Hennigsdorf () is a town in the district of

Oberhavel Oberhavel is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Its neighbouring districts are (clockwise from the north): Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the districts of Uckermark and Barnim, the ''Bunde ...

, in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, 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 ar ...

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 betwe ...

. It is situated north-west of

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 constitue ...

, just across the city border, which is formed mainly by the

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...

river.

History

The municipality shared its borders with the former

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

, and so during the period 1961–1990 it was separated from it by the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

. In 1951/2, the

Havel Canal The Havel Canal, or Havelkanal in German, is a canal in the German state of Brandenburg. It provides an alternate route to the River Havel, between Hennigsdorf and Paretz, thus avoiding a passage through the waterways of Berlin between Spandau a ...

was constructed to link Hennigsdorf with Paretz, thus avoiding a passage through the reach of the River Havel, between

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, that was under the political control of West Berlin. The canal is still in use, providing a shorter route for shipping from west of Berlin to the

Oder–Havel Canal The Oder–Havel Canal is a German canal built between 1908 and 1914, originally known as the Hohenzollern Canal, mostly replacing the Finow Canal. Together with Hohensaaten-Friedrichsthaler Wasserstraße, the ''Oderhaltung'' and the ''Schwedter ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Geography

Subdivision

Hennigsdorf consists of 3 districts: * Hennigsdorf * Nieder Neuendorf (since 1923) * Stolpe-Süd (since May 1, 1998)

Neighbouring places

Velten Velten is a town in the Oberhavel district of Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 10 km southwest of Oranienburg, and 24 km northwest of Berlin. History In 1905 Velten had 38 stove factories that delivered 100,000 tiled stoves to Berl ...

Hohen Neuendorf Hohen Neuendorf () is a town in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located north west of Berlin. Geography Hohen Neuendorf is situated upon the Havel river (built on the Oder-Havel Canal) and is bordered by the Berlin areas ...

Schönwalde-Glien Schönwalde-Glien is a municipality in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. History The municipality shared its borders with the former West Berlin, and so during the period 1961-1990 it was separated from it by the Berlin Wall. In 19 ...

Oberkrämer Oberkrämer is a municipality in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, Germany. An experimental farm of wind turbines existed between 1941 and 1945 on the 50 m high Matthias mountain in the area. Subdivisions Oberkrämer consists of form ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Hennigsdorf is twinned with: *

Alsdorf Alsdorf () is a municipality in the district of Aachen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Until the 21st century Alsdorf was a mining area, but now many service companies have established themselves in Alsdorf. Alsdorf has an indoor arena, ...

, Germany *

Choisy-le-Roi Choisy-le-Roi () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department, in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Geography Choisy-le-Roi is located southeast from the center of Paris, on both banks of the river Seine. The neighbouring commu ...

, France *

Kralupy nad Vltavou Kralupy nad Vltavou (; german: Kralup an der Moldau) is a town in Mělník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It is known as a traffic hub and industrial agglomeration. The town is a part ...

, Czech Republic *

Środa Wielkopolska Środa Wielkopolska (until 1968 ''Środa''; german: Schroda) is a town in western-central Poland, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, about southeast of Poznań, with 22,001 inhabitants (2009). It is the seat of Środa Wielkopolska County ...

, Poland

Economy

Located in Hennigsdorf is the Bombardier

LEW Hennigsdorf The rail vehicle factory in Hennigsdorf, Germany, was founded in 1910 by AEG. Locomotive production began in 1913, and in the 1930s absorbed the work of the August Borsig locomotive factory, being renamed the Borsig Lokomotiv Werke GmbH until 194 ...

train factory and a steel smelter.

Sport

Hennigsdorf is home to Stahl Hennigsdorf Rugby, a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club. The team, formed in 1948 under the leadership of

Erwin Thiesies Erwin Thiesies (22 August 1908 – 18 February 1993) was a German international rugby union player, playing for the Berliner SV 92 Rugby and the German national rugby union team.national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

from 1952 to 1990.Rugby in Hennigsdorf - Eine Chronologie
Stahl Hennigsdorf website - club history, accessed: 10 April 2010

Demography

Bevölkerungsentwicklung Hennigsdorf.pdf, Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state; Grey background: Time of Nazi rule; Red background: Time of communist rule) Bevölkerungsprognosen Hennigsdorf.pdf, Recent Population Development (Blue Line) and Forecasts

Notable people

* Michael Hartmann (born 1974), footballer * Frank Klawonn (born 1966), rower *

Dirk Kummer Dirk Kummer (born 29 September 1966 in Hennigsdorf) is a German actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for directing movies ''Sugar Sand'' (2017), ''Wohin mit den Witwen'' (1999) and ''Rosenzweig's Freedom'' (1998). Early life Kum ...

(born 1966), actor, director, writer * Martin Männel (born 1988), footballer *

Erich Muhsfeldt Erich Mußfeldt also spelled Erich Muhsfeldt (18 February 1913 – 24 January 1948) was a German war criminal. He served as an SS NCO in three extermination camps during World War II in occupied Poland and Germany: Auschwitz, Majdanek and F ...

(1913–1948), SS officer at Auschwitz and Majdanek concentration camps executed for war crimes *

Erich Priebke Erich Priebke (29 July 1913 – 11 October 2013) was a German mid-level SS commander in the SS police force (SiPo) of Nazi Germany. In 1996, he was convicted of war crimes in Italy, for commanding the unit which was responsible for the Ar ...

(1913–2013), Nazi war criminal * Karsten Schmeling (born 1962), rower *

Erwin Thiesies Erwin Thiesies (22 August 1908 – 18 February 1993) was a German international rugby union player, playing for the Berliner SV 92 Rugby and the German national rugby union team.LEW Hennigsdorf The rail vehicle factory in Hennigsdorf, Germany, was founded in 1910 by AEG. Locomotive production began in 1913, and in the 1930s absorbed the work of the August Borsig locomotive factory, being renamed the Borsig Lokomotiv Werke GmbH until 194 ...

, large rail vehicle factory located in Hennigsdorf

References

External links

* {{Authority control Localities in Oberhavel