Wittenberge

Wittenberge

Coat of arms
Wittenberge

Coordinates: 53°00′N 11°45′E / 53.000°N 11.750°E / 53.000; 11.750Coordinates: 53°00′N 11°45′E / 53.000°N 11.750°E / 53.000; 11.750
Country Germany
State Brandenburg
District Prignitz
Government
 • Mayor Oliver Hermann (—)
Area
 • Total 50.44 km2 (19.47 sq mi)
Elevation 25 m (82 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
 • Total 17,206
 • Density 340/km2 (880/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 19322
Dialling codes 03877
Vehicle registration PR
Website www.wittenberge.de

Wittenberge (German pronunciation: [ˌvɪtənˈbɛɐ̯ɡə]) is a town of eighteen thousand people on the middle Elbe in the district of Prignitz, Brandenburg, Germany.

Geography

Wittenberge is situated at the right (north-eastern) bank of the middle Elbe at its confluence with the Stepenitz and Karthane in the German district of Prignitz. Within the same district, the town borders the Ämter Lenzen-Elbtalaue and Bad Wilsnack/Weisen as well as the district capital Perleberg. The Verbandsgemeinde Seehausen (Altmark) in the district of Stendal, Saxony-Anhalt, lies on the opposite side of the Elbe.

History

The Rathaus building

The site was marked out in 1239 at Wendischwalde and in 1300 the Saxon king, Otto I, established the settlement. It grew slowly but steadily. The town castle (1669) survives as the town museum but it suffered fires in 1686 and 1757, and floods from the Elbe in 1709 and 1761. Nevertheless, because of its position, it prospered from the opening of the Berlin–Hamburg steamship traffic. By 1823 milling, processing and refining of foodstuffs were important industries. In 1846 the railway came and a silk factory was built, followed by a chemical factory in 1849. The Reichsbahn railway workshops were established in 1875 and the world-famous Singer Sewing Machine Company set up there in 1903. By 1914 the Rathaus was built.

From August 15, 1942 until February 17, 1945 a concentration camp was established in Wittenberge. The camp was a subcamp to the Neuengamme concentration camp.[2]

Between the wars much architecture characteristic of the period was built in the form of workers' housing for the rapidly increased population. It suffered as most German towns did during WW II. Only the railway workshops remain as significant employers of the old industries but the large, skilled workforce remains for the newer industries of precision engineering and applied chemistry.

Demography

Wittenberge:
Population development within the current boundaries (2013)[3]
Year Population
1875 8 407
1890 13 294
1910 21 262
1925 26 310
1933 25 996
1939 28 496
1946 32 349
1950 32 166
1964 33 021
1971 33 704
Year Population
1981 31 765
1985 30 757
1989 29 780
1990 28 378
1991 27 297
1992 26 691
1993 26 148
1994 25 630
1995 24 890
1996 24 441
Year Population
1997 23 833
1998 23 398
1999 22 825
2000 22 163
2001 21 513
2002 21 112
2003 20 639
2004 20 120
2005 19 767
2006 19 566
Year Population
2007 19 297
2008 19 023
2009 18 710
2010 18 571
2011 17 638
2012 17 476
2013 17 297
2014 17 200
2015 17 206
Hinzdorf - church
Railway bridge over the Elbe Wittenberge
Wittenberge station

Mayor

Oliver Hermann was reelected in 2016 with 94,8 % of the vote.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Wittenberge is twinned with:

Notable residents

References

  1. ↑ "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden 31. Dezember 2015 (Fortgeschriebene amtliche Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 2016.
  2. ↑ The camp is listed as No. 1587 Wittenberge, Kreis Wittenberge in the official German list of concentration camps Verzeichnis der Konzentrationslager und ihrer Außenkommandos (in German)
  3. ↑ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons

Media related to Wittenberge at Wikimedia Commons


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