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Perleberg (; North Margravian: ''Perlberg'') is the capital of the district of Prignitz, located in the northwest of the German state of Brandenburg. The town received
Perleberg is located in the heart of the district of Prignitz, about halfway between the two largest German cities Berlin and Hamburg. It is surrounded by the municipalities Karstädt to the north-west, Gross Pankow (Prignitz) to the north-east, Plattenburg to the south-east; the ''
File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Perleberg.pdf, 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)
File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Perleberg.pdf, 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 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)
* Lotte Lehmann, born here
*
city rights
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
in 1239 and today has about 12,000 inhabitants. Located in a mostly agricultural area, the town has a long history of troops (most notably Prussian) being stationed there and as an administrative center for local government.
Geography
Perleberg is located in the heart of the district of Prignitz, about halfway between the two largest German cities Berlin and Hamburg. It is surrounded by the municipalities Karstädt to the north-west, Gross Pankow (Prignitz) to the north-east, Plattenburg to the south-east; the ''Ämter
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
'' Bad Wilsnack/Weisen in the south, Lenzen-Elbtalaue in the west; and the town of Wittenberge to the south-west.
The Stepenitz flows from northeast to southwest through Perleberg. The town's historic center is built on an island between two arms of the river.
History
One of the town's oldest buildings is St James's Church. First mentioned in 1294, it was frequently altered and extensively remodelled in the 1850s. In German, it is called the ''Jakobikirche'', and therefore sometimes mistakenly called ''St Jacob's'' in English. In the 14th century the town was at its height as part of theHanseatic League
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
. In 1523 it was the muster point for an army assembled by Elector Joachim I in support of his brother-in-law Christian II of Denmark
Christian II (1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union who reigned as King of Denmark and Norway, from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke ...
's attempt to recover his throne. The Thirty Years' War caused serious damage to the town: of 3,500 inhabitants, only 300 survived. The mayor responsible for rebuilding the town after this period was Georg Krusemarck.
On November 25, 1809, Benjamin Bathurst disappeared in Perleberg. Later accounts of the incident exaggerated the circumstances to such an extent that the disappearance is sometimes claimed to have been caused by paranormal phenomena.
Demography
Twin towns - sister cities
Perleberg istwinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
* Kaarst, Germany
* Szczawnica, Poland
People
* Lotte Lehmann, born here
* Dörte von Westernhagen
Dörte von Westernhagen (born 5 August 1943) is a German writer who wrote a book about her father, Heinz von Westernhagen, an SS functionary and Waffen-SS commander of the Nazi era.
Westernhagen was born in Perleberg, now in Prignitz, in 1943. Sh ...
, born here
* Ernst Ehrenbaum
Ernst M. E. Ehrenbaum (December 20, 1861 – March 6, 1942) was a German biologist (especially fishes) and oceanographer. Biography
Ehrenbaum was born in Perleberg, Province of Brandenburg, Prussia. He studied natural sciences at the universiti ...
(1861–1942), biologist
* James Broh
James Broh (9 November 1867, Perleberg – 1942, Paris) was a German lawyer, publisher and left-wing political activist.
Broh came from a Jewish family and studied law in Berlin. After graduating, he received a doctorate in law and trained f ...
(1867–1942), lawyer, publicist and politician
References
External links
{{Authority control Localities in Prignitz Members of the Hanseatic League