Schönhausen (

Low Saxon Low Saxon (), also known as West Low German () are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of the German-speaking minority). It is one of two di ...

: ''Schöönhusen'') is a municipality in the district of Stendal in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is the seat of the ''

Verbandsgemeinde A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...

'' ("collective municipality") Elbe-Havel-Land.

Geography

The village is situated on a

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called an end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front e ...

, stretching along the eastern bank of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

River. It is located about north of the state capital of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

, halfway between Stendal in the west and

Rathenow Rathenow () is a town in the district of Havelland (district), Havelland in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, with a population of 24,063 (2020). Overview The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Go ...

in the east. Since 1 January 2010 Schönhausen includes the former municipality of

Hohengöhren Hohengöhren is a village and a former municipality in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Se ...

.Gebietsänderungen vom 01. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2010

Statistisches Bundesamt The Federal Statistical Office (, shortened ''Destatis'') is a federal authority of Germany. It reports to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Office is responsible for collecting, processing, presenting and analysing statistical informati ...

Schönhausen station is a stop on the Berlin–Lehrte railway line, served by

Regionalbahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...

trains. The parallel Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway runs through the municipality without stopping.

History

Schönhausen was founded by the Bishops of Havelberg, who had the Romanesque brick church with its prominent westwork erected in 1212. After the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, the Schönhausen estate was

secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

by the Electors of Brandenburg. In 1562 the administrator of Havelberg, Joachim III Frederick of Brandenburg, ceded the Schönhausen estates to the Bismarck family from Stendal, who had to swap it against Burgstall in the Altmark. The village was devastated by Swedish troops during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. In 1680 it became part of the Brandenburgian Duchy of Magdeburg, a constituent land of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

from 1701. The Bismarcks built two

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

residences, the castles of Schönhausen I (about 1700) and Schönhausen II (from 1729), both with extended gardens. Both manors belonged to different branches of the family. On 1 April 1815 the later German chancellor

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

was born at Schönhausen I; he nevertheless grew up at his family's estate in Kniephof,

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

. He inherited the Schönhausen I manor upon the death of his father in 1845; 40 years later, the Chancellor also received Schönhausen II as a present "by the German nation" on the occasion of his 70th birthday, for which purpose it had been bought by the German government in 1885, having been sold previously in 1830 by a different family branch. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Schönhausen became part of the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

and the Bismarcks were deprived of their property by the Soviet Military Administration in 1945. The Communist East German government had the manor of Schönhausen I demolished in 1958, labeling it a symbol of

Prussian Junkers The Junkers ( ; ) were members of the landed nobility in Prussia. They owned great estates that were maintained and worked by peasants with few rights. These estates often lay in the countryside outside of major cities or towns. They were an impor ...

and militarism. In 1998 a Bismarck museum was established in a preserved side wing. The manor of Schönhausen II, previously used as Bismarck museum, became a school in the GDR era; since 2012 it is used as a community center with a registry office, event hall, club rooms, etc. Schloss Schönhausen Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Schönhausen I manor, birth place and parental home of Otto von Bismarck Schönhausen Elbe Herrenhaus II.JPG, Schönhausen II manor Schönhausen.jpg, Bismarck museum

Twin town

Schönhausen is twinned with: * Kirchlinteln,

Notable people

(1815–1898), first

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...

Otto Christian Archibald von Bismarck Otto Christian Archibald, Prince of Bismarck (25 September 1897 – 24 December 1975) was a German politician and diplomat, and the Prince of Bismarck from 1904 to his death (since 1919 only as a part of his name). Life Bismarck was born i ...

(1897–1975), politician and diplomat * Annett Louisan (born 1977 in

Havelberg Havelberg () is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875. It has a populati ...

), singer, grew up in Schönhausen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonhausen Stendal (district) Otto von Bismarck

Geography

History

Twin town

Notable people

See also

References