Belzig

Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Art = Stadt
Wappen = Wappen Belzig.pnglat_deg = 52 |lat_min = 08 |lat_sec = 32
lon_deg = 12 |lon_min = 35 |lon_sec = 44
Lageplan = Belzig in PM.pngLageplanbeschreibung =
Bundesland = Brandenburg
Landkreis = Potsdam-Mittelmark
Höhe = 88
Fläche = 234.82
Einwohner = 11675
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 14806
Vorwahl = 033841
Kfz = PM "(früher BEL)"
Gemeindeschlüssel = 12 0 69 020
LOCODE = DE BZG
Gliederung = 4 Stadtteile & 14 Ortsteile
Straße = Wiesenburger Straße 6
Website = [http://www.belzig.de/ www.belzig.de]
Bürgermeister = Peter Kiep
Partei = SPD

Belzig is a town in Brandenburg, Germany with a population of 11,808. It is located approximately 70 km southwest of Berlin. Belzig is the capital of Potsdam-Mittelmark district.

Geography

Since 2003, when 14 surrounding villages were incorporated into Belzig, some of them voluntarily, others by State Parliament legislation, Belzig has an area of 234.83 km². Belzig is located in the region and hill chain Fläming and the central town in the High Fläming Nature Park.

These villages became districts (Ortsteile) of Belzig:

*Bergholz
*Borne
*Dippmannsdorf
*Fredersdorf
*Groß Briesen
*Hagelberg
*Kuhlowitz
*Lübnitz
*Lüsse
*Lütte
*Neschholz
*Ragösen
*Schwanebeck
*Werbig

History

*997 first written mention of Belzig
*1532 Martin Luther preached in St. Mary's church
*1636 Thirty Years' War: Eisenhard Castle was destroyed by Swedish soldiers
*1813 Battle of Hagelberg
*1815 Belzig became Prussian, after having belonged to Saxony for centuries
*1818 Belzig became capital of Zauch-Belzig District
*Between 1940 and 1945 there was a subcamp of Ravensbrück in the town.
*1993 Belzig became capital of Potsdam-Mittelmark District
*1995 Belzig was awarded the title "climatic spa"
*2002 Opening of SteinTherme spa

Politics

Peter Kiep (SPD) is mayor of Belzig. In 2002 he was elected for a second term with a support of 77,4% of the vote.

The town council has 22 members. The Social Democrats SPD have 7 seats, the Left Party Die Linke have 3 seats, the Christian Democrats CDU 3 seats and the Liberals FDP and the Greens die Grünen 1 seat each. The remaining seats went to small local groups.

Twinning

Belzig is twinned with Ritterhude, a town in the German state of Lower Saxony.

Places of Interest

Main attractions are medieval Eisenhardt castle and the thermal bath SteinTherme. There is also a pittoresque historic town centre with the town hall and the market place in the middle.

Places of interest in the incorporated villages include Glien Manor (Klein Glien) in Hagelberg and the windmill in Borne.

Belzig is also located in the center of High Fläming Nature Park.

Economy

The district administration is the major employer in Belzig. Belzig is the central town of rural High Fläming area. Thus there are schools, shops, supermarkets, a hospital and a cinema that are used by folk from the surrounding villages and towns. There is a successful rehabilitation clinic in Belzig. After 1989, Belzig has started an ambitious programme to become a spa town and to bring forward tourism.

External links

* [http://www.stadt.belzig.de official website] de icon
* [http://www.belzig.com official website of the Tourist Board] de icon
* [http://www.steintherme.de Stein Therme - thermal bath] de icon
* [http://www.flaeming.net High Fläming Nature Park] de icon