rise of that state.

Early Middle Ages[link]

Brandenburg is situated in territory known in antiquity as Magna Germania, which reached to the Vistula river. By the 7th century, Slavic peoples are believed to have settled in the Brandenburg area. The Slavs expanded from the east, possibly driven from their homelands in present-day Ukraine and perhaps Belarus by the invasions of the Huns and Avars. They relied heavily on river transport. The two principal Slavic groups in the present-day area of Brandenburg were the Hevelli in the west and the Sprevane in the east.

Beginning in the early 10th century, Henry the Fowler and his successors conquered territory up to the Oder River. Slavic settlements such as Brenna^[3] (Brandenburg an der Havel), Budusin^[4] (Bautzen), and Chośebuz^[5] (Cottbus) came under imperial control through the installation of margraves. Their main function was to defend and protect the eastern marches. In 948 Emperor Otto I established margraves to exert imperial control over the pagan Slavs west of the Oder River. Otto founded the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg. The Northern March was founded as a northeastern border territory of the Holy Roman Empire. However, a great uprising of Wends drove imperial forces from the territory of present-day Brandenburg in 983. The region returned to the control of Slavic leaders.

12th century[link]

Eisenhard Castle in Belzig

During the 12th century the Ottonian German kings and emperors re-established control over the mixed Slav-inhabited lands of present-day Brandenburg, although some Slavs like the Sorbs in Lusatia adapted to Germanization while retaining their distinctiveness. The Roman Catholic Church brought bishoprics which, with their walled towns, afforded protection from attacks for the townspeople. With the monks and bishops, the history of the town of Brandenburg an der Havel, which was the first center of the state of Brandenburg, began. In 1134, in the wake of a German crusade against the Wends, the German magnate Albert the Bear was granted the Northern March by the Emperor Lothar III. He formally inherited the town of Brandenburg and the lands of the Hevelli from their last Wendish ruler, Pribislav, in 1150. After crushing a force of Sprevane who occupied the town of Brandenburg in the 1150s, Albert proclaimed himself ruler of the new Margraviate of Brandenburg. Albert, and his descendants the Ascanians, then made considerable progress in conquering, colonizing, Christianizing, and cultivating lands as far east as the Oder. Within this region, Slavic and German residents intermarried. During the 13th century the Ascanians began acquiring territory east of the Oder, later known as the Neumark (see also Altmark).

Late Middle Ages[link]

In 1320 the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end, and from 1323 up until 1415 Brandenburg was under the control of the Wittelsbachs of Bavaria, followed by the Luxembourg dynasty. Under the Luxembourgs, the Margrave of Brandenburg gained the status of a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1415, the Electorate of Brandenburg was granted by Emperor Sigismund to the House of Hohenzollern, which would rule until the end of World War I. The Hohenzollerns established their capital in Berlin, by then the economic center of Brandenburg.

16th and 17th centuries[link]

Brandenburg converted to Protestantism in 1539 in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, and generally did quite well in the 16th century, with the expansion of trade along the Elbe, Havel, and Spree Rivers. The Hohenzollerns expanded their territory by acquiring the Duchy of Prussia in 1618, the Duchy of Cleves (1614) in the Rhineland, and territories in Westphalia. The result was a sprawling, disconnected country known as Brandenburg-Prussia that was in poor shape to defend itself during the Thirty Years' War.

Beginning near the end of that devastating conflict, however, Brandenburg enjoyed a string of talented rulers who expanded their territory and power in Europe. The first of these was Frederick William, the so-called "Great Elector", who worked tirelessly to rebuild and consolidate the nation. He moved the royal residence to Potsdam.

Kingdom of Prussia and united Germany[link]

Sanssouci Palace, the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, today a World Heritage site

When Frederick William died in 1688, he was followed by his son Frederick, third of that name in Brandenburg. As the lands that had been acquired in Prussia were outside the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick assumed (as Frederick I) the title of "King in Prussia" (1701). Although his self-promotion from margrave to king relied on his title to the Duchy of Prussia, Brandenburg was still the most important portion of the kingdom. However, this combined state is known as the Kingdom of Prussia.

Brandenburg remained the core of the Kingdom of Prussia, and it was the site of the kingdom's capitals, Berlin and Potsdam. When Prussia was subdivided into provinces in 1815, the territory of the Margraviate of Brandenburg became the Province of Brandenburg. In 1881, the City of Berlin was separated from the Province of Brandenburg. However, industrial towns ringing Berlin lay within Brandenburg, and the growth of the region's industrial economy brought an increase in the population of the province. The Province of Brandenburg had an area of 39,039 km² (15,073 sq mi) and a population of 2.6 million (1925). After World War II, the Neumark, the part of Brandenburg east of the Oder-Neisse Line, was transferred to Poland; and its native German population expelled. The remainder of the province became a state in East Germany when Prussia was dissolved in 1947. The State of Brandenburg was completely dissolved in 1952 by the Socialist government of East Germany.

East Germany and reunified Germany[link]

In 1952, the East German government divided Brandenburg among several Bezirke or districts. (See Administrative division of the German Democratic Republic). Most of Brandenburg lay within the Potsdam, Frankfurt (Oder), or Cottbus districts, but parts of the former province passed to the Schwerin, Neubrandenburg and Magdeburg districts (town Havelberg). East Germany relied heavily on lignite (the lowest grade of coal) as an energy source, and lignite strip mines marred areas of southeastern Brandenburg. The industrial towns surrounding Berlin were important to the East German economy, while rural Brandenburg remained mainly agricultural.

The present State of Brandenburg was re-established on 14 October 1990.^[6] The newly elected Landtag of Brandenburg first met on 26 October 1990.^[7] As in other former parts of East Germany, the lack of modern infrastructure and exposure to West Germany's competitive market economy brought widespread joblessness and economic difficulty. In the recent years, however, Brandenburg's infrastructure has been modernized and joblessness has slowly declined.

In 1995, the governments of Berlin and Brandenburg proposed to merge the states in order to form a new state with the name of "Berlin-Brandenburg", though some suggested calling the proposed new state "Prussia". The merger was rejected in a plebiscite in 1996 – while West Berliners voted for a merger, East Berliners and Brandenburgers voted against it.

Geography[link]

Brandenburg is bordered by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the north, Poland in the east, the Freistaat Sachsen in the south, Saxony-Anhalt in the west, and Lower Saxony in the northwest.

The Oder River forms a part of the eastern border, the Elbe River a portion of the western border. The main rivers in the state itself are the Spree and the Havel. In the southeast, there is a wetlands region called the Spreewald; it is the northernmost part of Lusatia, where the Sorbs, a Slavic people, still live. These areas are bilingual, i.e., German and Sorbian are both used.

Protected areas[link]

Brandenburg is known for its well-preserved natural environment and its ambitious natural protection policies which began in the 1990s. 15 large protected areas were designated following Germany's reunification. Each of them is provided with state-financed administration and a park ranger staff, who guide visitors and work to ensure nature conservation. Most protected areas have visitor centers.

National parks

• Lower Oder Valley National Park (106 km²)

Biosphere reserves

The Spreewald, a biosphere reserve by UNESCO

• Spreewald Biosphere Reserve (474 km²/183 sq mi)
• Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve (1,291 km²/498.46 sq mi)
• River Landscape Elbe-Brandenburg Biosphere Reserve (533 km²/206 sq mi)

Nature parks

• Barnim Nature Park (750 km²/290 sq mi)
• Dahme-Heideseen Nature Park (594 km²/229 sq mi)
• High Fläming Nature Park (827 km²/319 sq mi)
• Märkische Schweiz Nature Park (204 km²/79 sq mi)
• Niederlausitzer Heidelandschaft Nature Park (490 km²/189 sq mi)
• Niederlausitzer Landrücken Nature Park (580 km²/224 sq mi)
• Nuthe-Nieplitz Nature Park (623 km²/241 sq mi)
• Schlaube Valley Nature Parke (225 km²/87 sq mi)
• Uckermark Lakes Nature Park (895 km²/346 sq mi)
• Westhavelland Nature Park (1,315 km²/507.72 sq mi)
• Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park (1,080 km²/416.99 sq mi)

Religion[link]

Evangelical Church in Germany (mostly: Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia) 17.8 %,^[8] Catholic Church (mostly: Archdiocese of Berlin, minor: Diocese of Görlitz) 3.1 %.^[9]

Political subdivisions[link]

The capital, Potsdam

Brandenburg an der Havel

Viadrina European University in Frankfurt (Oder)

Brandenburg is divided into 14 rural districts (Landkreise):

and 4 urban districts (kreisfreie Städte):

1. Brandenburg an der Havel
2. Cottbus
3. Frankfurt (Oder)
4. Potsdam

Government[link]

Matthias Platzeck

For earlier rulers, see List of rulers of Brandenburg

September 2009 state election[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Germany portal

Wikisource has the text of the 1921 Collier's Encyclopedia article Brandenburg.

• Media related to Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website (German)
• Brandenburg Tourist Board
• Historical Landscape Brandenburg (German)
• Geographic data related to Brandenburg at OpenStreetMap

v t e States of the Federal Republic of Germany States  Baden-Württemberg (since 1952)  Bavaria (since 1949)  Brandenburg (since 1990)  Hesse (since 1949)  Lower Saxony (since 1949)  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (since 1990)  North Rhine-Westphalia (since 1949)  Rhineland-Palatinate (since 1949)  Saarland (since 1957)  Saxony (since 1990)  Saxony-Anhalt (since 1990)  Schleswig-Holstein (since 1949)  Thuringia (since 1990) City-states  Berlin (since 1990)  Bremen (since 1949)  Hamburg (since 1949) Former states  Baden (south) (1949–1952)  Württemberg-Baden (1949–1952)  Württemberg-Hohenzollern (1949–1952)

v t e Urban and rural districts in the state of Brandenburg in Germany Urban districts Brandenburg an der Havel Cottbus Frankfurt (Oder) Potsdam Rural districts Barnim Dahme-Spreewald Elbe-Elster Havelland Märkisch-Oderland Oberhavel Oberspreewald-Lausitz Oder-Spree Ostprignitz-Ruppin Potsdam-Mittelmark Prignitz Spree-Neiße Teltow-Fläming Uckermark