Brandenburg on the Havel, expansion by going across the river

The city of Brandenburg is an old city on the banks of the Havel that lent its name to the medieval Bishopric of Brandenburg, the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the present-day German State of Brandenburg. Although of great historical significance for north-eastern Germany, the city has been eclipsed in importance by the neighbouring cities of Postdam and off course Berlin.

The first historic mentions of a settlement in this riverside location date back to 948 (as Brendanburg) and 967 (as Brennaburg). The old place name doesn't refer to the Irish Saint Brendan, but is most likely of Germanic origin combining the words branda (fuel or firewood) and burg (secure place, later fort or castle). An alternative explanation links the prefix to the Germanic word brendh meaning well or rising water. Both are equally possible as both tie in with the original landscape of a wooded river valley. The Slavic tribe Stodorani had a stronghold (a ring fort) on an island in the Havel, that was conquered by Henry the Fowler (König Heinrich der Erste) in 929. In 948 (or possibly not until 965) the Bishopric of Brandenburg was founded here. After the recapture of the fortress by Slavic forces in 983, the Bishop went into exile in Magdeburg for the next 170 years whilst Brandenburg was ruled by the Prince of the Hevelli. These princes ruled from the fortress with the Chapel of Saint Peter (Petrikapelle) on what is now the Dominsel (Cathedral Island). After the death of the last Slavic prince Pribislav in 1150 the land fell to Margrave Albert I (Albrecht der Bär). The land of Brandenburg was raised to a Margraviate (Mark Brandenburg) in 1157. By that time a service settlement had come into existence further west called Parduin. Before 1147 White Canons had settled near the Church of St Godehard in this trade settlement north of the river. The moved to the fortress in 1165 where they founded an abbey at the same time the decision was made to erect a cathedral (Dom in German). In 1170 the trade settlement was granted city status by Margrave Otto I. The smaller trade settlement of Luckenberg (named after a hill now called Marienberg) around the Church of St Nicolas wasn't granted these privileges and dwindled to a small village in de the decades that followed. The city of Brandenburg however grew quickly.

A tentative reconstruction of the earliest Brandenburg (B), consisting of a ring fort (in green) with two small villages on the northern river bank of the Havel Parduin (P) and Leckenberg (L) along an old trade route. As Parduin served as a service quarter for the burgh it had a place of worship (dedicated to St. Godehard - G) and a market square (M). Where later the Neustadt would be built only a large farmstead (Bauhof - H) stood.

In 1196 the city was enlarged, not by adding a wider encircling wall and city moat, but by the foundation of a completely new city on the other side of the river directly south of the old fortress. The Court of the Margraves was transferred to a location in the south of this new city. This new city (literally called Brandenburg Neustadt)  was granted separate city rights and had a large market square at its centre next to the Church of St. Catherine. The three component parts Cathedral Island, Old City and New City were seen as separate entities. Together this Greater Brandenburg was an important trade centre. In 1314 and 1315 respectively the Old and New City joined the Hanseatic League. In 1431 The double city became part of the city alliance with Cöln, Berlin (together a twin city on either side of the Spree), Salzwedel and Frankfurt on the Oder. Thus rectifying an older alliance of 1307 within the new reality after 1412 when viscount Fredrick of Nuremberg became the first ruler of Brandenburg in the House of Hohenzollern. In 1598 the city lost its status as the seat of the Elector (the margrave of Brandenburg was one of the four worldly members of the collage of seven within the Holy Roman Empire) was moved to Berlin. The two cities were united in 1715. The cathedral island was added only in 1928. The twin city was never expanded until the age of industrialisation at the end of the 19th century.

With the growth of the twin city the fortifications of the old Burgh became obsolete, and a dam (D) was made through the low-lying floodplain of the Havel to connect the Dominsel to the Neustadt. A bridge still connects the Neustadt and Altstadt. Each city had a market; (Ma) Altstädtische Markt and (Mn) Neustädtische Markt each with a town hall. Both cities had their own fortifications consisting of a moat and wall with gates: Plauer Tor (1), Rathenower Tor (2), Altstädtischer Mühlentor (3), Wassertor (4), Neutor (5), Neue Tor (6), Neustädtischer Mühlentor (7), Neustädtischer Wassertor (8), Annator (9), Steintor (10) and Grabentor (11, a small passage towards the river). On the City Canal, that secures the new city on the south side, a watermill (W) was built. Further south outside the city walls the Hospital (H) stood along the main road to Magdeburg. The oldest place of worship is the Petrikapelle (C1) on the former burgh. Other churches are: Sanct Gotthardkirche (C2), Sanct Nicolauskirche (C3), Sanct Johannis (C4), Domkirche Sanct Peter und Paul (C5), Sanct Katherinenkirche (C6), Heilge Dreifaltigkeitkapelle (C7) and Sanct Paulikloster (C8). This last monastery used to be the Margravial residence. The residence of the Bishop (B) was located in the Old City near the bridge.

A special feature of cities in Brandenburg and Pomerania are so-called Kietze. These were service settlements near a castle, fortified town or river crossing that sprang up all over north-eastern Germany during the middle ages. Historically a Kietz was settled by Slavic people who were serfs of the local ruler. They appear for the first time in the Mark Brandenburg during the 14th century. No charters relating to their foundation are known. They should be compared to regular suburbs, but with a distinct ethnic population. The city of Brandenburg boasted no less than 4 such Kietze: Altstädtischen Kietz (K1), Neustädtischen Kietz (K4), Großen Domkietz (K2)  and Kleinen Domkietz (K3). All are located directly against the former ring fort or on a river crossing.