Werder (Havel) is a town with a good 27,000 inhabitants in the Brandenburg district of Potsdam-Mittelmark in the Berlin agglomeration. Werder is a state-approved resort. The city is known nationwide not only as the center of fruit growing near Berlin and for the blossoming of fruit trees in April and May, but also for the blossoming tree festival that takes place on this occasion, a folk festival with many visitors.
The island town of Werder, with its small streets, old fishermen's
houses and the post mill, can only be reached by land via the bridge
over the Föhse, the narrow western Havelarm, which has been renewed
several times, has two church buildings. The evangelical
Heilig-Geist-Kirche with adjoining cemetery was built in 1734 at the
instigation of Friedrich Wilhelm I on the site of an older church,
probably dating from the 13th century, on its fieldstone base. In the
first half of the 19th century, frequent repairs to the roofs led to
considerations of building a new church. In 1852 August Stüler drew two
designs in neo-Gothic forms. After a ground investigation carried out in
1854, it was two years before the old church was demolished. The new
church was built from 1856 to 1858, including the lower part of the
tower in neo-Gothic style. The tower was increased to 45 meters.
The
Catholic church Sankt Maria Meeresstern, named after the Latin title of
the Mother of God, Stella maris, was built in 1905/1906 in the
neo-Romanesque style with a 35 meter high tower.
The village church
in Bliesendorf was built in 1847/1848, incorporating a previous building
from 1727.
The village church in Glindow was built in 1852/1853
according to plans by August Stüler.
The village church in Kemnitz is
a small, rectangular late-Gothic building made of field stone with
bricks. The church was renovated in 1704 and after a fire in 1747 in
1755. The building was increased and the window openings changed in the
manner of an arched arch. the building is covered with a hipped roof and
has a boarded half-timbered roof tower. The interior is kept simple with
a horseshoe gallery, probably from 1798 with later additions and a
pulpit altar probably from around 1756. The church was renovated in
2001/2002 and the outer walls were given a reddish lime slurry.
The
village church of Phöben is a plastered rectangular hall building from
1758, which was expanded before 1875 to include the apse and the western
tower. The windows and the plaster structure were also changed. The
polygonal pulpit probably dates from 1856, while the short horseshoe
gallery on Tuscan columns dates back to the construction period. The
church was extensively renovated in 2003-2005.
The neo-Gothic village
church of Plessow was built in the 19th century from field stones and
bricks.
The core of the Plötzin village church was built in the 13th
century. The simple structure of the rectangular church is deceptive; it
was originally a church with a nave, recessed chancel and apse. In the
south wall of the nave, the original round-arched community portal with
accompanying arch has been preserved, but it is now clogged.
The old town hall on the Mühlenberg, the island's highest elevation,
was built in 1879 by converting an old half-timbered school; it was
redeveloped in 1992–1995. The fruit-growing museum has been located in
the nearby former city prison, which was built in 1896 from the old
mortuary at the cemetery.
The Lendelhaus (Am Markt 21) is named after
F. W. Lendel, who has been producing fruit wine, juices and jams on the
premises since 1916. The house was built in 1789 as a town palace for
the Petzow estate Kaehne. The factory's brick buildings date from the
19th century.
The former executioner's house, now used as a café, is
located in the city center on the central Plantation Square. The city
administration is housed in a representative industrial mansion from the
1920s.
In the districts, several historic village churches are worth
seeing.
The four historic excursion restaurants Bismarckhöhe (Hoher
Weg 150), Friedrichshöhe (Hoher Weg 80), Wachtelburg (Potsdamer Str. 35)
and the Gerlachshöhe (Hoher Weg 69) - named after the previous owner,
the painter Ferdinand August Gerlach - were created at the end of the
19th century th century, when Berliners drove to Werder “for the tree
blossoms”. This eventually resulted in the Tree Blossom Festival.
Zolchow Castle was a fortified lowland castle from the late Middle Ages
on the Great Plessower See near the district of Kemnitz, the remains of
which have been preserved.
See also: List of architectural monuments
in Werder (Havel) and List of archaeological monuments in Werder (Havel)
Memorial site from 1975 on the New Cemetery on Kemnitzer Straße for
Soviet soldiers, concentration camp prisoners, prisoners of war and
forced laborers, 20 of whom are named. Next to it is a memorial to the
victims of fascism, which was moved here from a central location in the
city after 1989.
Commemorative plaque from 2004 for seven youths from
Werder who were executed in Moscow in 1952 in the Carl von Ossietzky
School: names of the five men and two women. Text continues: "Many
unnamed people had valuable years of their lives stolen through forced
labor and imprisonment".
Memorial from 2008 on the island cemetery
for a resistance group against Stalinism (1952).
The fruit growing museum on the island provides information about the
history of fruit growing in Werder.
Today, what is considered by
many to be the only remaining brickworks in the Glindow district is a
museum. The burnt earth ceramic artists' association is involved in
events there. The ring kiln fired with pulverized coal is still used
today to fire works of art or custom-made bricks.
Since 2008, the
Schützenhaus Werder building at Uferstrasse 10 has housed the
“Kunst-Geschoss” city gallery, which houses changing exhibitions on 230
square meters. The curator of the gallery is the artist Frank W. Weber.
Around 6000 visitors visit the gallery every year. In 2014, on the 100th
anniversary of the poet's death, the "Christian Morgenstern Literature
Museum" was opened in the renovated viewing and museum tower on the
Bismarckhöhe. Morgenstern is said to have written his gallows songs on
the Werderaner Galgenberg or performed them privately on trips to the
Galgenberg.
Cinema Scala Kulturpalast, formerly Fontane Lichtspiele
Theater
Comedie Soleil
The most important festival of the year is the tree blossom festival,
which is celebrated on May 1st. It always starts on the last weekend in
April. On the Friday before the weekend, the tree blossom queen will be
crowned at the tree blossom ball. Only women over the age of 18 are
allowed to compete, who have to prove their knowledge of the city and
fruit growing in several tests. On the Saturday of the first weekend,
after the traditional procession in which the clubs and the city present
themselves, the newly crowned queen will open the tree blossom festival.
While the hustle and bustle dominates in the city center, a cozy
atmosphere prevails in the outskirts of the center and the city - in the
gardens and on the plantations of the fruit growers. A jury awards the
Goldene Kruke to the best fruit wine producers. The locally produced
fruit wine is known for its smooth aroma, which is more reminiscent of
fruit juice and its often underestimated effect when consumed
excessively, which it exerts on its consumers. The numerous guests at
the festival, who for safety reasons can only purchase this fruit wine
in plastic bottles during the blossom festival, will be bid farewell on
the last Sunday at 10 p.m. with a large firework display.
Every
year, individual districts organize their own local or village
festivals, which also attract many guests from the surrounding area. The
cherry and brick festival in Glindow is particularly well-known, along
with the tree blossom festival.
Every Friday the weekly market
takes place in the city. The stands are distributed mainly along the
street Unter den Linden, which is located directly in the center.
The rifle club Werders also organizes a festival every year, which
attracts visitors from beyond the city limits.
Due to the large
areas of water in the area around the city, the water festival has been
held for several years. Races are held on the Föhse with dragon boats
and the water sports clubs present themselves.
The mill festival
takes place regularly at the post mill on the island.
Fishing is easy in Brandenburg. If you fish non-predatory fish, e.g.
B. carp, tench, bream, rudd, roach or barbel does not require a fishing
license, but the annual fishing fee must be paid and a fishing license
purchased. A fishing license is required for predatory fish, the closed
seasons must be observed and night fishing is not permitted. Day tickets
and information on the fishing fee are available from the Brandenburg
State Anglers' Association on +49 331-7430110 or at www.lav-bdg.de.
Fishing permits are valid for the Caputh ferry, Schwielowsee,
Glindowsee, in the direction of the small and large Zernsee railway
bridge to Töplitz/Phöben. Fishing permits are available at Fischerhof
Kühn and in the water sports shop Krüger und Till. At the fishing
protection cooperative "Havel" Brandenburg e.G. you can order annual
fishing permits, daily, weekly and monthly fishing permits online, which
you receive after payment by post or immediately on your smartphone. The
fishing levy can be ordered online, but it will be sent by post; online
shipping is not yet possible.
By ship and boat
Shipping
company Bernd Kuhl. Phone: +49 179 1276163 . Panoramic trips 1.5 - 2
hours over Glindower See and Schwielowsee. The starting point is at the
pier on the island of Werder. Open: From March to October, Tuesday to
Sunday, 11:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., closed on Mondays. Price:
€14 - €16 per person, day trips from €26.
Houseboat rental Werder,
Havelweg 15A, 14542 Werder. Tel.: +49(0)1573 6374903. The houseboats do
not require a license. Booking possible from 5 days, small houseboat
from one day. Price: houseboat 7 days from 1400€.
Public bathing
areas
Strandbad Werder am Plessowersee, Am Plessower See 46, 14542
Werder. Tel.: +49 3327 42111. Lawn for sunbathing, volleyball court,
kiosk, rental of swimming pools and water trampoline.
Strandbad
Glindow, Jahnufer 41, 14542 Werder / OT Glindow. Phone: +49 3327 40855 .
Regular events
The tree blossom festival has been held since 1879
and is one of the largest folk festivals in Germany. It is celebrated in
the week surrounding May 1st and attracts several hundred thousand
visitors.
The cherry and brick festival in the district of
Glindow is at the end of June/beginning of July
By plane
The nearest airport is Berlin Brandenburg Airport (IATA:
BER) 55km away.
With public transport (train or bus) you need a
good hour and have to change once in Golm.
By train
At Werder
(Havel) station, regional express trains on line RE1 stop twice an hour
in each direction: Frankfurt
(Oder)-Berlin-Potsdam-Brandenburg-Magdeburg, with only every second
train going to/from Magdeburg (i.e. once an hour). The journey from/to
Potsdam Hbf takes 10 minutes, Brandenburg 15 minutes, Berlin Hbf 35
minutes, Magdeburg 1:05 hours, Frankfurt (Oder) 1:45 hours.
From
the train station it is 2 km to the city center, which can be reached in
4 minutes with the bus lines 630, 631 and 633 (to Werder, post office,
buses every 15 minutes, from 8.25 p.m. every half hour, from 9.25 p.m.
every hour until 11.23 p.m.). If you want to take a taxi you have to
call, there are usually no taxis waiting at the station.
By bus
There are bus connections to Potsdam, Belzig and the communities in the
region. The tickets are available on the bus.
Current timetables
www.regiobus-pm.de
On the street
Werder can be reached from
the A10 motorway via the AS 9 Glindow, AS 22 Groß Kreutz and AS 23
Phöben exits.
The federal highway B 1 runs from Potsdam via
Geltow to Werder and from Brandenburg via Groß Kreutz to Werder.
The multi-storey car park at Werder train station on Adolf Damaschke
Straße is free of charge, entry: 6 a.m. - 10 p.m
The parking lot
in front of the island, Unter den Linden, is free of charge, sometimes
with a parking disc
By boat
During the season, Werder is
regularly approached by excursion boats. Petzow and island.
By
bicycle
The Havel cycle path runs right through Werder. On this it is
about 14 km from Potsdam, 43 km from Berlin-Spandau, 82 km from
Oranienburg, 252 km from Waren/Müritz, or in the opposite direction 44
km from Brandenburg, 104 km from Rathenow, 150 km from Havelberg. From
Magdeburg you cycle a total of 147 km along the Elbe-Havel cycle path.
The R1 European cycle route (Boulogne-sur-Mer–St. Petersburg) runs
through the Petzow district (south of the city centre), which is
identical on this section to the Germany route D3 (Vreden–Küstrin) and
the EuroVelo routes 2 and 7. Werder can be reached on signposted cycle
paths, e.g. B. from Berlin (Brandenburg Gate: 48 km), Belzig (50 km),
Wittenberg (89 km), Dessau (148 km), Küstrin (Kietz: 182 km), Dresden
(270 km), Wernigerode (320 km).
On foot
Werder is on the E10
European long-distance hiking trail (Rügen-Potsdam-Cottbus-Prague) and
on the Brandenburg Way of St. James
(Frankfurt/Oder-Berlin-Brandenburg-Tangermünde). The European
long-distance hiking trail E11 (Osnabrück-Dessau-Berlin-Frankfurt/Oder)
runs just a few kilometers southeast of Werder through Caputh, so you
could make a detour here.
The original city center is just over 1km from end to end, everything is within walking distance. If you also want to visit the other parts of the village or the surrounding area, we recommend a bicycle (some of which can be borrowed from the accommodation). The best way to discover the Havel lakes around Werder (Schwielowsee, Glindower See, Großer Zernsee) is to take a canoe.
On Friday, the weekly market takes place on Unter den Linden street,
with the stalls spread out across the street.
Farm shop at
Sanddorn-Garten, Fercher Straße 60, 14542 Werder/OT Petzow. Tel.: +49
3327 46910. Sea buckthorn and regional products. Open: Mon to Sun 10:00
a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Schultz' Ens, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 17, 14542 Werder
OT Elisabethhöhe. Tel.: +49(0) 3327 40800. Brandies, liqueurs, fruit
wine and seasonal fruit, vegetables straight from their own fields.
Open: farm shop Mon to Sun 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Glina Whiskey. Homemade
whiskey and other spirits. Shopping in the Schultz' Ens farm shop.
Guided tours, tastings and regular whiskey evenings.
Producer market,
Glindower Chausseestrasse 63, 14542 Werder. Tel.: +49 3327 79608.
Plants, flowers, fruit, vegetables and regional specialities. Open: Tue
to Sun 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Egg vending machine,
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 9, 14542 Werder OT Elisabethhöhe. Fresh eggs in
vending machines in packs of 10 and 6. Open: 24/7.
Fischerhof Kühn
Fishery, Am Plessower See 84, 14542 Werder (Havel). Tel.: +49 3327
42484. Fresh fish depending on the season and catch, smoked fish,
homemade specialties- Open: 15 April to 30 September Tue - Fri 8.00 a.m.
- 6.00 p.m., Sat 8.00 a.m. - 4.00 p.m., Sun 9.00 a.m. - 2.00 p.m., 1
October to April 14 Tue - Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sat 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.;
February closed.
Glindower Knüppel is a kind of salami
Fruit is grown around Werder due to the mild climate, it is one of
the largest fruit-growing areas in Germany. Fruit wines are made, but
the fruit is also sold seasonally fresh,
Strawberries and sweet
cherries in June, July
Raspberries and currants in July, August,
September
Sour cherries in July, August
Plums in August, September
Apples and pears in September, October
Fruit wines are also made from
the fruit, and every year at the tree blossom festival, the wines are
tasted and the Golden Jar is awarded. Unusual varieties such as
raspberry, peach, gooseberry and rhubarb wine are also offered, as well
as curiosities such as walnut or jostaberry wine. The wines are
available from local beverage shops.
Obsthof Lindicke, Am
Plessower Eck 1, 14542 Werder. Phone: +49 3327 45624 . Homegrown fruit,
fruit spreads, jellies, not-from-concentrate juice, fruit wines, cherry
secco and other regional specialities. Open: farm shop Tue to Sat 9:00
a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Sun 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Cherry orchard Werder,
Am Tannenhof, 14542 Werder. Phone: +49 174 3463872 . Own fruit wines,
tree sponsorships, self-picking, regular events on Sunday afternoons in
summer. Open: Sat, Sun 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Wine is grown on more than 10 hectares in Werder. The Wachtelberg is
the northernmost wine-legally recorded vineyard in the world and it is
also claimed to be the northernmost vineyard in the world. The red wines
Regent and Dornfelder and the white grape variety Müller-Thurgau, from
which the first sparkling wine in Brandenburg is made. The wines can be
bought in some shops in Werder.
"Weintiene" wine bar,
Wachtelwinkel 30, 14542 Werder. In the middle of the vineyard you can
enjoy Brandenburg wines and regional specialties. end of August to . At
the beginning of October there are fresh Federweißer and onion tarts.
Open: From Easter to mid-July 31, Fri from 2 p.m., Sat, Sun, public
holidays from 10 a.m., August to mid-October Tue to Thu from 2 p.m.
Weingut Klosterhof Töplitz, Am Alten Weinberg 7, 14542 Werder OT
Töplitz. Tel.: +49(0) 33202 61841. Wine sale of 8 different wines in the
wine cellar of the winery. From spring to autumn, broom service on
Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 3:00 p.m. Open: by
appointment.
Phoeben Wachtelberg. Tel.: +49 171 2450563. Private
viticulture, wine sponsorships, open winery day.
With the Werderaner Kirsch-Bier, cherry nut juice from the Havelland
and invert sugar syrup are mixed with bock beer from the Neuzelle
monastery brewery. The mixed beer drink with 5.0% alcohol content is
available in local beverage shops and restaurants.
The
amber-colored Werdersche beer with an alcohol content of 4.8% is
produced by the Braumanufaktur in the Forsthaus Templin in Potsdam, just
a few kilometers away.
To the Rittmeister, Seestraße 9, 14542
Werder OT Kemnitz. Tel: +49 3327 4646. Hotel, restaurant and brewery.
They have been brewing their own beer since 2014, there are Pils, dark
beer and seasonal beers. Open: Mon to Sun 12:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., hot
meals 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Price: Main courses €14 - €27.
Werder is surrounded by lakes, so there is a correspondingly large
range of local freshwater fish, which are also offered in the local
restaurants.
Fischer Berner, Phoebener Chaussee 5A, 14542 Werder.
Tel.: +49(0)3327 43446. Fresh fish from our own pond and smoked fish
from our own smokehouse. The way to the fisherman between the two
highway entrances is a bit difficult to find. Pay attention to the
signage. Open: farm shop Mon to Sun 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Fish restaurant
Arielle, Fischerstraße 33, 14542 Werder. Tel.: +49(0)3327 45641. The
focus of the cuisine is on local freshwater fish, but meat eaters and
vegetarians will also find something on the menu. The restaurant is
right on the water with a beer garden in summer. Open: summer daily
11.30 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Winter Mon closed Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun 11.30 a.m.-8
p.m. Fri, Sat until 9 p.m. Price: Main dishes from €11, double room from
€95 with breakfast.
Cheap
Canteen Fleischerei Joppe, Berliner Str. 55, 14542 Werder
(Havel) . Breakfast and lunch service. Open: Mon to Fri 6:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m. Price: Lunch dishes from €4.l
Medium
Restaurant
Bürgerstuben, Uferstraße 10. Tel.: (0)3327-45868, e-mail:
Restaurant@buergerstuben-werder.de. Classic German cuisine at a high
level, but also dishes with a Mediterranean touch. The goulash is
particularly recommended. Cozy atmosphere, good service. Nice beer
garden to sit outside in summer. Don't let the proximity to the soccer
field put you off, it's definitely not a typical clubhouse! Fri-Sun
reservation recommended. Open: daily except Wed, from 11.30 a.m.
non-stop. Price: main courses €9.90–18.90.
Restaurant Orangerie,
Fercher Strasse 60, 14542 Werder/OT Petzow. Tel.: +49(0)3327 46910. The
specialty is sea buckthorn dishes. Open: weekends, public holidays and
bridging days 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Price: Main courses 13€ - 14€.
Colonial Café, Brandenburger Strasse 1, 14542 Werder (Havel). Phone: +49332771007. Large selection of cocktails, burgers, finger food, beer garden, Sky sports bar, there are live bands and DJs in the vaulted cellar. Open: daily 11-00 a.m. until open end.
1 Hotel zu Insel, Am Markt 6, 14542 Werder. Phone: +49 (0)3327 66160,
fax: +49 (0)3327 661666, email: info@hotel-zur-insel.de. 49 rooms with
color TV with cable connection, telephone, shower/toilet and WLAN.
Restaurant with beer garden. Price: double room 90€ with breakfast.
2
Hotel am Markt, Baderstrasse 19, 14542 Werder. Phone: +49 (0)3327
7419979, email: buero@hotel-am-markt-werder.de. Right on the market
square in two of the oldest stone houses, own restaurant in the house.
Price: Overnight stay from €65 with breakfast.
3 Apple Hotel,
Glindower Chausseestrasse 92, 14542 Werder (OT Glindow). Tel.: +49
(0)3327 7407550, fax: +49 (0)3327 7407552, e-mail: info@apfel-hotel.de .
Rooms with shower/toilet, TV, non-smoking, free W-LAN. Restaurant Granny
Smith (Wednesday - Saturday from 6 p.m., Sunday from 12 p.m. open), with
grandma's down-to-earth home cooking. Check-in: 3:00 p.m. Check-out:
11:00 a.m. Price: Single room from €48, double room from €65 with
breakfast.
4 Landgasthaus Mühlenberg, Zur alten Fähre 10, 14542
Werder (OT Töpliz). Phone: +49 (0)33202 649838, email:
info@landgasthaus-muehlenberg.de. Bungalows for 1 - 4 people, approx. 33
square meters with 2 rooms, bathroom/shower, kitchen, heating, WiFi, TV.
Check-in: 3:00 p.m. Check-out: 11:00 a.m. Price: One person €48, 2 p.
€56, 3 p. €75, 4 p. €85.
5 To the Rittmeister, Seestrasse 9, 14542
Werder (OT Kemnitz). Tel.: +49 (0)3327 4646, fax: +49 (0)3327 464747,
e-mail: info@zum-rittmeister.de. 3-star superior hotel with 25 rooms and
another 10 rooms in the renovated courtyard. All rooms with free Sky and
WiFi. Restaurant and brewery see above. Price: Single room from €75,
double room from €95.
6 Resort Schwielowsee, Am Schwielowsee 117,
14542 Werder. Tel.: +49 (0)3327 56960, fax: +49 (0)3327 5696999, e-mail:
office@resort-schwielowsee.de . Hotel complex with 127 rooms, plus
another 10 guest houses on the site, each with 2 apartments and 8
holiday homes. All rooms are air-conditioned and have a minibar and
WiFi. Wellness area with swimming pool, 3 saunas and fitness room. There
are also 2 restaurants and a bar.
7 Country Inn Hotel, Phoebener
Chausseestrasse 30b, 14542 Werder. Phone: +49 (0)3327 5739551, fax: +49
(0)3327 5739552, email: info@country-inn-hotel.de. Non smoking hotel.
All rooms are equipped with a pantry kitchen. Check-in: 3:00 p.m.
Check-out: 10:00 a.m.
The 8 mobile home parking space in front of the island, Unter den
Linden, is centrally located in the city center
9 Blossom Camping
Riegelspitze, Fercher Str., 14542 Werder. Tel.: +49(0)3327 42397.
Camping, cottages, overnight barrels, circus wagons, wood loge, boat
moorings, etc.
10 Glindowsee campsite, Jahnufer 41, 14542 Werder.
Tel.: +49(0)3327 40855. Camping, marina, charter ship, holiday
apartments, mobile homes, bungalows, mobile home parking space, water
hiking rest area, boat moorings, etc.l
Werder probably emerged from the merging of
a handicraft local market town with the adjoining church. A formal
founding of the city or the granting of city rights has not been
documented, nor is there any walling. The legal designations of the
city of Werder and settlement designations indicate for the years
1317, 1330, 1375 oppidum, 1459 stat, 1474 Flecken (Bleke), 1542
civitas, otherwise Städtlein (1580), Mediatstadt (1768), Stadt
(1801).
On the Havel Island, among other things, finds of
Slavic shards are known on the Mühlenberg on the southwestern bank
of the Werder and 3.5 km north-northwest of Werder on the western
bank of the Havel, in the south of Werder a Slavic castle wall is
assumed (the latter without archaeological evidence). The Kietz in
the Fischerstrasse area was probably the old fishing settlement.
On August 26, 1317, the vir strictuus Sloteko,
truchess of Margrave Waldemar von Brandenburg, and his two brothers,
the milites Richardus and Zabellus, sold the small town (oppidum)
Werder along with 46 Hufen fiefdom in the direction of Zauche at the
behest of their liege lord for 244 marks less a quarter mark of
minted Brandenburg silver to the Cistercian monastery Lehnin. The
confirmation document of the margrave does not represent the first
mention of the city of Werder. Rather, the town, which is presumably
equipped with a wooden bridge, is already mentioned in a certificate
from Waldemar dated April 5, 1317. The two documents fit in with the
state expansion of the Lehnin monastery, which is also reflected in
the purchase of the village of Leest along with the interest levy in
Werder in 1339, the transfer of ownership of the village of Phöben
to the monastery on November 15, 1343 or the comparison between
abbot and Monks von Lehnin and the von der Groeben brothers dated
October 18, 1352.
The gradual development to a local craft
market is reflected in the statutes of the guild of shoemakers and
tanners of the old town of Brandenburg from April 30, 1424, where
shoes are sold in the market towns of Rathenow, Ziesar, Potsdam,
Ketzin, Lehnin, Briesen (Mark), Werder and Pritzerbe is limited. The
Elector and Margrave Friedrich II. Of Brandenburg, who had confirmed
a comparison between the Lehnin monastery and the knight Georg von
Waldenfels on September 20, 1459 (on Thursday St. Matheus evening)
in Werder, then allowed the Lehnin monastery on October 21 1459 to
hold a fair in Werder on the Sunday Laetare during Lent or on the
Sunday immediately before the Martinsfest. Even if one cannot speak
of a granting of town charter, the entries on Werder in the land
book of Charles IV from 1375 and as a parish of the provost of
Brandenburg in the register of the diocese of Brandenburg from 1459
show that the town gradually gained sovereign and ecclesiastical
importance.
Nevertheless, their tariffs were pledged several
times by the sovereign to the Neustadt Brandenburg due to financial
difficulties. A weakening of the sovereign is also evident in
disputes with the local nobility. In a kind of wisdom, the mayors,
councilors and municipality of Werder reached a settlement with the
von Hake brothers, who obviously also officiated as Schulzen, and
the farmers of Geltow on December 5, 1474 about seeds, cattle
pastures, rights of way, grain transport, river use, Fishing and
others. In another border dispute on July 19, 1533, a certain
Bastian Tesickendorf zu Werder wanhrachtigk is mentioned among
several servants of the abbot von Lehnin. In the absence of further
evidence, it must remain open whether it is the pastor or - what is
also possible - the clerk and school teacher who are also literate.
The Werder parish was visited by the Chancellor of the Margraves of Brandenburg, Johann Weinlob, just two years before the secularization of the Lehnin Monastery in 1540. According to this, the Holy Spirit Church was subordinate to the Abbot von Lehnin as landlord and the Lords of Rochow as patron saints, that is, the pastors were appointed with the consent of the latter and levied by the former. Associated with the parish church was the church of St. Andreas in Geltow as the second benefice (commenda). If you follow the contemporary register of the annual expenses at the town hall, there was a chaplain and a sexton in addition to the pastor. The latter also worked as a town clerk and schoolmaster, lived in the school house and lived on the taxes of his students, the yarn people and the parishioners. The equipment of the Heilig-Geist-Kirche was more extensive than elsewhere: the rectory included two hooves, eight meadows, a garden with three ounces of hay, a fishery, a pound of candle wax, the grain tithe, but not the meat tithe of 200 communicating believers, the deaths -, the marriage and child bed tax as well as an annual banquet. From the deserted Feldmark Zernow (probably located near the Zernsee), at the instigation of those von Rochow, no more taxes have been received for fourteen years. The pastor's inventory showed u. a. a brewing pan, a brewing basin, two chipboard beds, seven bowls and seven old pewter jugs. Church property had fallen from three to two goblets and from five to three godparents, what remained were a monstrance made of gilded brass and three meadows (including one with the name Marien horne), 10 instead of 13 pounds of wax, a vineyard, three pieces of land (on the Mountains), a piece of flat field (located in front of the heather), five pieces of Beiland in Petzow (Im Petzouschen feldt) and several interest rates. Töplitz, Schmergow, Glindow, Petzow and Phöben are named as neighboring parishes. During a further visitation in 1541, all the village pastors of the Lehnin monastery were given the evangelical catechism, so that a transition from Werder to Lutheran teaching can be assumed at this point at the latest.
During the Thirty Years' War the city was sacked by Swedish troops in 1637 and 1641.
During the Second World War, a small satellite camp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was set up on March 20, 1943. These prisoners, as well as prisoners of war who were housed in the Lichau cellar on Friedrichshöhe and on a Havel barge, had to do forced labor. Before and during the war there was an airfield in the north of the city, which, together with facilities in Wildpark West, served as Air War School III for aviation training until it was relocated to Oschatz in Saxony in May 1944. After the end of the war, the Red Army (a group of the Soviet Armed Forces in Germany) settled on this site, which was stationed there until the final withdrawal in 1992. In early 1945 at the end of the war, the railway bridge, Baumgartenbrücke and Strengbrücke were blown up.
At the beginning of the 1950s, the first youth opposition groups against the GDR regime and the Soviet occupying power emerged. Some of them were sentenced to death by a Soviet military tribunal, others had to do forced labor for several years.
After 1990, the city center, including the island town, was declared
a redevelopment area. This was followed by the renovation or restoration
of a large part of the existing building fabric. All main roads that are
in the care of the city have been rebuilt and repaired. Almost the
entire city is connected to the central sewage system. A modern gas
heating plant supplies the residents with district heating.
Werder is a member of the working group "Cities with historic city
centers" of the state of Brandenburg.
In the years of the GDR,
several residential areas were built in prefabricated buildings in the
city. These include the Jugendhöhe (1980), which is located on the
central hill in Werder, and the residential area Wachtelwinkel (1979) in
the immediate vicinity of the city center. Both were completely
renovated a few years after reunification. Originally there were street
names on the Jugendhöhe such as Straße der DSF, Straße der Jugend and
Hanns-Beimler-Straße. In 1990 all the streets there were named after
classical musicians. City names were used in Wachtelwinkel, such as
Hamburg and Mainz. Siegburg, Oppenheim (see partner cities) and Cologne.
The blocks of flats of the former flight school from before the
Second World War, also called the Fliegersiedlung by the population,
which were later used by the Soviet Army as accommodation for the
soldiers and their families, have been completely reconstructed and
offer a quiet place on the northern edge of the city living environment.
In this quarter there are now mainly official and owner-occupied
apartments. The pre-war buildings on Bernhard-Kellermann-Strasse and the
new buildings at the end of Brandenburger Strasse were also restored.
In addition to the many reconstruction measures in the city, there
are also new residential parks in the city. Some extended existing
areas, such as the Wachtelberg residential area, which complemented the
Wachtelwinkel. Just like this area, the Scheunhornweg and the area
around Adolf-Kärger-Straße, which are located directly on the banks of
the Havel, are equipped with many spacious green areas and small ponds.
Quite early in the 1990s, a district with terraced houses based on
the Danish model developed between Kemnitzer Straße and Elsebruchweg.
Not far away, opposite the Jugendhöhe, a new district with semi-detached
and terraced houses was built. Here the streets are named after birds.
Continuing along Kemnitzer Strasse, you will pass the residential area
of Finkenberg, where social support was a priority. In the south of the
city, at the Werder-Park shopping center, single houses and smaller
blocks of flats were built. The street names are closely linked to the
orchards that used to be on the site. Smaller, newly built colonies of
houses are located opposite the New Cemetery and in the Kesselgrund.
The Havelauen residential and commercial area, which was inaugurated
in 1995, is to the north of the station. In addition to a few companies,
such as the Havelbus transport company, shipping companies and some
smaller offices of larger companies, semi-detached houses have also been
created here. The street names on the former airfield site are derived
from aviation pioneers such as Otto Lilienthal or are related to water.
After the development of the area initially faltered, the new district
has experienced an upswing since around 2011. After 2011, the area
became the focus of property developers. In addition to individual
houses, larger residential complexes and a shopping center have also
been built, the old barracks buildings have been renovated and around
200 exclusive condominiums have been built on the artificial harbor
basin.
The continued attractiveness of Werder and the expectation
of further influx are evidenced by large-scale projects that have
already started, with the focus on waterfront locations. In addition to
RIVA-Maritim, another block area with exclusive condominiums and a
health center is to be built in the Havelauen. In the center of Glindow,
around 100 exclusive rental apartments have been created under the name
"Glindower Seevillen" on around 2.5 hectares directly on Glindow Lake.
The fact that most of the old buildings were either thoroughly
refurbished or completely replaced by new buildings by 2019 (the last
year of the support for the development of the East as part of the
Solidarity Pact II) also plays an important role in Werder's
attractiveness. For example, most of the buildings on the north side of
Alter Markt consist of houses that were built after 1990.
In 2017
the city celebrated its 700th anniversary.
In 2011, the
foundation stone for the large family pool "Blütentherme" was laid.
After the failure of the project and several years of standstill, it
became known in 2018 that the completion of the building would require
another 30 million euros. The costs for the public sector, which had
increased many times over the original sum, led to the questioning of
the usefulness of the project and to the first citizens' initiative in
Werder (Havel), which wanted to achieve transparency and citizen
participation. A few days after the successful collection of signatures
by the "StadtMitGestalter" citizens' initiative, the mayor signed
contracts with Schauer & Co GmbH, which is to complete and operate the
thermal baths. The municipal supervisory authority then declared the
citizens' petition inadmissible, which the association "More Democracy
e. V.” sharply criticized. The citizens' initiative organized itself
into an association and is running as an independent group of voters
with the topics of transparency and resident participation in the 2019
local elections.
A study by the Institut Contor Regio found
Werder (Havel) to be the most up-and-coming city in Germany, with a
population of between 20,000 and 75,000.
From 1817 to 1952 Werder belonged to the district of Zauch-Belzig
(until 1947 in the Prussian province of Brandenburg, from 1947 to 1952
in the state of Brandenburg). 1952-1993 the city was part of the
Potsdam-Land district (until 1990 in the GDR district of Potsdam,
1990-1993 in the state of Brandenburg).
On the occasion of the
regional administration reform in the state of Brandenburg in 1993,
Werder came to the newly formed district of Potsdam-Mittelmark with the
district town of Belzig. The proximity to Potsdam and the concept of
decentralized concentration made Werder fall out of the running as the
seat of the district administration, even though it is the most populous
municipality in the district area.
On July 31, 1992, the Werder
office was created, in which initially seven smaller communities
(Bliesendorf, Glindow, Grube, Golm, Kemnitz, Phöben, Plötzin and
Töplitz) of the Potsdam-Land district in the immediate vicinity of the
city of Werder were combined to form an administrative network were. The
administrative business of these communities was taken over by the city
of Werder (Havel), the mayor of the city was also the director of the
Werder office. Over the course of the next eleven years, the official
communities were incorporated into either the city of Werder (Havel) or
the state capital of Potsdam; the Werder office was dissolved again in
2003.
The district court of Werder existed from 1879 to 1952.
The students of the University of Frankfurt an der Oder claimed in
1598: Vinum de Marchia terra - transit guttur tamquam serra, or in
German: Märkischer Erde yields go through the throat like a saw. What
was meant was the sour wine that thrived in the Mark. Nevertheless, the
court medicus of the Great Elector, Johann Elsholtz, determined around a
hundred years later: Werder wines are those that do not grow on rough
limestone soil but on clear sandy hills and are therefore only light
wines, but not with a consistent acidity, but rather have a pleasant
lightness (…).
Theodor Fontane, on the other hand, viewed the
inhabitants of Werder with a critical eye when he observed during the
hikes through the Mark Brandenburg: They are very superstitious,
particularly experienced in seeing ghosts, have a gibberish language,
bad child rearing, bad morals and do not attach much importance to the
arts and sciences. Industriousness and frugal living, however, cannot be
denied. They rarely get sick and, given their way of life, they grow
very old (...) all these features (...) were understandably unable to
create a magnificent building from Werder. It had its location and its
church, both beautiful, but God had given them the location and the
Lehnin monks had given them the church.
The city is located around 10 km and 40 km south-west of the city centers of Potsdam and Berlin, respectively, in the north-east of the Zauche landscape, which was shaped by the last Ice Age. The core city is on an island in the Havel, which is 700 to 1400 m wide there, at 38 m above sea level. NHN. The name of the city is also derived from this, because Werder means – similar to Werth or Wörth – island in the river. Werder is also surrounded by the Havel lakes Schwielowsee, Glindower See, Großer Plessower See and Großer Zernsee.
In addition to the core city of Werder, there are the following
districts and residential areas according to the main statute:
Bliesendorf with residential area Resau
The joke
Glindow with
residential area Elisabethhöhe
Kemnitz with residential area colony
Zern
Petzow with the residential areas Löcknitz and Riegelberg
phoebes
Plötzin with the residential areas Neu Plötzin and Plessow
Töplitz with the residential areas Eichholz, Göttin, Leest, Neu Töplitz,
Alt Töplitz.
The place Petzow was incorporated on January 1, 1926. On January 1, 1957, the then independent community of Göttingen was incorporated into the community of Neu-Töplitz. On March 14, 1974, Alt-Töplitz, Leest and Neu-Töplitz merged to form the new municipality of Töplitz. At the same time, Plessow was incorporated into the municipality of Plötzin. On December 31, 1998, Bliesendorf joined the city of Werder (Havel) in a referendum. On December 31, 2000, the municipality of Plötzin was incorporated into the city of Werder. On December 31, 2001 Glindow, Kemnitz and Phoeben were incorporated. Derwitz and Töplitz followed on October 26, 2003. The desire of both the residents of the town and the city of Werder to have Golm incorporated was not granted and triggered a major dispute between the supporters, the Ministry of the Interior, and the city of Potsdam , which Golm was finally allowed to record. With the new district, Werder could have carried the title of university town (the University of Potsdam, several Max Planck Institutes and Fraunhofer Institutes are located there).
Resident companies (selection)
A selection of companies that are
known beyond the city limits:
ABB (Asea Brown Boveri AG)
Christine
Berger GmbH & Co. KG.
E.DIS AG
Kampa
regional bus
Potsdam-Mittelmark
Herbstreith & Fox
Hermes Europe
LJU special
machine construction GmbH
Werder switchgear factory
Schuke organ
building
Werder delicatessen
Werder fruit
Werder has become
known above all for its fruit growing. The city also owes him one of
Germany's nationally known folk festivals, the Blossom Festival. Even
the monks of the Cistercian monastery in Lehnin cultivated fruit here.
Cherries, apples and strawberries are mostly grown. But vegetables,
especially tomatoes, are also grown in the greenhouses. There are
currently two larger companies selling the region's products: on the one
hand "Werder Frucht", which mainly sells juices and the fruit itself, on
the other hand "Werder Feinkost", which specializes in the production of
ketchup, fruit wines and spreads. But even during the GDR era, when many
LPG and other cooperatives controlled the cultivation of the plants, the
products from Werder were more than popular. In addition to being used
as so-called "Bückware", several top hotels (e.g. the "Neptun" in
Rostock) were supplied with the specialties in the area. Since the
beginning of industrialization, which brought about faster transport
options, fruit and vegetables have been transported by steamboat across
the Havel to Berlin, which is developing at an ever faster pace.
Werder (Havel) has an above-average rate of self-employed and
tradespeople and almost full employment.
In addition to the
traditional food and luxury food manufacturers, the local switchgear
factory mainly produces switchgear for the railway industry. Since the
beginning of 2004, the production facilities of the Alexander Schuke
company, a large, internationally active organ building company, have
been located in Havelstadt.
Brick production, especially in
Glindow, was important up until the beginning of the 20th century, and
the products were shipped directly to the up-and-coming cities by barge.
Along with fishing, winegrowing is one of the oldest trades in the
city. In the first half of the 18th century, wine was grown in Werder on
an area of more than 100 hectares. The grape varieties at that time were
"Weißer Elbling", "Weißer und Roter Schönedel" and the "Rotfranke".
However, more red wine is said to have been grown than white wine.
On the island, wine was grown on the Mühlenberg and on the
Gottesberg. The vine leaves used to be used to wrap fruit, especially
apricots and peaches. The fruit could thus be transported gently in the
orchards. In 1887 two vineyards were reported. With the freezing of the
last vines in the winter of 1955/56, the wine-growing period in Werder
ended for the time being. It was not until 1985 that the Horticultural
Production Cooperative (GPG) "Obstproduktion" began planting a vineyard
on the Wachtelberg in Werder on an area of 4.8 hectares. Today, around
30,000 vines grow there on an area of almost seven hectares. As part of
the Federal Horticultural Show in Potsdam, wine trails were laid out on
the Wachtelberg. Today, 38 red and 40 white wine varieties grow here.
In addition to the Werderaner Wachtelberg, the most important
vineyards in Werder today also include the Wachtelberg in Phöben and the
Werderaner Galgenberg, the yield of which has been pressed directly in
Werder again since 2012. In 2007 the old vineyard on the island of
Töplitz, which belongs to Werder, was revived with the Töplitz winery.
Werder is the northernmost wine-growing region in Europe, where QbA
wines are produced.
In 1784 there were 21 brewers and two brewhands in Werder. The first Werdersche brewery by Rasenack was built in the immediate vicinity of the community center on the market on the island. By 1854, four large breweries were established in Werder. The Werdersche beer was advertised as a health beer and was also supplied far beyond the borders of Werder, especially to Berlin. In 1896 the four breweries merged to form the United Werdersche Breweries corporation, which later became the Potsdam Werder brewery cooperative, Werder headquarters a. H. became. She had to file for bankruptcy in 1909. Since the end of 2014 there has again been a Werdersche brewery in the district of Kemnitz.
Werder has a train station on the Berlin–Magdeburg railway line,
which is connected by regional express trains to Berlin (journey time to
Berlin Hauptbahnhof about 40 minutes), Frankfurt (Oder),
Eisenhüttenstadt or Brandenburg, Genthin and Magdeburg. There were plans
to extend the S-Bahn from Potsdam to Werder. Bridgeheads have already
been erected next to the existing Havel Bridge directly in front of the
station as preliminary work.
The Regiobus Potsdam-Mittelmark
connects Werder with two PlusBus and other regional bus lines. Among
other things, it goes to the state capital Potsdam as well as to
Beelitz, Lehnin, Kemnitz, Glindow and Bliesendorf.
In the north,
the city of Werder is touched by the Lower Havel waterway with the
Sacrow-Paretzer Canal. The Potsdamer Havel, also a federal waterway,
flows through the city. During the season, passenger shipping companies
offer excursion lines on the Havel lakes in the area as well as regular
boat connections to and from Potsdam.
Werder can be reached by
car from the direction of Potsdam or Brandenburg via the federal highway
1, one of the most important east-west connections. Werder can be
reached from the motorway via several exits. These include the Glindow
(AS 20, south of the city centre), Groß Kreutz (AS 22, to the west) and
Phöben (AS 23, north of the city) exits. They are all part of the
Berliner Ring (A 10). The Werder motorway triangle (AS 21) connects this
with the A 2 in the direction of Magdeburg.
From 1895 to 1926 a
horse-drawn tram operated in Werder from the station to the market
square with a branch to Glindow.
More than ten kindergartens, including the Anne Frank integration
daycare center, which are both publicly and privately sponsored, take
care of the youngest residents. Due to the strong population growth,
especially due to projects in the Havelauen, there were supply
bottlenecks in 2015. With the construction of a new kindergarten in
Damaschkestraße by the municipal real estate company HGW and several new
private kindergartens, the range of services has been significantly
expanded. There are several after-school care centers in the city for
school children. There are also several meeting places for young and
old, such as youth clubs and senior citizens' facilities. Community
centers in the districts (e.g. Kemnitz, Plötzin) are also available to
citizens and associations for private and public events.
Many
individual practices of general practitioners and dentists provide
medical care. A joint surgical practice with a pediatrician, an
ophthalmologist, dentists, a speech therapy practice and other
specialists is located in the local medical center. One of four
pharmacies is directly attached to this. She continues the tradition of
the eagle pharmacy from the island. There are health food stores in the
individual districts and many physiotherapy practices.
The Werder
police station is part of the Brandenburg protection area.
Deutsche Post AG operates a branch office in a supermarket. There is
also a small distribution center that supplies the villages with letters
and parcels.
The Plessow office of the Education and Science Center of the Federal Finance Administration is located in the district of Plessow.
The city has two elementary schools in its center, named after Franz
Dümichen (elementary school I), a former mayor of the city, and after
Karl Hagemeister (elementary school II), a well-known landscape painter.
The Grundschule I received its current name in 1997, since the
Realschule or Oberschule, which is located on the same site in the
center of the city, also bore the name Carl von Ossietzky. Elementary
school II is located in the "Jugendhöhe" residential area and has a
slightly larger capacity than its counterpart in the city centre.
In addition to the inner-city primary schools, there are two other,
much smaller facilities in the districts of Glindow and Töplitz.
The city also has a special needs school, the only such facility in the
Potsdam-Mittelmark district. Not far from this school is the
Ernst-Haeckel-Gymnasium.
The city's upper school center, which
has a branch in Groß Kreutz, also has a boarding school where students
can stay.
The Freie Schule am Zernsee offers students in the area
an alternative form of teaching based on Rudolf Steiner's pedagogy. On
September 1, 2012, the school was renamed the Freie Waldorfschule
Christian Morgenstern.
For adults, the district adult education
center in Potsdam-Mittelmark in Werder, located on Adolf-Damaschke-Str.
60 opposite the Werder train station, courses in social, cultural,
language and health areas.
The city library has been in a new
building for a number of years with an expanded range of media.
In Werder, there are two field sports halls with spectator seats on
school grounds for sports clubs. There are several places of activity in
the city for many other types of sport, e.g. B. smaller gyms, a regatta
course with a length of 1500 m, the Arno-Franz sports field, a tennis
court and two sports centers.
Europe's largest indoor riding
arena, a polo club and an 18-hole golf course along with a club are
located in the Phöben district.
In the district of Bliesendorf,
the largest and first German cricket facility with a grass pitch was
built on almost 30,000 m² (besides Amsterdam, the only facility of this
type in continental Europe). It is the performance center of the German
Cricket Association and the sporting home of the Havelland Cricket Club
Werder.
The football club Werderaner FC Viktoria 1920 plays in
the 2020/21 season in the Brandenburg League, the FSV Eintracht Glindow
in the state class West. Other sports clubs are the Werder Havelblick
tennis club, the Werder bowling club, the Werderaner VV 1990, the
Werderan archers and a rifle club. There is also a local history club, a
dog sports club, the Historical Vineyard Club and the Werder Carnival
Club.
The Panoramaweg Werderobst is a 15 km long nature trail
that leads from Groß Kreutz over the Zauche plateau to Petzow. A number
of display boards draw particular attention to the importance of fruit
growing in the region.
Honorary citizen
2017: Werner Große (* 1949), 1990-2014 mayor of
the city
2021: Baldur Martin (* 1940)[62], local chronicler
sons and daughters of the town
Hans von Rochow (1824–1891), Prussian
landowner and politician
Anna Simson (1835–1916), women's rights
activist
Karl Hagemeister (1848–1933), painter, a municipal
elementary school was named after him
Paul Lehmgrübner (1855–1916),
architect
Willi Eplinius (1884–1966), theater painter and film
architect
Christiane Hein (1944–2002), film director, dramaturge and
editor
Werner Große (* 1949), 1990-2014 mayor of the city, born in
Glindow
Burglinde Pollak (born 1951), track and field athlete
(pentathlete), Olympic medalist in 1972 and 1976
Brigitte Ahrenholz
(1952–2018), rower (eights), Olympic medalist, world and European
champion
Dieter Timme (born 1956), soccer player and coach
Personalities associated with Werder
Hasso Grabner (1911–1976),
writer, lived in Werder (Havel) from 1968 to 1976
Adolf Damaschke
(1865–1935), educator and land reformer, lived in Werder (Havel) from
1907
Gerhard Graf (1883–1958), painter, lived in Werder (Havel) from
1926 to 1948
Herbert Schnoor (1927-2021). Former Minister of the
Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, spent his retirement here
Günther
Krause (* 1953), politician (CDU), has lived in Werder (Havel) since
2018
Kai Homilius (* 1965), publisher, his Kai Homilius Verlag is
based in Werder (Havel)
Bruno Kramm (* 1967) musician, music producer
and politician (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen/Pirates)
Maja Göpel (*1976)
transformation scientist, sustainability expert, social scientist.
Residence in Werder, Havel