The city of Brandenburg lies on the river Havel.
Or, to be more exact, in the river Havel, as the historic centre was built on a series of islands.
By the time this area was conquered by the first king of Germany in the 10th century,
it had long been an important crossing point for trade routes.
The city of Brandenburg was for a long time the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg,
until the House of Hohenzollern made Berlin the capital in 1417.
The capital of the modern state of Brandenburg is now Potsdam,
but the city of Brandenburg remains one of its most important settlements.
In a sense, though, it's not always completely accurate
to talk of one city of Brandenburg:
the historic centre is made up of three different places.
The Old Town of Brandenburg and the New Town of Brandenburg were unified in 1415,
which explains the unusual coat of arms.
The village of Dom Brandenburg wasn't incorporated until 1929.
The Old Town, now the neighbourhood of Altstadt, was originally called Parduin.
The market place is dominated by the Old Town City Hall,
in its present form built in the 15th century.
In this part of Germany it became traditional
to erect a so-called Roland figure on the market place,
representing the protection of the king.
This is one of the oldest still existing, made in 1472.
Originally it was in the New Town, but was moved here in 1946.
The Old Town market place features another figure
honouring the German humourist and cartoonist Vicco von Bülow,
better known by his pseudonym Loriot.
The "forest pug" is one of his creations,
which explains these sculptures dotted about the city.
Another memorial to him can be found near St John's Franciscan Church —
or at least, what remains of it:
it was partly destroyed in the Second World War and more of it collapsed in 1986.
Since then, what's left has been stabilized
and was used as an exhibition hall for the 2015 National Garden Show.
In the early mediaeval period Germanic tribes were engaged in christianizing this area.
Sometime in the 10th century, a bishopric was established here
but apparently didn't last long.
The oldest parts of St Gotthard's Church were built in the middle of the 12th century,
and it was here that a cathedral chapter was founded, although it very soon moved out.
If you think that tower looks out of place, you're right:
it's modern, built in the 1960s.
Inside the church, a model made in the 1920s by an unemployed toymaker
shows what the tower looked like before the war.
It's still out of place, though:
while most of the church is 15th century Gothic, the tower was 18th century Baroque.
Loriot was baptized here,
and more recently helped to raise funds for restoration work.
The building now serves as a Protestant parish church
and as a small museum in its own right.
Modern intrusions in historic places aren't a new thing.
Take this Art Nouveau façade created in 1902
on the front of a much older Baroque villa.
Or this, the 15th century Plaue Gate Tower,
to which a stone spire and a brick wreath were added in 1928.
It was originally a watchtower by a gate in the town's defensive wall.
The gates were all demolished to make way for new roads for the motor-car,
and most of the wall has vanished.
Many of the watchtowers have remained, although not all:
the Mill Gate Tower, for example, stood here until 1802.
The New Town, or Neustadt, had its own set of walls, gates and towers.
But it has to be said that "new" is a relative term:
the earliest mention of this settlement that historians have found so far goes back to 1198,
and it was thought to be about 10 years old by then.
The Public Prosecutor's Office is in what used to be the Local Courthouse,
notable for two historic events.
In 1940, Lothar Kreyssig became the only judge in Germany
to actively oppose the Nazis' euthanasia program,
and was forced into retirement.
In 1953 an angry crowd demanded, and got,
the release of dozens of political prisoners,
and came close to lynching the judge.
Two different acts of defiance
against two different totalitarian regimes within 13 years of each other.
St Catherine's is the biggest church in the city
and a fine example of Brick Gothic.
In fact, it's one of the most impressive of its kind,
with exquisitely detailed work and unique terracotta statues.
The ceiling of the quire is painted to show Saint Christopher
walking through a surreal landscape of vegetation
in which, if you look very carefully, strange creatures can be seen.
Watching over this are two of the church's patron saints: Catherine and Amalberga.
Also in the New Town is the former Dominican monastery,
used after the Reformation as a hospice and a prebendary residence.
It has recently been renovated, and now houses the State Archaeological Museum.
The third part of the historic city remained independent of it until 1929.
This is the area called "Dom",
a name which refers to its main feature, the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul.
It was here that the cathedral chapter moved just a few years after it was founded.
The whole complex here belonged to the cathedral.
It wasn't just a church: it was the seat of a bishop
who had to manage the diocese, which had religious, social and political functions,
and owned quite a bit of land as well.
Since the Reformation it has been Protestant, and so no longer a cathedral.
But culturally and historically, it is the Cradle of the March of Brandenburg
and the Mother of all the Churches of the March.
The city of Brandenburg an der Havel is about halfway between Berlin and Magdeburg,
and within very easy reach of the A2 autobahn.
However, my impression is that if you do drive there,
you may find it difficult to find a parking space near the centre.
Only a handful of long-distance trains call at Brandenburg,
but there are frequent local trains.
There are two trains an hour from Berlin, taking between 45 and 60 minutes,
and one train an hour from Magdeburg taking about 50 minutes.
The station is a little way from the centre,
but the area is very flat, so it is a fairly level walk.
Alternatively, you can take a tram directly from the station to the centre.
Even though it is relatively flat, it's not the most wheelchair-friendly place I've seen,
with lots of narrow cobbled streets.
It's doable, but with difficulty.
One of the places I regretfully didn't have time to visit
was the open-air Slavic Village Museum,
which recreates an 11th century village.
Unfortunately, their website is in German,
but I would encourage you to check it out if you're in the area.
If you want to take photos inside of St Catherine's Church you have to buy a permit;
St Gotthard's asks for a voluntary donation.
Photography is free in the cathedral,
as long as it's not flash photography,
but not for commercial use —
which is why I can't show you what it looks like inside,
so you'll just have to go there youself.
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