Wittenberge

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

Not to be confused with Wittenberg.
Wittenberge
Coat of arms
Location of Wittenberge within Prignitz district
Wittenberge
Wittenberge
Coordinates: 53°00′N 11°45′E
CountryGermany
StateBrandenburg
DistrictPrignitz
Subdivisions7 Stadtteile/Stadtbezirke
Government
 • MayorOliver Hermann (—)
Area
 • Total50.44 km2 (19.47 sq mi)
Elevation
25 m (82 ft)
Population
 (2018-12-31)[1]
 • Total17,015
 • Density340/km2 (870/sq mi)
Time zoneCET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes
19322
Dialling codes03877
Vehicle registrationPR
Websitewww.wittenberge.de

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 opened in 1903 its German manufacturing site Singer Nähmaschinenfabrik Wittenberge. By 1914 the Rathaus was built.

From 15 August 1942 until 17 February 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
  • Development of population since 1875 within the current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population development in Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of Nazi Germany; Red Background: Time of communist East Germany)
  • Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2014-2030 (red line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)
Wittenberge: Population development
within the current boundaries (2017)[3]
YearPop.±% p.a.
1875 8,407—    
1890 13,294+3.10%
1910 21,262+2.38%
1925 26,310+1.43%
1933 25,996−0.15%
1939 28,496+1.54%
1946 32,349+1.83%
1950 32,166−0.14%
1964 33,021+0.19%
1971 33,704+0.29%
1981 31,765−0.59%
1985 30,757−0.80%
1989 29,780−0.80%
1990 28,378−4.71%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1991 27,297−3.81%
1992 26,691−2.22%
1993 26,148−2.03%
1994 25,630−1.98%
1995 24,890−2.89%
1996 24,441−1.80%
1997 23,833−2.49%
1998 23,398−1.83%
1999 22,825−2.45%
2000 22,163−2.90%
2001 21,513−2.93%
2002 21,112−1.86%
2003 20,639−2.24%
2004 20,120−2.51%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2005 19,767−1.75%
2006 19,566−1.02%
2007 19,297−1.37%
2008 19,023−1.42%
2009 18,710−1.65%
2010 18,571−0.74%
2011 17,638−5.02%
2012 17,476−0.92%
2013 17,297−1.02%
2014 17,200−0.56%
2015 17,206+0.03%
2016 17,318+0.65%
2017 17,201−0.68%
2018 17,015−1.08%
Hinzdorf – church
Railway bridge over the Elbe Wittenberge
Wittenberge station

Mayor
  • 1993–2008: Klaus Petry (SPD)
  • since 2008: Oliver Hermann (independent)

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

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Twin towns – Sister cities

Wittenberge is twinned with:

Notable residents

References
  1. "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden 31. Dezember 2018". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). July 2019.
  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 Archived 23 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine (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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