Editing Salzwedel

{{short description|Town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox German location
|type              = Stadt
|image_photo       = Salzwedel Fachwerk.jpg
|image_caption     = Typical old housing in Salzwedel
|image_coa         = Wappen der Hansestadt Salzwedel.svg
|image_flag        = Hissflagge der Hansestadt Salzwedel.svg
|coordinates       = {{coord|52|51|N|11|09|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan        = Salzwedel in SAW.png
|state             = Sachsen-Anhalt
|district          = Altmarkkreis Salzwedel
|elevation         = 19
|area              = 304.58
|postal_code       = 29410, 29413, 29416
|area_code         = 03901, 039032, 039033, 039037, 039038
|licence           = SAW
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 15 0 81 455
|divisions         =
|website           = [http://www.salzwedel.de/ www.salzwedel.de]
|mayor             = Olaf Meining<ref>[https://wahlergebnisse.sachsen-anhalt.de/wahlen/bmbm/index.html Bürgermeisterwahlen in den Gemeinden, Endgültige Ergebnisse], [[Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt]]. Retrieved 6 July 2023.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2022&ndash;29
|party             = SPD
}}

'''Salzwedel''' ({{IPA|de|ˈzaltsveːdl̩|-|De-Salzwedel.ogg}}, officially known as '''Hansestadt Salzwedel'''; {{langx|nds|Soltwedel}}) is a [[town]] in [[Saxony-Anhalt]], [[Germany]].  It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of [[Altmarkkreis Salzwedel]], and has a population of approximately 21,500. Salzwedel is located on the [[German Timber-Frame Road]].

==Geography==
Salzwedel is situated at the river [[Jeetze]] in the northwestern part of the [[Altmark]]. It is located between [[Hamburg]] and [[Magdeburg]].  Distances from [[Uelzen]] are {{convert|44|km|0|abbr=on}} E, {{convert|12|km|0|abbr=on}} S of [[Lüchow (Wendland)|Lüchow]], {{convert|41|km|0|abbr=on}} N of [[Gardelegen]] and {{convert|24|km|0|abbr=on}} W of [[Arendsee]]. In 1968 test drillings revealed a significant reservoir of natural gas near the city.

=== Divisions ===
The town Salzwedel consists of Salzwedel proper and the following ''Ortschaften'' or municipal divisions:<ref name=Hauptsatzung>[https://www.salzwedel.de/fileadmin/Bibliothek/Stadt/Satzungen/Hauptsatzung_mit_5_Aenderung.pdf Hauptsatzung der Hansestadt Salzwedel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201230359/https://www.salzwedel.de/fileadmin/Bibliothek/Stadt/Satzungen/Hauptsatzung_mit_5_Aenderung.pdf |date=2021-12-01 }}, § 12, 24 October 2018.</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
*Andorf
*Barnebeck
*Brietz
*[[Chüden]]
*Dambeck
*[[Henningen]]
*[[Klein Gartz]]
*[[Langenapel]]
*[[Liesten]]
*Mahlsdorf
*[[Osterwohle]]
*[[Pretzier]]
*[[Riebau]]
*[[Seebenau]]
*Stappenbeck
*[[Steinitz, Germany|Steinitz]]
*[[Tylsen]]
{{div col end}}

==History==
The castle of Salzwedel in the Altmark was first documented in 1112. As part of the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]], the settlement was first mentioned as a town in 1233. To the northeast of the old town (''Altstadt''), a new town (''Neustadt'') began development in 1247. In the [[Middle Ages]] Salzwedel belonged to the [[Hanseatic League]] from 1263 to 1518. As to religion Salzwedel belonged to the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Verden|Diocese of Verden]] (till 1648).

The city from 1247 began developing as a reestablishment from the old part of the town. In 1701 it became part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]]. In 1713, the two towns Altstadt and Neustadt became one. Salzwedel became part of the Prussian [[Province of Saxony]] in 1815 after the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. In 1870 it received a railroad connection. The medieval part of the town remains the commercial and administrative center of the town until today.

As in other German cities and towns during the time of [[Nazi Germany]], the [[History of the Jews in Germany#Jews under the Nazis (1933–1939)|Jewish]] residents of the city were systematically deprived of their rights, then expelled from the city. Salzwedel was hit by five air raids from 1942-1945, and more than 300 people lost their lives, especially on 22 February 1945.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.volksstimme.de/sachsen-anhalt/angriffe-in-der-region-570893 | title=Angriffe in der Region }}</ref>

[[File:Salzwedel-1652-Merian.jpg|thumb|left|Salzwedel in 1652]]

In 1943, the [[Neuengamme concentration camp]] built a female subcamp in Salzwedel, capable of holding more than 1,000 female prisoners. Eventually more than 3,000 women were held there, both Jews and non-Jews. The guard staff at the camp included sixty SS men and women.  One [[Aufseherin]] is known today by name, Lieselotte Darnstaedt, who was born in 1908.  Darnstaedt also served at [[Ravensbrück]] before coming to Salzwedel. On April 14, 1945, the [[US Army]] liberated the Salzwedel women's subcamp, and also a men's camp nearby for male non-German political prisoners.  They were shocked to find more than ninety corpses of women who had died of typhus, dysentery and malaria. At the beginning of 1945, prior to the arrival of American ground forces, Allied war planes attacked the main train station of Salzwedel, killing 300 people. The US Army eventually turned over control of the city to the Soviet [[Red Army]], causing Salzwedel to become part of the [[German Democratic Republic]].

On November 9, 1989 the East-West German border crossing near Salzwedel was opened, along with East-West border crossings in the rest of the country, allowing East Germans residing in Salzwedel and elsewhere to travel freely to West Germany for the first time since the building of the [[Berlin Wall]]. In 1990 Salzwedel received its first democratically elected city government.

The official name of the city was changed into ''Hansestadt Salzwedel'' on 1 April 2008, in reference to its history as a member of the Hanseatic League.

In January 2003 the town incorporated the former municipalities Brietz, Dambeck and Mahlsdorf, in January 2009 [[Benkendorf]], in January 2010 [[Chüden]], [[Klein Gartz]], [[Langenapel]], [[Liesten]], [[Osterwohle]], [[Pretzier]], [[Riebau]], [[Seebenau]] and [[Tylsen]], and in January 2011 [[Steinitz, Germany|Steinitz]] and [[Wieblitz-Eversdorf]].

==Population development==

* 1998 – 20,614
* 1999 – 20,499
* 2000 – 20,349
* 2001 – 20,130
* 2002 – 19,926
* 2003 – 21,360
* 2004 – 21,070
* 2005 – 21,316
* 2006 – 20,777
* 2015 – 24,410
* 2016 -  24,199
* 2017 - 24.002
* 2018 - 23.655
* 2020 - 23.306
* 2021 - 22.999

==Mayors==
Olaf Meining is the [[Mayor]] of Salzwedel since 2022. Since March 2016 Sabine Blümel is the [[Lord mayor|Lord Mayor]].

==Culture and sights==

[[File:SalzwedelSteintorVonOsten.jpg|thumb|Gate Sandtor]]
[[File:Amtsgericht Salzwedel.JPG|thumb|Local Court of Salzwedel]]
===Main sights===
[[File:Salzwedel Burggarten 2014.jpg|thumb|left|Castle garden in Salzwedel (World War I memorial, view on monastery church and tower)]]
Salzwedel's sites of interest include the historic part of town, encompassed by the historic city wall and town gates. The city also contains the birth house of [[Jenny von Westphalen]], later the wife of [[Karl Marx]].
* numerous half-timbered houses
* town gates: Neuperver Gate built 1460-1470, Stonegate built around 1530, and medieval city fortifications with Hungerturm Tower and the ''Kluhs'', a store house dating from 1490 built on the wall<ref>{{interlanguage link|Matthias Puhle|de}}: ''Hanse - 16 Städtebilder in Sachsen-Anhalt'', p. 102, Dössel (Saalekreis) 2008</ref>
* remains of a castle (Castle Tower and Garden)
* Townhall (former monastery)
* Townhall Tower
* The Monk Church
* gothic Brickchurches St.Marien, St.Katharina und St.Lorenz
* another churches: St. Georg and Holy-Spirit-Church
* former Townhall, today's local court of Salzwedel
* Fairy-Tale Garden
* Johann-Friedrich-Danneil-Museum
* "Baumkuchen" Bakeries

===Festivals===
* [[Parkfestival]], music event taking part in a 2-year-rhythm with the participation of national and international artists like [[Die Prinzen]], [[Nina Hagen]], [[Joe Cocker]], [[Reamon]], [[Heather Nova]], [[Leningrad Cowboys]], [[Madsen (band)|Madsen]], [[Blackmail]], [[City]] and so on.
* [[Smack-Festival]], one of the biggest [[Hard-Rock-Festivals]] in [[Saxony-Anhalt]].

===Cuisine===
The delicacies of the town are [[Baumkuchen]], Salzwedeler (Altmärker) Wedding-Soup and Tiegelbraten (mutton).

=== Institution ===
The [[Nicolaus Gercken Family Foundation]] is located in the city of Salzwedel.

==Transport==
Salzwedel is accessed by [[Bundesstraße 71|route 71]] (north to south) and [[Bundesstraße 248|248]] (west to east).  Access to the nearest [[autobahn]] is [[Bundesautobahn 39|A39]] which is {{convert|59|km|0|abbr=off}} away in [[Wolfsburg]], the [[Bundesautobahn 250|A250]] is {{convert|80.9|km|1|abbr=on}} away in [[Lüneburg]], the [[Bundesautobahn 24|A24]] in [[Dreieck]] and the [[Bundesautobahn 241|A241]] is {{convert|81.4|km|1|abbr=on}} away.
[[Salzwedel station]] is on the [[Stendal–Uelzen railway]], part of the [[America Line]] (''Amerikalinie''), which was restored in the 1990s linking [[Berlin Hauptbahnhof|Berlin]] and [[Bremen Hauptbahnhof|Bremen]].  The line connects Stendal and [[Uelzen station|Uelzen]].  Other stations are in [[Wittenberge station|Wittenberge]] near Arendsee and in [[Oebisfelde railway station|Oebisfelde]].

==Notable people==
[[File:Jenny von Westphalen-1.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|Jenny von Westphalen around 1830]]
* [[Balthasar Christian Bertram]] (died 1787), violinist and composer
* [[Heinz Billing]] (1914-2017), Freeman, a physicist and pioneer of computer development and in the exploration of gravitational waves
* [[Andy Böhme]] (born 1970), skeleton pilot
* [[Klaus Decker]] (born 1952), football player
* [[Doris Maletzki]] (born 1952), sprinter
* [[Friedrich Meinecke]] (1862–1954), historian
* [[Michel Niemeyer]] (born 1995), football player
* [[Stephan Praetorius]] (1536–1604), pastor
* [[Jürgen Scharf]] (born 1952), politician (CDU)
* [[Kurt Schütte]] (1909–1998), German mathematician
* Peter Urie (1955-2005), priest and bishop in the Republic of Kazakhstan
* [[Jenny von Westphalen]] (1814–1881), wife of [[Karl Marx]]
* [[Johann Walther (preacher)|Johann Walther]] (1563–1620), deacon and preacher at the {{ill|Johanneskirche, Danzig|lt=Johanneskirche|de|Johanneskirche (Danzig)}}, Danzig
* [[Lorenz Weinrich]] (born 1929), German historian

===People associated with Salzwedel===
[[File:Friedrich Ludwig Jahn.jpg|thumb|170px|Friedrich Ludwig Jahn]]
* Wilhelm Harnisch (1787–1864), educator and writer, visited the school and described Salzwedel  in '' My life Morning ''
* [[Hermann Hager]] (1816–1897), chemist and pharmacist, pharmacist teaching in Löwenapotheke
* [[Friedrich Ludwig Jahn]] (1778–1852), father of gymnastics, attended high school Salzwedel
* [[Reinhard Jirgl]] (born 1953), writer, lived from 1953 to 1964 with grandparents in Salzwedel
* [[Hermann Masius]] (1818–1893), educator, school teacher temporarily in Salzwedel
* Siegfried Schneider (born 1946), politician, mayor and city manager of Salzwedel
* [https://www.brookssalzwedel.com/ Brooks Shane Salzwedel] (born 1978), American Artist descendent of Salzwedel, sharing the namesake.

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}

Salzwedel is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Wesel]], [[Germany]], since 1990
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[San Vito dei Normanni]], [[Italy]], since 1990
*{{flagicon|UK}} [[Felixstowe]], [[United Kingdom]], since 1994

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Salzwedel}}
*{{Official website|http://www.salzwedel.de}} {{in lang|de}}

{{Cities and towns in Altmarkkreis Salzwedel (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Saxony-Anhalt]]
[[Category:Salzwedel]]
[[Category:Altmarkkreis Salzwedel]]
[[Category:Holocaust locations in Germany]]