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Brandenburg (town)
Encyclopedia
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the state of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg 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...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, with a population of 71,778 (as of 2010). It is located on the banks of the River Havel
Havel
The Havel is a river in north-eastern Germany, flowing through the German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe river and in length...
. 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
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
, and the current state of Brandenburg. Today it is a small town compared to nearby Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, but it was the original nucleus of the former realms of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
and Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
.
History
The castle of Brandenburg, which had been a fortress of the SlavicSlavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
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 Hevelles tribe. The last of them, Pribislav, died in 1150. Afterwards Albert I
Albert I of Brandenburg
Albert the Bear was the first Margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly Duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.-Life:...
settled here and became the first margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
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
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
. In the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
(1618–1648) the towns suffered plundering and destruction which led to a loss of power; Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
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
Brennabor
Brennabor-Werke AG was a German manufacturer of infant buggies, bicycles, motor-cycles and, for two deacedes, of powered motor vehicles. It was based in Brandenburg an der Havel and operated between 1871 and 1945.- History :The company was set up in 1871 by three brothers named Adolf, Carl and...
, Corona and Excelsior were manufactured in the city. A world famous toy industry was also established. With a giant industrial complex, the Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn
Deutsche Reichsbahn was the name of the following two companies:* Deutsche Reichsbahn, the German Imperial Railways during the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the immediate aftermath...
(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
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 NazisNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
used the Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden section of Brandenburg an der Havel. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. It was a Zuchthaus for inmates with lengthy or life sentences at hard labor, as well as...
, located in Görden, a suburb of Brandenburg. Later the old gaol became the Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre
Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre
The Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre , officially known as the Brandenburg an der Havel State Welfare Institute The Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre , officially known as the Brandenburg an der Havel State Welfare Institute The Brandenburg Euthanasia Centre , officially known as the Brandenburg an der...
where the Nazis killed people with mental diseases, including children. They called this operation "Action T4
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
" because of the Berlin address, Tiergartenstraße 4, the headquarters of this planned and well-organized killing "euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
" 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
Arado Flugzeugwerke
Arado Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer, originally established as the Warnemünde factory of the Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen firm, that produced military hydroplanes during the First World War.-History:...
), 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
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. 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
Friedrich Fromm
Friedrich Fromm was a German army officer. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.-Early life:Fromm was born in Charlottenburg...
, a German officer involved in the July 20 plot
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
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
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
. The migration was mainly by young people. As a result, the future of the city is uncertain.
Population statistics
| class="wikitable"> | year | population |
|---|---|
| 1600 | 10 000 |
| 1648 | 3 000 |
| 1715 | 11 000 |
| 1818 | 12 800 |
| 1830 | 13 538 |
| December 3, 1861 | 21 600 |
| December 3, 1864 | 26 000 |
| December 3, 1867 | 25 500 |
| December 1, 1871 | 25 800 |
| December 1, 1875 | 27 371 |
| December 1, 1880 | 29 066 |
| December 1, 1885 | 33 129 |
| December 1, 1890 | 37 817 |
Transport
The city is located on the navigable River HavelHavel
The Havel is a river in north-eastern Germany, flowing through the German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe river and in length...
, a European Waterway, and vessels travelling through the city have a choice of two routes. The original route used the Brandenburg City Canal
Brandenburg City Canal
The Brandenburg City Canal, or Brandenburger Stadtkanal in German, is a canal in the German state of Brandenburg. It provides a route through the centre of the city of Brandenburg an der Havel....
, a 4 kilometres (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
Silo Canal
The Silo Canal, or Silokanal in German, is a canal in the German state of Brandenburg. It provides a short cut for vessels navigating the River Havel, avoiding the winding and constricted navigation through the city of Brandenburg an der Havel....
that passes through the eastern and northern fringes of the city.
The city is located at the junction of Federal Highways 1
Bundesstraße 1
The Bundesstraße 1 or B1 is a German federal highway running in an east-west direction from the Dutch border near Aachen to the Polish border at Küstrin-Kietz on the Oder River.-Route description:...
and 102 and the A2 autobahn is nearby. The Berlin and Magdeburg railway also runs through Brandenburg an der Havel.
Sights
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
Brick Gothic
Brick Gothic is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northern Europe, especially in Northern Germany and the regions around the Baltic Sea that do not have natural rock resources. The buildings are essentially built from bricks...
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
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
. 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 watchtower
Watchtower
A watchtower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military, and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to provide a high, safe place from which a sentinel or guard may...
s: 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
European Route of Industrial Heritage
The European Route of Industrial Heritage is a network of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. The aim of the project is to create interest for the common European Heritage of the Industrialisation and its remains...
. Brandenburg has its own theatre (Brandenburger Theater), a professional symphony orchestra (Brandenburger Symphoniker) and a wide range of local history and archaeology museums.
Notable residents
- Gustav NoskeGustav NoskeGustav Noske was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . He served as the first Minister of Defence of Germany between 1919 and 1920.-Biography:...
(1868–1946), German politician, Minister of Defence between 1919 and 1920.
Twin towns
Ivry-sur-SeineIvry-sur-Seine
Ivry-sur-Seine is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
, Germany Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
See also
- Brandenburg GateBrandenburg GateThe Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which...
in Berlin - Brandenburg HauptbahnhofBrandenburg Hauptbahnhofis the central railway station in the German town of Brandenburg.-Train services:The station is served by the following service:-External Links:**-References:*...
- Stahl BrandenburgStahl BrandenburgFC Stahl Brandenburg is a German association football club based in Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg.-History:The club was formed in 1950 as BSG Einheit Brandenburg and played its earliest seasons in the II division of East German football. They took on the name BSG Stahl Brandenberg in 1955...
- Brandenburger SC Süd 05Brandenburger SC Süd 05Brandenburger SC Süd is a German association football club from the town of Brandenburg, in the federal state of the same name. The footballers are part of a larger sports club that also has departments for bowling, canoeing, cycling, swimming, and volleyball....