Perleberg

Perleberg

Town hall and St. James's church

Coat of arms
Perleberg

Coordinates: 53°04′00″N 11°52′00″E / 53.06667°N 11.86667°E / 53.06667; 11.86667Coordinates: 53°04′00″N 11°52′00″E / 53.06667°N 11.86667°E / 53.06667; 11.86667
Country Germany
State Brandenburg
District Prignitz
Government
  Mayor Annett Jura (Ind.)
Area
  Total 137.82 km2 (53.21 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
  Total 12,204
  Density 89/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 19348
Dialling codes 03876
Vehicle registration PR
Website www.stadt-perleberg.de

Perleberg is the capital of the district of Prignitz, located in the northwest of the German state of Brandenburg. The town received city rights in 1239[2] and today has about 12,000 inhabitants. Located in a mostly agricultural area, the town has a long history of troops being stationed here (most notably Prussian) and as an administrative center for local government.

Geography

16th century Roland statue

Perleberg is located in the heart of the district of Prignitz, about halfway between the two largest German cities Berlin and Hamburg.[3] It is surrounded by the municipalities Karstädt in the north-west, Groß Pankow (Prignitz) in the north-east, Plattenburg in the south-east; the Ämter Bad Wilsnack/Weisen in the south, Lenzen-Elbtalaue in the west; the town Wittenberge in the south-west.

The Stepenitz flows from northeast to southwest through Perleberg. The town's historic center is build on an island between two arms of the river.

History

One of the city's oldest buildings is St James's church. First mentioned in 1294,[4] it was frequently altered and extensively remodelled in the 1850s.[5] In German, it is called the Jakobikirche, and therefore sometimes mistakenly called St Jacob's in English.

In the 14th century the town was on its height as part of the Hanseatic League. In 1523 it was the muster-point for an army assembled by Elector Joachim I in support of his brother-in-law Christian II of Denmark's attempt to recover his throne. The Thirty Years' War caused serious damage to the town: of 3,500 inhabitants, only 300 survived.[2] The mayor responsible for rebuilding the city after this period was Georg Krusemarck.

On November 25, 1809, Lord Benjamin Bathurst disappeared in Perleberg. Later accounts of the incident exaggerated the circumstances to such an extent that the disappearance is sometimes claimed to have been caused by paranormal phenomena.[6]

Demography

Perleberg:
Population development within the current boundaries (2013)
[7]
Year Population
1875 10 311
1890 10 013
1910 12 161
1925 12 882
1933 13 686
1939 14 845
1946 17 461
1950 17 414
1964 15 983
1971 16 193
Year Population
1981 16 078
1985 15 736
1989 15 445
1990 15 032
1991 14 566
1992 14 614
1993 14 681
1994 14 692
1995 14 596
1996 14 683
Year Population
1997 14 141
1998 14 126
1999 14 047
2000 13 907
2001 13 720
2002 13 606
2003 13 354
2004 13 303
2005 13 094
2006 13 029
Year Population
2007 12 689
2008 12 474
2009 12 450
2010 12 332
2011 12 169
2012 12 059
2013 12 046

People

References

  1. "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden 31. Dezember 2015 (Fortgeschriebene amtliche Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Geschichte". Official website of Perleberg (in German). Stadt Perleberg. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  3. "Liebenswerte Stadt im Herzen der Prignitz". Official website of Perleberg (in German). Stadt Perleberg. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  4. Höpfner, August. "Die St. Jacobykirche". Perleberger Reimchronik (in German). Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  5. "St. Jacobi Kirche". kirchenkreis-prignitz.de (in German). Evangelischer Kirchenkreis Perleberg-Wittenberge. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  6. Dash, Mike (1990). "The Disappearance of Benjamin Bathurst" (PDF). Fortean Times (54). pp. 40–44.
  7. Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons

Media related to Perleberg at Wikimedia Commons


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