Perleberg

Perleberg (German: [ˈpɛʁləˌbɛʁk] (listen)) 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.

Perleberg
Town hall and St. James's church
Coat of arms
Location of Perleberg within Prignitz district
Perleberg Show map of Germany Perleberg Show map of Brandenburg
Coordinates: 53°04′00″N 11°52′00″E
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Prignitz
Subdivisions	12 Ortsteile
Government
• Mayor	Annett Jura (Ind.)
Area
• Total	137.82 km^2 (53.21 sq mi)
Elevation	31 m (102 ft)
Population  (2018-12-31)[1]
• Total	12,141
• Density	88/km^2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	19348
Dialling codes	03876
Vehicle registration	PR
Website	www.stadt-perleberg.de

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 built 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, 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

• 
  Development of population since 1875 within the current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population development in Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of Nazi Germany; Red Background: Time of communist East Germany)
• 
  Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2014-2030 (red line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)

Perleberg: Population development
within the current boundaries (2017)[7]

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1875 10,311 —     1890 10,013 −0.20% 1910 12,161 +0.98% 1925 12,882 +0.38% 1933 13,686 +0.76% 1939 14,845 +1.36% 1946 17,461 +2.35% 1950 17,414 −0.07% 1964 15,983 −0.61% 1971 16,193 +0.19% 1981 16,078 −0.07% 1985 15,736 −0.54% 1989 15,445 −0.47% 1990 15,032 −2.67% 1991 14,566 −3.10%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1992 14,614 +0.33% 1993 14,681 +0.46% 1994 14,692 +0.07% 1995 14,596 −0.65% 1996 14,683 +0.60% 1997 14,141 −3.69% 1998 14,126 −0.11% 1999 14,047 −0.56% 2000 13,907 −1.00% 2001 13,720 −1.34% 2002 13,606 −0.83% 2003 13,354 −1.85% 2004 13,303 −0.38% 2005 13,094 −1.57% 2006 13,029 −0.50%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2007 12,689 −2.61% 2008 12,474 −1.69% 2009 12,450 −0.19% 2010 12,332 −0.95% 2011 12,169 −1.32% 2012 12,059 −0.90% 2013 12,046 −0.11% 2014 12,087 +0.34% 2015 12,204 +0.97% 2016 12,367 +1.34% 2017 12,317 −0.40% 2018 12,141 −1.43% 2019 12,065 −0.63%

People

Lotte Lehmann

• Lotte Lehmann, born here
• Dörte von Westernhagen, born here
• Ernst Ehrenbaum (1861–1942), biologist
• James Broh (1867–1942), lawyer, publicist and politician

References

1. "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden 31. Dezember 2018". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). July 2019.
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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-14.
7. Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons

External links

Media related to Perleberg at Wikimedia Commons