Wittstock/Dosse is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the

Ostprignitz-Ruppin Ostprignitz-Ruppin is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from north clockwise) the districts Müritz and Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the districts Oberhavel and Ha ...

district, in north-western

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a 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 area of 29,480 sq ...

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 ...

Geography

It is located in the eastern

Prignitz Prignitz () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from the north clockwise) the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, th ...

region on the Dosse River near the confluence with its Glinze tributary, about east of

Pritzwalk Pritzwalk () is a town in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 20 km west of Wittstock, and 33 km northeast of Wittenberge. The river Dömnitz flows through Pritzwalk. History Pritzwalk obtained municip ...

and northwest of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. Wittstock is situated in a

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called 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 edge ...

landscape south of the

Mecklenburg Lake District The Mecklenburg Lake Plateau or Mecklenburg Lakeland
- Federal Ministry of Economics ...

Town structure

After the incorporation of several suburban villages in December 1993 and again in October 2003, Wittstock became the 6th largest town in Germany by area. However, the former independent districts Herzsprung and Königsberg, which were forced to be integrated in 2003, regained their independence in 2004, claiming that the compulsive integration was void because of a clerical error. Both districts were still under the overview of the department of Wittstock. Since 2005, Herzsprung and Königsberg are parts of the commune Heiligengrabe, so the size of the town decreased. The current districts of Wittstock/Dosse:

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Wittstock.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 Wittstock.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)

History

Wittstock resulted from a Slavic settlement and was first mentioned in the deed of formation for the

Bishopric of Havelberg The Bishopric of Havelberg (german: Bistum Havelberg) was a Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic diocese founded by King Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I of Germany in 946, from 968 a Suffragan diocese, suffragan to the Archbishopric of Magdebu ...

in 946. The name is possibly derived from ''vysoka'' ("high-lying") in the language of the local Polabian tribes, it was later

Germanized Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...

into ''Wiztok'' (1271), ''Witzstock'' (1284) and ''Witstock'' (1441), adapted folk-etymologically to Low German ''witt'' ("white") and ''stock'' ("rootstock"). Wittstock Bischofsburg

Obtaining the

Stendal The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Geography Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...

town charter on 13 September 1248 from the hands of the Havelberg Prince-bishop Henry I, it is one of the oldest towns of

. In 1251, Wittstock received an imprint of the town seal, which was one of the oldest in Brandenburg, too. Wittstock Castle, which had been built from 1244 onwards onto a Slavic foundation, served as the residence of the Havelberg Prince-bishops from 1271; it is therefore also designated Old Bishop Castle (''Alte Bischofsburg''). The Havelberg era ended with the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

and the death of the last

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Prince-bishop Busso von Alvensleben at Wittstock Castle in 1548. Up to the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, the fortress was a secure stronghold—until it became the site of the 1636

Battle of Wittstock The Battle of Wittstock took place during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). It was fought on 24 September (Julian calendar) or 4 October (Gregorian calendar) 1636. A Swedish-allied army commanded jointly by Johan Banér and Alexander Lesli ...

, when the troops of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

under Field Marshals

Johan Banér Johan Banér (23 June 1596 – 10 May 1641) was a Swedish field marshal in the Thirty Years' War. Early life Johan Banér was born at Djursholm Castle in Uppland. As a four-year-old he was forced to witness how his father, the Privy Councillo ...

and

Alexander Leslie Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven (15804 April 1661) was a Scottish soldier in Swedish and Scottish service. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of a Swedish Field Marshal, and in Scotland b ...

defeated the allied Imperial and Saxon forces under Elector

John George I of Saxony John George I (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45 year reign. Biography Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector Chr ...

. Followed by the outbreak of a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

epidemic two years later, Wittstock remained devastated and lost about half of its population. The redevelopment of the town was launched by the "Great Elector" Frederick William in 1658. About 1750, numerous colonists descending from

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

and the Palatinate settled the region.

Politics

Seats in the town's assembly (''Stadtverordnetenversammlung'') as of 2019 local elections:Öffentliche Bekanntmachung des Wahlergebnisses für die Wahl zur Stadtverordnetenversammlung und für die Wahlen zu den Ortsbeiräten der Stadt Wittstock/Dosse am 26. Mai 2019 https://daten2.verwaltungsportal.de/dateien/seitengenerator/037adb4f3aa1d0bad47958c8bc16598542257/wahlergebnis.pdf * Christian Democratic Union: 6 *

Free Voters Free Voters (german: Freie Wähler, FW or FWG) in Germany may belong to an association of people which participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it involves a locally organized group of voters ...

Prignitz-Ruppin: 4 * The Left: 4 * Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD): 4 *Farmers' association voting bloc: 2 * Alliance 90/The Greens: 1 * Free Democratic Party: 1

Sports

Wolfe Wittstock is a motorcycle speedway club that competes in Polish 2nd Division (3rd level of the Polish league system)

Twin town

Wittstock is twinned with: *

Höganäs Höganäs () (old da, Højenæs) is a locality and the seat of Höganäs Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 14,107 inhabitants in 2010. Höganäs is nationally known for its ceramics industry, Höganäs Keramik. Höganäs Keramik is par ...

in Sweden ''(since 2004)'' *

Uetersen Uetersen (, formerly known as ''Ütersen ( Holstein)'') is a town in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately south of Elmshorn, and northwest of Hamburg at the small Pinnau River, close to the ...

in Germany ''(since 1990)''

Sights

The town's main historic monument is the Brick Gothic St Mary's Church, dating back to c. 1240. Significantly enlarged as a

hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

in the late 13th century and repleted with a carved altar by Claus Berg, it was used as a cathedral by the Havelberg bishops. The Bishop's Castle was greatly restored in the 1990s and today houses a Thirty Years' War museum. Much of the elaborate late medieval defences still surround the old centre, including a 13th-century gate tower, the Daberburg ''

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under Germ ...

'' north of the town, and a long city wall. The wall's height, originally , today is about 4 to 7 metres.

Personality

Freemen

* Kurt Zellmer, Superintendent: December 12, 2009 * Wolfgang Dost, historian, in honor of his contributions to the cultural life of the city: September 24, 2011

Sons and daughters of the town

* Ellen Streidt (born 1952), sprinter, medalist at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

* Ina Muhss (born 1957), politician (SPD), since 2010 a member of the Brandenburg Landtag * Thomas Skulski (born 1959), journalist and television presenter * Egmont Hamelow (born 1963), local politician ( CDU)

Personalities who were active in

* Friedrich Hermann Lütkemüller (1815-1897), organ builder, lived from 1844 until his death in Wittstock Grossgievitz-luetkemueller

* Melli Beese (1886-1925), Germany's first female pilot, was here during

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

interned along with her husband Charles Boutard

Medal

The ''Medal of Honor Wittstock'' was awarded to: * 2010 Regina Melzer for services within the People's Solidarity and Wolfgang Wilcke for his involvement in the turnaround time

References

External links

* {{Authority control Localities in Ostprignitz-Ruppin