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Möckern () is a town in the Jerichower Land district, 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 ...
, in east-central
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 east 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 ...
. The Battle of Möckern took place south of the town in 1813.


History


Medieval period

Möckern was originally called "Mokrianici" by the
Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...
who settled in the area in the 7th and 8th centuries. The name meant ''a humid place,'' a reference to the formation, at that time, of extensive marshes around the Ehle River. By the middle of the 10th century, the settlement was an established German
burgward A burgward or castellanyArnold, Benjamin (1991). ''Princes and territories in medieval Germany'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, p. 165. . was a form of settlement used for the organisation of the Marca Geronis, northeastern ma ...
, but it is believed that by the end of the 9th century, the settlement was already under German influence. As such, the burgward was obliged by a document from Otto I the Great in 948 to pay a
tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...
to the
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 ...
Moritz monastery. This document is considered to be the first mention of the place. At this period, a fortress was built on the site of the old Slavic settlement, and its
keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
is still part of the fortress today. The castle served as an outpost to protect Magdeburg and secured the important roads to
Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
and
Zerbst Zerbst () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until an administrative reform in 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the former Anhalt-Zerbst district. Geography Zerbst is sit ...
. In 955, Otto I is supposed to have founded Möckern's parish church, following his victory over Hungary on August 10 of that year. Because that day is ( St. Lawrence Day), the church was named for the saint. In the 11th century, Möckern acquired a
defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...
(made of boulders since the 12th century), which was equipped with three gates. Möckern already had its town charter. Over the centuries, the
sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
of Möckern took several twists and turns. In the 12th century, the
Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...
of
Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
had sovereignty, but in 1196, Otto II, Margrave of Brandenburg gave it to the
bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
of Magdeburg. By the 14th century, Möckern had become the property of
Quedlinburg Abbey Quedlinburg Abbey ( or ) is a former abbey of secular canonesses ''( Frauenstift)'' in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Matilda, the widow of the East Frankish King Henry the Fowler, as h ...
, which, with the town as a manor, the Count of Arnstein mortgaged. In 1376, the abbey gave Brandenburg back its sovereignty. After that, Möckern was mortgaged several times, including to a family of nobles and to the bishopric of Magdeburg. In 1472, after several trials, the
Prince-Elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...
of Brandenburg renounced the bishopric in favor of his vassal. Ownership of the
fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
then went to the Counts of Arnstein-Lindow, who held it until 1524, when they died out. In 1710, ownership went to Christian Wilhelm von Munchausen and in 1742, to another family, which held it until 1945.


Modern period

In the 17th century, the town suffered heavy damage from an occupation in 1626 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 ...
and a
conflagration A conflagration is a large fire in the built environment that spreads via structure to structure ignition due to radiant or convective heat, or ember transmission. Conflagrations often damage human life, animal life, health, and/or property. A c ...
in 1688. After 1680, the city belonged to the Brandenburgian Duchy of Magdeburg and was part of the former district of Jerichow. A new town hall was built in 1700 and, in 1715, Münchhausen built a new castle to replace the old fortress. His successor, William Hagen, added on to the castle in 1840. A series of heavy clashes between allied Prusso-
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
troops and the Napoleonic French army south of Möckern ended in defeat for the French on April 5, 1813. This became the prelude to the war of liberation against
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
and is known as the Battle of Möckern. After
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
's final victory, the kingdom re-organized the district administration. This brought Möckern into the newly formed Jerichower Land district, with
Burg The German word Burg means castle. Burg or Bürg may refer to: Places Placename element * ''-burg'', a combining form in Dutch, German and English placenames * Burg, a variant of burh, the fortified towns of Saxon England Settlements * Burg, Aar ...
as the urban district. The town had previously been a farming town with breweries and open air markets, but infrastructure began to develop with sawmills, a steam mill and a starch factory, spurred by the 1892 opening of a railway line between Magdeburg and Loburg. In 1895, the former town hall was replaced by a three-story Renaissance-style building. In 1899, the
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...
founded the Friedensau Adventist University and the surrounding village near the town. At the end of the 19th century, Möckern had more than 1,700 inhabitants.


20th century

The relative prosperity of the town was reflected in the private construction that began in the second half of the 19th century and continued till the beginning of World War I. A row of new streets was built in the western part of town, some with
Jugendstil (; "Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany, Austria and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German and Austrian cou ...
houses. During
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 ...
, from 1939 to 1945, Altengrabow (now part of Möckern) was the location of the Stalag XI-A
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
, in which Polish, French, Belgian, Dutch, British, American, Soviet and other Allied POWs were held. In April 1941, the Stalag 341 POW camp was established in Altengrabow, which was eventually relocated to
Slutsk Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450. Geography ...
in September 1941. On May 5, 1945 Möckern was occupied by the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
, taking the lives of 42 residents. After the end of World War II the Soviet occupying forces instituted a
land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...
, confiscating land held by nobility. The Hagen family lost the Möckern castle and a branch of the State Archives Magdeburg was installed there. Territorial reform in 1952 placed Möckern first in the Loburg urban district and later back in the Burg district. In 1964, Möckern had a population of 2,904. In the 1960s, a large poultry factory was established, among the largest of its kind in East Germany. After
German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
, the plant was taken over by a corporate group, securing 400 jobs for the town. Another major employer manufactures
laminate Simulated flight (using image stack created by μCT scanning) through the length of a knitting needle that consists of laminated wooden layers: the layers can be differentiated by the change of direction of the wood's vessels Shattered windshi ...
flooring which is sold throughout Europe. The former castle owners, the Hagens, also prospered and, in 1991, they returned to Möckern and re-purchased parts of their former property. The castle, which remained town property, became Möckern's elementary school in 1998, after the state archives moved out. In 2005, despite significant local protest, a remote facility for mentally incompetent criminals was established on a former army base in the Lochow section of town.


Geography

The territory of the town of Möckern was expanded with 26 former municipalities between 2002 and 2010. In 2002 it absorbed Friedensau, Lübars, Stegelitz and Wörmlitz, in 2003 Büden and Ziepel, in 2004 Hohenziatz, in 2007 Zeppernick, and in 2008 Theeßen. On 1 January 2009 it absorbed the former municipalities Dörnitz, Hobeck, Küsel, Loburg, Rosian, Schweinitz, Tryppehna, Wallwitz and Zeddenick, and on 2 July of the same year Magdeburgerforth and Reesdorf. Drewitz, Grabow, Krüssau, Rietzel, Schopsdorf, Stresow and Wüstenjerichow were absorbed in 2010,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 ...
but the merger with Schopsdorf was repealed in 2011. Möckern was part of the ''
Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Municipal associations (, , ) are statutory corporations or public bodies created by statute in the German federal states of Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, and Schleswig-Holstein. In Baden-Württemberg the term ''stipulated municipal association ...
'' ("collective municipality") Möckern-Loburg-Fläming until it was disbanded in 2012.


Divisions

The town of Möckern consists of the following 27 ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions:Hauptsatzung der Stadt Möckern
§ 13, December 2020.
*Büden * Dörnitz * Drewitz *Friedensau *
Grabow Grabow () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The town lies southeast of Ludwigslust, the next city, and has the river Elde passing through its old town which is characterized by 16th century tim ...
* Hobeck *Hohenziatz * Krüssau * Küsel * Loburg *Lübars * Magdeburgerforth *Möckern * Reesdorf * Rietzel * Rosian * Schweinitz *Stegelitz * Stresow * Theeßen * Tryppehna * Wallwitz *Wörmlitz * Wüstenjerichow * Zeddenick *Zeppernick *Ziepel


Notable people

* Aga vom Hagen (1872-1949), German painter, author, and art patron


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mockern Möckern Jerichower Land Fläming Heath