Gardelegen (; ) is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Milde, 20 miles west of Stendal, on the main line of the Hanover–Berlin rail line.
History
Gardelegen has a Roman Catholic and three Evangelical churches, a hospital (founded in 1285), and a high school. There are considerable manufacturers, notably agricultural machinery and buttons, and its beer has a great reputation.
Gardelegen was founded in the 10th century (first named 1196). The castle Isenschnibbe was owned by the House of Alvensleben from 1378 until 1857. On the neighboring heath Margrave Louis I. of Brandenburg gained, in 1343, a victory over Otto the Mild of Brunswick. In 1358 Gardelegen became a member of the Hanseatic League. It suffered considerably in the Thirty Years' War, and in 1757 barely avoided being burned by the French.Becker, H. (2011). Gardelegen: tausend Jahre einer Stadt. Sutton Verlag GmbH During World War I, Germany operated a special prisoner-of-war camp for ethnic Poles from the Russian Army, with the aim of subjecting them to propaganda and conscripting them into a planned German-controlled Polish army to fight against Russia (Poland was partitioned between Germany, Russia and Austria at the time). During the final stages of World War II, on 15 March 1945, 52 people lost their lives during an air raid. On 13 April 1945, the Isenschnibbe Barn at Gardelegen was the site of a massacre of more than 1,000 concentration camp inmates, many of them from Poland, the Soviet Union, France and from other countries, perpetrated by members of the SS, the Wehrmacht, the Volkssturm, other Nazi Organisations and local civilians. The majority of the murdered is unknown. The site of the massacre is now a memorial with a sign at the cemetery which reads:Gardelegen Military Cemetery. Here lie 1016 allied prisoners of war who were murdered by their captors. They were buried by citizens of Gardelegen, who are charged with responsibility that graves are for-ever kept as green as the memory of these unfortunates will be kept in the hearts of freedom-loving men everywhere.
At the height of the Cold War, a USAF RB-66 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Soviet fighters near the town on 10 March 1964. The aircraft's crew bailed out and was rescued and eventually handed back to West Berlin by Soviet forces.Dejá vu in Gardelegen by Wolfgang Preisler
After having incorporated 5 former municipalities in 2009,Gebietsänderungen vom 02. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2009, Statistisches Bundesamt 6 in 2010,Gebietsänderungen vom 01. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2010, Statistisches Bundesamt and 18 in 2011,Gebietsänderungen vom 01. Januar bis 31. Dezember 2011, Statistisches Bundesamt Gardelegen is now Germany's third largest city by area, trailing only Berlin and Hamburg. It is actually the largest municipality in area in what was formerly East Germany. The population however is small, with only about 22,000.
Geography The town Gardelegen consists of Gardelegen proper and the following Ortschaften or municipal divisions:Hauptsatzung der Hansestadt Gardelegen, 2 July 2019.
Algenstedt Berge Breitenfeld Dannefeld Estedt Hemstedt Hottendorf Jeggau Jeseritz Kloster Neuendorf Köckte Letzlingen Lindstedt Mieste Miesterhorst Peckfitz Potzehne Roxförde Sachau Schenkenhorst Seethen Sichau Solpke Wannefeld Wiepke Zichtau
Furthermore, the town Gardelegen contains the localities Ipse, Jävenitz, Jerchel, Kassieck, Lindenthal, Trüstedt, Weteritz, Zienau and Ziepel.
Climate
Sights There are various well-preserved half-timbered houses in Main Street (Ernst-Thälmann-Straße) and Nicolaistraße as well as a part of the medieval city wall which deserve a visit.Karl Baedeker: Deutschland 2000, p.101. Ostfildern 2000 In the northern part of the historical centre, St. Georg is a sightworthy gothic chapel which was mentioned for the first time in 1362 as a part of a hospital. It was renovated and enlarged in 1734, and today it is used for exhibitions and concerts.Matthias Puhle: Die Hanse - 16 Städtebilder in Sachsen-Anhalt, p. 27. Dössel (Saalekreis) 2008 In the Middle Ages, the hospital was outside the town, which was surrounded by moats and walls, as people with infectious diseases were treated there. Originally, Gardelegen had three gates when it was surrounded by a medieval town wall. Salzwedel Gate dating from 1565 is a well-preserved gate in the north, a part of Stendal Gate is left in the southeast but Magdeburg Gate in the southwest was demolished completely.Matthias Puhle: Die Hanse - 16 Städtebilder in Sachsen-Anhalt, p. 26. Dössel (Saalekreis) 2008
St. Nicolai Church dating from the 14th century was heavily damaged by bombs on 15 March 1945.Matthias Puhle: Die Hanse - 16 Städtebilder in Sachsen-Anhalt, p. 29. Dössel (Saalekreis) 2008 The nave is still in ruins, and the tower was renovated. There are plans to transform the nave into a concert hall. St. Spiritus is a renaissance building dating from 1591 which belonged to a monastery that was mentioned for the first time in 1319. It was a hospital where sick and elderly people were looked after. St. Mary's Church was built around 1200 in a romantic style with five naves and enlarged in the 14th century, and the Town Hall is an impressive baroque structure which was built from 1526-1522.Karl Baedeker: Deutschland 2000, p.102. Ostfildern 2000
Gallery
Twin towns – sister cities
Gardelegen is twinned with: Darłowo, Poland Gifhorn, Germany Waltrop, Germany
Notable people
Christian Francken (1550–1611), Jesuit and Unitarian theologian Joachim Lange (1670–1744), theologian Johann Wilhelm Weinmann (1683–1741), chemist and botanist Christoph August Tiedge (1752–1841), poet Otto Reutter (1870–1931), comedian, singer and actor Werner Preuss (1884–1919), officer Christa Stubnick (1933–2021), sprinter Raymond Hecht (born 1968), javelin thrower
Associated with the town Richard Sonnenfeldt (1923–2009), American engineer and author, grew up in Gardelegen. He was the chief U.S. interpreter at the Nuremberg Trial. Helmut Sonnenfeldt (1926–2012), American government official, grew up in Gardelegen. He was closely associated with Henry Kissinger.
References
External links