Brandenburg an der Havel

Sister cities

• Kaiserslautern
• Ballerup Municipality
• Ivry-sur-Seine
• Magnitogorsk

History

The name of the city is a combination of two words braniti – to protect/defend and bor – forest/wood. Brenna, which had been a fort of the West Slavic tribe Stodoranie, was conquered in 929 after the Battle of Lenzen by the German King Henry the Fowler of Saxony. It was at this time first mentioned in documents as Brennaburg. By the death of King Henry all the tribes between the Middle Elbe and Middle Oder paid tribute to the German King. At the Magdeburg Assembly of Princes in 948 the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelburg were established. The Holy Roman Emperor Otto I took control of these new sees. In Slavic revolt of 983 there was a major Slav uprising involving numerous tribes and until the middle of the 12th century the area east of the Elbe remained under their control. During this period the area was ruled by Slavic chiefs of the Hevelli tribe. The last of them, Pribislav, died in 1150. Following Pribislav's death his widow Petrissa enabled Albert I of Brandenburg to take over Brenna. Albert was driven out of Brenna by Jaksa of Kopanica and returned there after a long siege only in 1157 by agreement and provide it with a joint German-Slav garrison. Albert now styled himself Margrave of Brandenburg. By 1160 systematic settlement of the Elbe-Havel-Spree basin by nobility, burghers, and peasants from the Schwabengau area (Harz), the Netherlands, the Rhineland, and Westphalia was in progress. In 1165 the foundation stone for a cathedral was laid on the cathedral island of Brandenburg. It was consecrated five years later in the presence of Albert the Bear and his sons. The town was restricted to the western bank of the Havel until 1196, when it was extended to the eastern side. The parts on either side of the river were regarded as three towns (Old Town, New…

Most-observed species

• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  599
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  553
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  540
• Common Crane

  Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  526
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  517
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  508
• Graylag Goose

  Anser anser (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  495
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  450