Country Germany District Elbe-Elster Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Area 88.55 km² Local time Thursday 7:00 PM Dialling code 035342 | State Brandenburg Elevation 91 m (299 ft) Postal codes 04931 Population 4,437 (31 Dec 2008) Postal code 04931 | |
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Weather 7°C, Wind N at 11 km/h, 84% Humidity | ||
Mühlberg is a town in the Elbe-Elster district, in the southwesternmost part of Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the river Elbe, about halfway between Riesa to the south and Torgau to the northwest. It is about 60 km east of Leipzig. It is accessed by the Bundesstraße 182 (Riesa - Torgau - Wittenberg) on the left bank of the Elbe, connected with the town by a bridge, opened in 2008. Mühlberg consists of the Ortsteile Mühlberg, Altenau, Brottewitz, Fichtenberg, Koßdorf and Martinskirchen.
Contents
Map of M%C3%BChlberg, Germany
History
The earliest documentary mention of Mühlberg is in 1230. The town was founded on a sandy island where the River Elbe could be crossed under protection of a castle. There is archaeological evidence, in the form of burials, of Slavic settlement dating back to ca. 600 A.D. The forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor defeated the Schmalkaldic League at the Battle of Mühlberg near the castle on April 24, 1547. From 1939-1945 there existed a World War II prisoner-of-war camp (Stalag IV-B) near Mühlberg. About 300000 prisoners passed the camp and about 3000, most of them Soviet soldiers, died there. After World War II the camp was re-used by the Soviet secret service NKVD as NKVD Special Camp No. 1. About 6700 of the 22000 prisoners of the NKVD are buried in mass graves near the camp area. Today a memorial area remembers on the victims of both camp periods.