Situated west of theElbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located some 125 km (78 mi) west ofBerlin, around 170 km (110 mi) east ofHanover, and 55 km (34 mi) north of the state capitalMagdeburg. Stendal is the seat of a University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule) and preserves a picturesqueold town including a historic market and several churches. The nearby village Uchtspringe is home to a psychiatric rehabilitation clinic.
A settlement namedSteinedal in the EastphalianBalsamgau ofSaxony, then a possession ofSaint Michael’s Abbey inHildesheim, was mentioned in a deed allegedly issued by EmperorHenry II in 1022. However, the entry has proven to be a 12th-century forgery, as the original document contained no such record. The fortifiedtown near the Elbe crossing atTangermünde was actually founded and grantedMagdeburg rights by the firstBrandenburg margraveAlbert the Bear about 1160.
The parish church of St Mary's was first mentioned in 1283. Stendal quickly prospered as a centre of commerce and trade; it received city walls about 1300, the citizens joined theHanseatic League in 1358 and purchased the privilege of minting from the Brandenburg margraves in 1369. ALatin school is documented from 1338. In 1456 theHohenzollern electorFrederick II Irontooth founded a convent ofAugustinian nuns, which today is the site of a museum. In 1502 his descendant ElectorJoachim I Nestor married PrincessElizabeth of Denmark at Stendal. Several churches, the town hall and the two remaining city gates show Stendal's wealth in the period.
Stendal was the site of aLuftwaffe airfield in World War II, which had been the site of the first GermanFallschirmjäger training school from 1936; the boxerMax Schmeling was trained as a paratrooper here in 1940/41. The town suffered fromstrategic bombing. Stendal was hit by 10 air raids, and more than 300 civilians died when Röxe, a residential area in the southern part of the town, was devastated by bombs.[5] The Cathedral and various historical buildings were heavily damaged by bombs. In April 1945, the aerodrome served as starting place of theSonderkommando Elbe unit, only a few days before the local authorities surrendered to the US Army. On May 4, the commander of the Wehrmacht12th Army, GeneralMaximilian von Edelsheim, signed the capitulation document at the Stendal town hall. In July 1945, Stendal was handed over to Soviet occupation.
From 1949 untilGerman reunification in 1990, the town belonged toEast Germany, part ofBezirk Magdeburg from 1952. Until 1994, the Stendal barracks served as home base for a riflemen division of the Soviet2nd Guards Tank Army. In 1974 the construction of theStendal Nuclear Power Plant was begun north of the town, but abandoned after reunification. In 2009 the Stendal citizens voted for the prefixHansestadt ("Hanseatic City").
The Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences was founded in 1991 and has around 50 study programmes taught at three departments in Magdeburg and two departments in Stendal. There are approximately 130 professors with around 3,700 students in Magdeburg and 1,800 in Stendal.[7]
There are various well-preserved historical buildings in Stendal, e.g., theTangemünde Gate, a medieval city gate dating from 1220 andUenglinger Gate built in the 15th century.[8] The Powder Tower (Pulverturm) which was built around 1450 is a former defence tower of the medieval city wall.St. Nicholas Church was built in 1423-1467 and heavily damaged by bombs in 1945. Reconstruction was started in 1946, interrupted several times and completed in 2013.[9] The City Hall in the Market Place where astatue of Roland can be seen was built in the 14th century.St. Mary's Church with its two towers measuring 84 metres in height was inaugurated in 1447, and its altar dates from 1471.[10]St. Jakobi Church in the northern part of the historical centre was built 1311-1477.St. Petri Church built at the end of the 13th century is the oldest church in Stendal.Breite Straße with many well-preserved medieval houses is the main street of the old city centre.
The area has a theatre named Theater der Altmark. It was founded in 1946 and has always had a particular involvement in youth and children's theatre. Theatrical performances and dance events are staged, as well as concerts, conferences and meetings.
The Winckelmann Museum[11] is named afterJohann Joachim Winckelmann, the founder of classicalarchaeology. Its holdings include biographical documents, works, designs and diagrams as well asGreek sculptures or casts, along with other small artworks from antiquity. Since summer 2003 the museum has been the owner of the world's biggest Trojan horse. With its size of 15.60 m high, 13 m long, 9.50 m wide and its weight of 45 tons it offers a beautiful view over Stendal. Exhibitions are held relating to archaeology and the history of art from the 18th and 19th centuries; there is also a modern art museum. The museum is the seat of the Winckelmann-Gesellschaft (the Winckelmann Society).[12] In addition, the museum has exhibits relating to the history and cultural history of the city of Stendal and of the Altmark dating from the prehistoric period through the area's early history right up to the present. There are exhibits pertaining to the Hanseatic League,Romanesque art and local archaeological material.
The town also has theLandesfeuerwehrmuseum (Fire Brigade Museum), showing the development of fire fighting and protection from the leather bucket to modern fire engines.
Stendhal (1783–1842), French writer; he lived near Stendal in 1807–08 as an official of the NapoleonicKingdom of Westphalia. According to general belief, he used the aliasStendhal from 1817 in homage to Johann Joachim Winckelmann.[16]
Friedrich Hermann Haacke (1824–1899), physician who dedicated his life to fighting against thecholera epidemics which affected Stendal in the 19th century. The Haacke-Brunnen, a well in the Sperlingsberg quarter, honours him
Gustav Nachtigal (1834–1885), doctor and explorer in Africa. He is honored with bust at the Gustav Nachtigal Square
^Muret, Eduard (1885).Geschichte der Französischen Kolonie in Brandenburg-Preußen, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Berliner Gemeinde. Aus Veranlassung der Zweihundertjährigen Jubelfeier am 29. Oktober 1885 (in German). Berlin. p. 267.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
