Bismark is a town in the
Stendal district, in the historic
Altmark region, which is located in the northern part of the state of
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 situated approximately west of
Stendal in north-eastern Germany.
In the early 12th century, the area then under the rule of
Albert the Bear
Albert the Bear (; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.
Life
Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...
was settled with peasants migrating from the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
. The town's name is derived from the nearby river
Biese (after meaning ''
rush plants''); though it may also refer to the ''bishop's march'', a possession of the
Havelberg bishops mentioned in a 1209 deed issued by the
Ascanian margrave Albert II. With the Altmark, Bismark was part of the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...
until it was adjudicated to the Prussian
Province of Saxony after the 1815
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
.
One Herbordus of Bismarck was mentioned holding the office of a ''
Schultheiß
In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a '' Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county ( ...
'' in Stendal about 1270. His descendant
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 ...
received the honorary citizenship of Bismark in 1895.
At an administrative reform that became effective on 1 January 2010, the town of Bismark absorbed the former municipalities of
Badingen,
Berkau,
Büste,
Dobberkau,
Garlipp,
Grassau,
Hohenwulsch,
Holzhausen,
Käthen,
Kläden,
Könnigde,
Kremkau,
Meßdorf,
Querstedt,
Schäplitz,
Schernikau,
Schorstedt and
Steinfeld.
Schinne was absorbed on 1 September 2010.
Gebietsänderungen vom 01.01. bis 31.12.2010
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 ...
These 19 former municipalities and Bismark proper, that had previously co-operated in the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' Bismark/Kläden, now form the 20 ''Ortschaften'' (municipal divisions) of the town.[Hauptsatzung der Einheitsgemeinde Stadt Bismark (Altmark)]
November 2018.
Notable persons
* Elise Hampel, born Lemme (1903-1943); resistance fighter, executed on April 8, 1943 with her husband Otto Hampel in Berlin-Plötzensee.
References
Towns in Saxony-Anhalt
Stendal (district)
{{Stendal-geo-stub