Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...

'', ) is a city in the southeast of

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. It is located on the shore of a lake called

Tollensesee Tollensesee is a '' zungenbecken'' lake in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It belongs to the Mecklenburg Lake District. At an elevation of 14.8 m, its surface area is 17.4 km². Its maximum depth is about 33 m. The lake is 10.4 km lo ...

and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for its rich medieval heritage of

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...

architecture, including the world's best preserved defensive wall of this style as well as a Concert Church (Saint Mary), the home venue of the Neubrandenburg Philharmonic. It is part of the

European Route of Brick Gothic The European Route of Brick Gothic (EuRoB) is an association of cities, towns, regions, municipalities and institutions that have Brick Gothic buildings in their territory or have their headquarters in a Brick Gothic building. The network also incl ...

, a route which leads through seven countries along the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

coast. Neubrandenburg is nicknamed for its four medieval city gates - "Stadt der Vier Tore" ("City of Four Gates"). Since 2011, Neubrandenburg has been the capital of the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district. It is the third-largest city and one of the main urban centres of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The city is an economical node of northeastern Germany, featuring one of the highest national ranks in employment density and

GDP per capita Lists of countries by GDP per capita list the countries in the world by their gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The lists may be based on nominal or purchasing power parity GDP. Gross national income (GNI) per capita accounts for inflo ...

. The closest greater urban areas are the regiopolis of

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...

and the metropolises of

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. Since 1991, Neubrandenburg has hosted a

University of Applied Sciences A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic de ...

that offers international exchanges, guest programs and study programs.

History

NB-Stadtmauer-und-Wiekhaus-02-06-2008-041

The first Christian monks in the area were

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

in Broda Abbey, a monastery at the shore (about 1240). The foundation of the city known as of Neubrandenburg took place in 1248, when the Margrave of

decided to build a settlement in the northern part of his fief, naming it after the older city of

further south. In 1292, the city and the surrounding area became part of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

. The city flourished as a trade centre until the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

(1618–48), when this position was lost due to incessant warfare. During the dramatic advance of the Swedish army of

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into Germany, the city was garrisoned by Swedes, but it was retaken by Imperial Catholic League forces in 1631. During this campaign, it was widely reported that the Catholic forces killed many of the Swedish and Scottish soldiers while they were surrendering. Later, according to the Scottish soldier of fortune Robert Munro, 18th Baron of Foulis, when the Swedes themselves adopted a "no prisoners" policy, they would cut short any pleas for mercy with the cry of "New Brandenburg!". The city, therefore, played an unconscious role in the escalation of brutality of one of history's most brutal wars. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, two German prisoner-of-war camps for Allied POWs of various nationalities were located in Fünfeichen within the city limits: the large Stalag II-A and the adjacent Oflag II-E/67 for officers. The town was also the location of a

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

camp for

Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...

and

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...

. In 1945, few days before the end of the Second World War, 80% of the old town was burned down by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

in a great fire, and about 600 people committed suicide as a result. Since then, most buildings of historical relevance have been rebuilt. After the war, from 1945 to 1948, the special

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

-camp Nr. 9 was operated at the site of the former Stalag II-A. Neubrandenburg was a bezirk centre between 1952 and 1990.

Sights and monuments

Neubrandenburg has preserved its medieval

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

in its entirety. The wall, 7 m high with a perimeter of 2.3 km, has four

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, go ...

s, dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Of these, one of the most impressive is the ''Stargarder Tor'' (pictured), with its characteristic gable-like shape and the filigree

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...

and rosettes on the outer defence side. Another place of interest is the

Marienkirche (Church of the Virgin Mary or St. Mary's Church, ''Konzertkirche''), completed 1298. The church was nearly destroyed in 1945, but it was restored in 1975 and now houses a concert hall (opened 2001). The tallest highrise in the city is the 56m Haus der Kultur und Bildung (HKB, House of Culture & Education), opened in 1965. Its slender appearance has earned it the nickname ''Kulturfinger'' ("culture finger"). Other attractions include Neubrandenburg Regional Museum. File:NB-St-Marien-Kirche-26-VIII-2007-57.jpg, St. Mary's Church (used for concerts) File:NB-Treptower-Tor-11-IV-2007-060.jpg, Treptow Gate with Neubrandenburg Regional Museum File:NB-Stargarder-Tor-11-IV-2007-109.jpg, Stargard Gate File:NB-Neues-Tor-26-VIII-2007-46.jpg, New Gate File:Friedländer Tor Neubrandenburg Haupttor Stadtseite-Carschten.jpg, Friedland Gate File:Tollensesee-02-06-2008-202.jpg,

File:Broda's Belvedere.jpg, Belvedere

Education

Hochschule Neubrandenburg
(''University of Applied Sciences'') * Three large secondary schools

Sports

Neubrandenburg is known as city of sports (''Sportstadt''). The city is famous for being home to various Olympic medal winners and talents in sports, especially in canoeing (

Andreas Dittmer Andreas Dittmer (born 16 April 1972 in Neustrelitz, Bezirk Neubrandenburg) is a German sprint canoeist. The dominant sprint canoeist of his generation in 1000 m races, he has won three Olympic and eight world championship gold medals. Dittmer ...

, Martin Hollstein), discus throwing and shotputting (

Astrid Kumbernuss Astrid Kumbernuss (; born 5 February 1970 in Grevesmühlen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) is a former German female shot putter and discus thrower. Her career started at the SC Neubrandenburg sports club. Her greatest successes were gold medals at ...

, Ralf Bartels, Franka Dietzsch) and running (

Katrin Krabbe Katrin Krabbe (; later Zimmermann, born 22 November 1969) is a German former track and field athlete. She represented East Germany (GDR) at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and went on to win the 100 metres and 200 metres titles at the 1991 World Cham ...

). Neubrandenburg was the location of both of the world record throws in Discus, by Jürgen Schult in 1986 and by

Gabriele Reinsch Gabriele "Gabi" Reinsch (born 23 September 1963 in Cottbus) is a German track and field athlete. She represented East Germany in the 1988 Olympic Games in discus throw. On 9 July 1988 at the East Germany – Italy tournament in Neubra ...

in 1988. The ''Jahnstadion'', the ''Jahnsportforum'' stadium, the ''Stadthalle'' and adjacent sport parks offer vast options for large sport and culture events. The city is also home to a dedicated sports elite school, the ''Sportgymnasium Neubrandenburg''.

Twin towns – sister cities

Neubrandenburg is twinned with: *

Collegno Collegno (; pms, Colegn ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin. It occupies an alluvial plain at the end of the Val di Susa, between Rivoli and Turin, at ...

, Italy (1965) *

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

, Germany (1987) *

Gladsaxe Gladsaxe Kommune is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and has a total population of 69,681 (2019). Its ma ...

, Denmark (1990) * Koszalin, Poland (1974) *

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

, Israel (1998) *

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

, France (1973) *

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

, Russia (1983) * Villejuif, France (1966) *

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, ...

, China (1999)

References

External links

* * * * https://www.britannica.com/place/Brandenburg-Germany {{Authority control Populated places established in the 1240s 1240s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1248 establishments in Europe Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz