Perleberg (; North Margravian: ''Perlberg'') is the capital of the district of Prignitz, located in the northwest of the

German 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 ...

state of

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 ...

. The town received

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

Prussia 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 em ...

n) being stationed there and as an administrative center for local government.

Geography

20220227 Ältestes Bürgerhaus der Stadt Perleberg

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 Karstädt is a municipality in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Demography File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Karstädt.pdf, Development of population since 1875 within the current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comp ...

to the north-west, Gross Pankow (Prignitz) to the north-east,

Plattenburg Plattenburg is a municipality in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is named after the water castle of Plattenburg which is located in the district. Demography File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Plattenburg.pdf, Development of popul ...

to the south-east; the '' Ämter''

Bad Wilsnack/Weisen Amt Bad Wilsnack/Weisen is an ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. Its seat is in Bad Wilsnack. The ''Amt'' Bad Wilsnack/Weisen consists of the following municipalities: #Bad Wilsnack # Breese # ...

in the south,

Lenzen-Elbtalaue Amt Lenzen-Elbtalaue is an ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. Its seat is in Lenzen (Elbe). The ''Amt'' Lenzen-Elbtalaue consists of the following municipalities: #Cumlosen # Lanz #Lenzen (Elbe ...

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

, 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 the

Hanseatic 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 The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

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

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 Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

; Red Background: Time of communist

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

) 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 A national census in Germany (german: Volkszählung) was held every five years from 1875 to 1910. After the World Wars, only a few full population censuses have been held, the last in 1987. The most recent census, though not a national census, wa ...

in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)

Twin towns - sister cities

Perleberg is twinned with: * Kaarst, Germany * Szczawnica, Poland

People

Lotte Lehmann Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, ...

, 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 (1861–1942), biologist * James Broh (1867–1942), lawyer, publicist and politician

References

External links

{{Authority control Localities in Prignitz Members of the Hanseatic League