Havelberg


Havelberg is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875. It has a population of 7,687.

History

The Bishopric of Havelberg was founded in 946, by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, but the bishop tended to live in either Plattenburg or Wittstock, a few miles north of Havelberg. An early bishop was Anselm of Havelberg. Havelberg is home to a former monastery, now used as the Prignitz Museum, which was established in 1904.
Havelberg was part of Brandenburg for most of its history. Havelberg was formerly a strong fortress, but in the Thirty Years' War it was taken from the Danish by the imperial troops in 1627. Recaptured by the Swedes in 1631, and again in 1635 and 1636, it was in 1637 retaken by the Saxons.
When the German states where dissolved in East Germany in 1952, Havelberg became part of the district of Magdeburg.
When the German states were refounded during German Reunification in 1990, the whole district of Magdeburg became part of Saxony-Anhalt, including the formerly- Brandenburgian town of Havelberg.

Notable people