Muehlstein's District
The Altmark region
I was directly elected by a direct mandate for district 66 (Altmark) in the 2005 national vote. The Altmark is in the north of the state Saxony-Anhalt and includes the Stendal district and the Altmark district Salzwedel.
Approximately 230,000 people live in the mainly rural Altmark region. The area is 4,700 square kilometres larger than the Saarland. Therefore, the Altmark is one of the largest districts in the nation.
Here I will describe the worthy sites, the history and the stories of the Altmark region. Follow me on a short trip through my district.
Windmills in the Altmark
The Altmark horizon is filled with varying landscapes: The Low-Moor of Drömling, the Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide, then to the 160m-high “mountain” in the heart of the Altmark or the banks of the Elbe river, and then watersport paradise of Arendsees. It’s an ideal refuge for outdoorsy folks, and for wild and rare birds. The Altmark is also famous for its windmills, as seen in this photo (right) of the backwinds-mill in Zierau.
Arendsee: After 300 years is the millstone released
At least three things depict the Arendsee (see photo at left): It offers fantastic opportunities for water sports, it is home to the delicious fish Venace, and it continues to fascinate geologists and historians. The millstone, which sank under water in 1685, was salvaged 300 years later and is today in the home museum in Arendsee.
Rich by salt and famous through baking
“Soltwedele” on a ford: For more than 150 years, Jeetze has paid the city for the opportunity to navigate to the richest cities in the Altmark. Thus the reason for the Middle Aged city centre, the gorgeous city walls made out of brick, old reservoirs, rich framework construction… Salzwedel (see photo, right) has history and flair, and of course the famous ‘original:’ Baumkuchen cooked fresh over an open fire.
800 years horse-market
The ideal corner where the Elbe and Havel rivers meet, characterize the quiet fishing villages, extended meadows, and the church and island town of Havelberg (see photo, right). In summer, there are beautifully preserved forests and lakes. The first weekend in September one can find the horse-market, a tradition since 1170. Open year-round is the Prignitz Museum, that brings one back to the time of the German goddess Frau Harke.
Agriculture in the past
The Altmark is also an agricultural region, that is depicted in the Diesdorfer Freilichtmuseum with its farms, the backery, blacksmith shop, windmill, and the historical herb garden – all built in the manner of how it was in the past.
Under the Hanse Flag
Where today people come seeking tranquillity, was once a bustling harbour city with stockyards hectic with merchants, shippers and transporters: Werben, Tangermünde, Stendal (at left: Marktplatz), Gardelegen, Salzwedel and Osterburg were in the 12-15th centuries the strongest league in the Hanse, the famous trading region. Embedded with lush resources and the Elbe leisurely flowing by, the scene now invites itself into the pages of a historical photo book.
Valiant struggles and noble men
On the border to the holy Slawenland to the right of the Elbe, comes the incarnation of the Christian Squire, Roland, just to the right. Thus one finds unusually too many from him. The most glorious of all is the giant Stendal Warrior (see photo, right) and his Haldenslebener colleague, who could be found only on horseback.
A bed made of stone for eternity
The name Altmark has been in use since the 14th century. Since the ice ages, hunters and gathers developed a settled race in the region. There is value in a piece of immortality, which was built to last in the construction of historic graves, for example in Stöckheim, Lüdelsen, Drebenstedt, Wötz, and Steinfeld (photo, left).
How Tangermuende lost its historical role as a capital
The city of Tangermünde played a major role in the future of Kaiser-cities as a major German city after the citizens revolted in light of high beer taxes in year 1500. Karl IV made a second home next to Prague in Tangermünde, and built up the market on the mouth of the Tanger in the Elbe river. The reign of the following rulers annoyed the administrators of the house and so they moved the residence to Cölln-Berlin.
Always a good beer
The Prussians definitely liked their beer, and Gardelegen stood as a sign of good hops: In the 1600s there were over 250 different types of beer brewed. Much of the old remains as seen in the neighbour town Kalbe with its 100 bridges and the ruins of the 1000-year-old moated castle.
On the path to Reformation
Luther never himself visited the Altmark, but his influence affected everyone. Altmark students who studied in Luther’s school in Wittenerg pioneered the way to Reformation. It cost the Stendaler city captain and a few citizens their heads, as the Kurpinz rode through the recalcitrant city (Photo at right: Uenglinger Tower) with 1000 riders to devastate 1,210 households.
From tapestries, antiques and French literature
The cityscape from Stendal depicts the prime of seamstresses and traders in the mighty city of the Mark as well as the blasts and disorder of the 30-Years War. Through it all Stendal still had its mighty goals from its attractiveness and high cultural standing, which includes the memory of the Johann Joachim Winckelmann (see photo, left), who was born here and was a founder of modern archaeology. In admiration, the French writer Henri Beyle (The Charterhouse of Parma) took on the pseudonym Frederic de Stendhal.
On the search for the Viking Fontanes
Let yourself relish Theodor Fontane (photo at right) and his “Thoughts about the Altmark.” The expansive landscape with its noble cities full of history and tales that inspired him to write great travel literature and masterly written novels.
A visit at Bismarck's
In 13th century Stendal, the Bismarcks were the leaders of the Tailors Guild, a meaningful role on the city council. They held their hefty roles in the following years, until in 1815 in Schönhausen, the young Otto von Bismarck was born (photo at left). He went on to become Chancellor and is still today one of the most famous people in German history.
Jenny von Westphalen, who married Marx
While her husband Karl Marx attempted to change the world for the better, she held the family together: Jenny Marx (see photo at right). The Jenny-Mark-House in Salzwedel pays tribute to the daughter of the state councilman who was born here, as well as 200 years of women’s history. The magnificent framework house of the Provost Church houses the Danneil-Museum and its ancient history of the Altmark and the history of the city.
Sources: Faszinierendes Sachsen-Anhalt. Abstecher von der Straße der Romanik. Herausgegeben vom Ministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt. (Fascinating Saxony Anhalt. On the Romanesque Road. Edited by the Ministry of Economy and Technology of Saxony Anhalt.)