Beelitz | |
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 Coat of arms | |
Location of Beelitz within Potsdam-Mittelmark district  | |
  Beelitz  Beelitz | |
| Coordinates:52°14′N12°58′E / 52.233°N 12.967°E /52.233; 12.967 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Brandenburg |
| District | Potsdam-Mittelmark |
| Subdivisions | 12Ortsteile |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2018–26) | Bernhard Knuth[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 180.08 km2 (69.53 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 13,219 |
| • Density | 73/km2 (190/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 14547 |
| Dialling codes | 033204 |
| Vehicle registration | PM |
| Website | www.beelitz.de |
Beelitz is a historic town inPotsdam-Mittelmark district, inBrandenburg,Germany. It is chiefly known for its cultivation of whiteasparagus (Beelitzer Spargel).
Beelitz is situated about 18 km (11 mi) south ofPotsdam, on the rim of the Zauche glacialsandur plain. The town is surrounded by extendedpine woods of theNuthe-Nieplitz Nature Park.
Located on an old trade route from Berlin toLeipzig, today theBundesstraße 2, it also has access to theBundesautobahn 9 at theBeelitz-Heilstätten andBeelitz junctions. Train service to Potsdam and Berlin via theBerlin-Blankenheim railway line is available atBeelitz Stadt andBeelitz-Heilstätten stations.
A 997 deed byEmperor Otto III mentions a settlement with theSlavic nameBelizi, though this denotation may also refer to the nearby town ofBelzig.
TheSaint Mary andSaint Nicholas parish church was first mentioned in a 1247 report of a Jewishhost desecration, and bleedinghost miracle, that made Beelitz a medievalpilgrimage site. Since 1370 the host was kept in a small chapel adjacent to the church.[3][4] The reason for the former name of the Judenberg (renamed Friedensberg after 1945) before the Mühlentor is not confirmed, though tradition indicates it was the site of the burning of Jews.[5]
When in 1731 KingFrederick William I of Prussia billeted ahussar regiment, Beelitz became a garrison town and today is home to aBundeswehr command. The cultivation of asparagus was first documented in 1861.[citation needed]
The village ofKanin, a subdivision of Beelitz since 2001, had been anexclave of theElectorate of Saxony until 1815 and therefore a notorioussmuggling area as well as a destination fordeserters from thePrussian army. Its fieldstone church was erected about 1138 and today is the oldest preserved one within the Brandenburg state.
In 1928, theTelefunken company erected aradio station in the subdivision ofSchönefeld for the wireless communication with North America. Together with theNauen Transmitter Station, it was incorporated by theReichspost in 1932. AfterWorld War II, the station was used by theDeutsche Post of the GDR until it finally went out of service in 1991.
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Beelitz-Heilstätten (52°15′37″N12°55′30″E / 52.26028°N 12.92500°E /52.26028; 12.92500 (Beelitz-Heilstätten)), a district of the town, is home to a large hospital complex of about 60 buildings including acogeneration plant erected in 1898 according to the plans of architectHeino Schmieden. Originally designed as asanatorium by the Berlin workers' health insurance corporation, the complex from the beginning ofWorld War I on was a military hospital of theImperial German Army. During October and November 1916,Adolf Hitler recuperated at Beelitz-Heilstätten after being wounded in the leg at theBattle of the Somme.
In 1945, Beelitz-Heilstätten was occupied byRed Army forces, and the complex remained aSoviet military hospital until 1994, well after theGerman reunification. In December 1990,Erich Honecker was admitted to Beelitz-Heilstätten after being forced to resign as the head of theEast German government.
Following the Soviet withdrawal, several attempts were made to privatise the complex, but they were not entirely successful. Some sections of the hospital remain in operation as a neurological rehabilitation centre and a centre for research and care for victims ofParkinson's disease. The remainder of the complex, including the surgery, the psychiatric ward, and a rifle range, was abandoned in 1994. As of 2007, none of the abandoned hospital buildings or the surrounding area were secured, giving the area the feel of aghost town.
The hospital complex has made Beelitz-Heilstätten a destination for curious visitors and a film set for films likeThe Pianist in 2002, the Rammstein music video[7] "Mein Herz brennt", the filmsValkyrie in 2008,Men & Chicken in 2015,A Cure for Wellness in 2016, and theNetflix series1899 in 2022.
Beelitz-Heilstätten is a popular location forurban exploration, providing a suitably eerie photographic subject for artistic photography.[8]
Beelitz istwinned with:
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