Neuhardenberg is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district

Märkisch-Oderland Märkisch-Oderland is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the eastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from the north clockwise) the district Barnim, the country Poland, the district-free city Frankfurt (Oder), the district Oder-Spree and t ...

, 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 the site of Neuhardenberg Palace, residence of the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

statesman Prince

Karl August von Hardenberg Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg (31 May 1750, in Essenrode-Lehre – 26 November 1822, in Genoa) was a Prussian statesman and Prime Minister of Prussia. While during his late career he acquiesced to reactionary policies, earlier in his career ...

(1750-1822). The municipal area comprises the villages of Altfriedland, Quappendorf and Wulkow. Neuhardenberg is part of the ''

Amt 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 ...

'' ("collective municipality")

Seelow-Land Amt Seelow-Land is an ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany. Its seat is in Seelow, itself not part of the ''Amt''. The ''Amt'' Seelow-Land consists of the following municipalities: # Fal ...

Names of the place

The oldest record mentioning the place, then named ''Quilicz'', dates back to 1348. Later the spelling was changed into ''Quilitz''. When in 1814 Karl August von Hardenberg received the manor, he renamed the place right away into ''Neu-Hardenberg''. On

Labour Day Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...

, 1 May 1949, the precursors of

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

renamed it ''Marxwalde'' after

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

. This was reversed on January 1, 1991. Since then the place has borne the old name Neuhardenberg (without the hyphen).

History

The construction of Neuhardenberg Manor, with interior designs by

Carl Gotthard Langhans Carl Gotthard Langhans (15 December 1732 – 1 October 1808) was a Prussian master builder and royal architect. His churches, palaces, grand houses, interiors, city gates and theatres in Silesia (now Poland), Berlin, Potsdam and elsewhere bel ...

, dates from the late 18th century. In 1763 the Prussian general Joachim Bernhard von Prittwitz had received Quilitz, a former property of the

Pfuel The German ancient noble family of Pfuel (also Pfuhl or Phull) arrived in Brandenburg in the year 926 and later widened their influence to Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg, Pomerania, Württemberg, Westphalia, Eastern Europe and Sweden. Its ...

noble family. The historic village was devastated by a blaze in 1801 and reconstructed as a Neoclassical model settlement according to plans by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassica ...

. In 1814 King

Frederick William III Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

vested Hardenberg with the locality together with the princely title as a gratification for his merits as Prussian state chancellor. From 1820 on Schinkel also rebuilt the mansion, while the gardens were redesigned by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau and Peter-Joseph Lenné. During the Third Reich, the Ministry of Aviation (RLM) used the estate of Count (''Graf'') Hardenberg to establish an auxiliary airfield known as ''E-hafen''. This was a secret test site for rocket motors and rocket boosters, developed by

Hellmuth Walter Hellmuth Walter (26 August 1900 – 16 December 1980) was a German engineer who pioneered research into rocket engines and gas turbines. His most noteworthy contributions were rocket motors for the Messerschmitt Me 163 and Bachem Ba 349 intercept ...

and

Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...

. Later, Count von Hardenberg held clandestine meetings at the mansion in preparation for the

20 July plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...

to kill Hitler. After its failure, he was arrested and his properties were seized by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

authorities. In 1945 Hardenberg again had to face the condemnation of his estates by the Soviet Military Administration. The mansion was turned into a school building. From 1957 on the Marxwalde airfield, built in the 1930s, was extended as the base of an

East German Air Force The Air Forces of the National People's Army (german: Luftstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee; LSK) was the Air Force of East Germany. As with the , the , and the Border Troops, it was a military branch of the National People's Army (NVA). ...

wing. After

reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...

the manor was restored to the Hardenberg family and acquired by the ''

Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband The Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (DSGV, ) is the association of German savings banks (german: Sparkassen) and the apex entity of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, the European Union's second-largest financial services group (after BNP Paribas ...

'' saving banks association in 1996. After renovation it was reopened in 2002. It is today used as a conference building but also for cultural events.

Demography

Twin towns

Myślibórz Myślibórz (pronounced ; german: Soldin; csb, Żôłdzëno) is a town in northwestern Poland, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the capital of the Powiat of Myślibórz (powiat myśliborski), with a population of 11,867. It is home to th ...

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 ...

Hamminkeln Hamminkeln () is a town in the district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Issel, approximately 10 kilometers north of Wesel and 15 km south of Bocholt. It is twinned with Sedgefield, United Kingdom a ...

References

External links

Schloss Neuhardenberg Foundation
{{Authority control Localities in Märkisch-Oderland