Spandau

:"For the Spandau machine gun, see Maschinengewehr 08. For the 1980s New Romantic group, see Spandau Ballet."

Spandau is the fifth and westernmost borough ("Bezirk") of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and along the western bank of the Havel.

Localities

* Spandau
* Haselhorst
* Siemensstadt
* Staaken
* Gatow
* Kladow
* Hakenfelde
* Falkenhagener Feld
* Wilhelmstadt

History

The history of Spandau begins in the 7th century or 8th century, when the Slav Heveller first settled in the area and later built a fortress there. It was conquered in 928 by the German King Henry I, but returned to Slavic rule after the rebellion of 983.

In 1156, the Ascanian Earl Albrecht von Ballenstedt ("Albrecht the Bear") took possession of the region. 1197 marked the first mention as "Spandowe" in a deed of Otto II, Margrave of Brandenburg - thus forty years earlier than the Cölln part of the medieval Berlin. Spandau was given city rights in 1232.

During the Ascanian Rule the construction of the Spandau Citadel began, which was completed between 1559 and 1594 by Joachim II of Brandenburg. In 1558 the village of Gatow became part of Spandau. During the Thirty Years' War Spandau was surrendered to the Swedes in 1634.

In 1806, after the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt, French troops under Napoleon took possession of the city and stayed there until 1807. In 1812, Napoleon returned and the Spandau Citadel was besieged in 1813 by Prussian and Russian troops.

From 1849 on the poet and revolutionary Gottfried Kinkel had been an inmate of the Spandau town prison, until he was freed by his friend Carl Schurz in the night of November 6, 1850

Before World War I, Spandau was a seat of large government cannon foundries, factories for making gunpowder and other munitions of war making it a centre of the arms industry in the German Empire. It was also a garrison town with numerous barracks, home of the 5th Guard Infantry Brigade and the 5th Guard Foot Regiment of the German Army. In 1920, Spandau (whose name had been changed from "Spandow" in 1878) was incorporated into Greater Berlin as a borough.

After World War II, it was part of the British Occupation Zone in West Berlin and the Spandau Prison, built in 1876, was used to house Nazi war criminals who were sentenced to imprisonment at the Nuremberg Trials. After the death of Rudolf Hess, the prison's last inmate, Spandau Prison was completely demolished by the allied powers and later replaced by a shopping mall.

Modern industries include metal working, chemicals and carpet manufacturing.

Also worthy of note, the popular British New Romantic band, Spandau Ballet takes its name from Spandau.

Places of interest

* Spandau Citadel, a Renaissance fortress built in the 16th century (officially located in Haselhorst)
* St. Nikolai, a late Gothic hall church of the 14th century, where Elector Joachim II Hector on November 1, 1539 attended a Lutheran service for the first time. This date is commonly regarded as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. The Baroque spire was attached in 1744 and refurbished by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1839. ("there is also a Nikolaikirche in Berlin-Mitte")
* Spandau Old Town with medieval "Gotisches Haus" ("Gothic House") of the 15th century
* Town hall ("Rathaus"), finished in 1913

Notable people

* Bela B., musician, born December 14, 1962
* Robert Hoyzer, former football referee, born August 28, 1979
* Ivan Rebroff, singer, born July 31, 1931, died February 27, 2008 in Frankfurt
* Erna Sack, soprano, born February 6, 1898, died March 2, 1972 in Mainz

Twin towns

*Flagicon|United Kingdom Luton, United Kingdom since 1950
*Flagicon|Germany Siegen, Germany since 1952
*Flagicon|France Asnières-sur-Seine, France since 1959
*Flagicon|Israel Ashdod, Israel, since 1968
*Flagicon|USA Boca Raton, Florida, USA since 1980
*Flagicon|Turkey Iznik, Turkey since 1987
*Flagicon|Germany Nauen, Germany since 1988

External links

*de icon [http://www.berlin.de/ba-spandau/index.html Official Homepage]
* [http://www.berlin.de/english/ Official homepage of Berlin]