Country Germany District Prignitz Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Local time Monday 11:45 AM | State Brandenburg Elevation 31 m (102 ft) Postal codes 19348 Population 12,474 (31 Dec 2008) | |
 | ||
Weather 13°C, Wind SW at 8 km/h, 44% Humidity Points of interest Tierpark Perleberg, DDR‑Geschichtsmuseum, Stadt‑ und Regionalmuseum Perleberg | ||
Perleberg 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 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.
Contents
Map of Perleberg, Germany
Geography
Perleberg is located in the heart of the district of Prignitz, about halfway between the two largest German cities Berlin and Hamburg. 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 build 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, it was frequently altered and extensively remodelled in the 1850s. 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. The mayor responsible for rebuilding the city after this period was Georg Krusemarck.
On November 25, 1809, Lord 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.