Archaeological excavations ofMesolithic-era sites indicate that the area has been inhabited since about8800 BC.[citation needed] The city was first mentioned in 1232. It was historically spelled "Bärnau"[ɛʁnaʊ̯] and since changed toBernau [ˈbɛrnaʊ̯]. The reasons for its founding are not known. According to legend,Albert I of Brandenburg permitted the founding of the city in 1140 because of the good beer which was offered to him.
Bernau underwent aneconomic boom before theThirty Years' War. Large parts of thedefensive wall withtown gate and wet moats were built during that period. These helped Bernau defend itself successfully against attackers, including theHussites in 1432. However, conditions declined after the war and theplague.Frederick I of Prussia settled 25Huguenot families, comprising craftsmen, farmers, traders, and scientists, in the town in 1699.
Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of Nazi rule; Red Background: Time of Communist rule)
Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to theCensus in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2014-2030 (red line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)
Bernau bei Berlin: Population development within the current boundaries (2017)[6]
The museum of local history has two locations. One is thetown gate with the former prisonHungerturm (Tower of Hunger). It is one of formerly three town gates, that were part of the defensive wall. Today, armour and instruments of torture of theMiddle Ages are shown there. Common furniture from several epochs, and utensils of the executioner are exhibited in theHenkerhaus (executioner's house) to demonstrate life in the small town.
In 2005, the Wolf Kahlen Museum opened. Media art from over 40 years is shown there.
The church of St. Marien in theLate Gothic style dominates the skyline of the town. Thenave was built in the 15th century.
Large parts of the defensive walls and wet moats of the Middle Ages are preserved. The defensive wall is supplemented by several lookout houses, thePulverturm (armoury) and a town gate.
Until the 1960s, the city centre, enclosed by the defensive wall, consisted of small old buildings withtimber framed construction. Most of them were disrepair because no funds were available inEast Germany to renovate them. It was decided to change Bernau into an exemplary city of socialist architecture. Nearly all the old houses were torn down in the 1960s and 1970s and newPlattenbauten (buildings constructed of prefabricated concrete slabs) were built. The new houses had a maximum of four storeys to fit in with the historical architecture of the city.
The formerADGB school is located in the northeast of the town. It is the largest building in theBauhaus style besides the Bauhaus itself.
Konrad Wolf (1925–1982), film director, President of the Academy of Arts, was the first city commander of Bernau after the Second World War (April 1945) at the age of 19, honorary citizen since 1975
^Megargee, Geoffrey P. (2009).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume I. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 1292.ISBN978-0-253-35328-3.
^"Ewakuacja piesza".Muzeum Martyrologiczne w Żabikowie (in Polish). Retrieved8 November 2023.
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