Jewel on the Elbe

Biedermeier in the old Hanseatic town of Werben (Elbe). They speak today's German. They trade in everything that is available at a market today. But twice a year, at the Christmas market and the summer market, the vendors stand at their stalls in the clothes of the Biedermeier era. And it doesn't seem strange, because Werben is a Biedermeier town. Is that where the province celebrates itself? "Province is only where you are province yourself," points out one Werbener, who was born here and lives and works here, at least in the summer: Friedrich Schorlemmer. "Where I am at home, great sandstone Gothic meets great brick Gothic. That is the Altmark." Werben is the northernmost town in Saxony-Anhalt. With a population of about 800, it is a gem on the Elbe in both senses of the word. Werben is located in the far north of the Stendal district, on the left bank of the Elbe. At Räbel there is a combined yaw-motor ferry that provides a connection to Havelberg. The village is picturesquely situated in the wide, natural landscape of the Wische.

Especially worth seeing from the Hanseatic period

In Wiribeni iuxta Albim, i.e. in Werben on the Elbe, King Henry II negotiated several times with Slavic princes in 1005, 1006. The crossing of the Elbe made the place a strategically important pawn. Margrave Albrecht the Bear founded the first branch of the Knights of St. John in northeastern Germany by a donation in 1160. The Lamberti Chapel on the commandery grounds from the 13th century is the oldest preserved building of the order in Germany. The town of Werben has now set itself the ambitious urban planning goal of restoring the old commandery. From 1358 to 1488 Werben was a member of the Hanseatic League. The Elbe Gate, the Salt Church, once the Holy Spirit Chapel, founded in 1313, today a gallery, concert hall and registry office, were built during this heyday of the town. In the Elbtor, built after 1360, you will find a small museum. A magnificent view over the city, gardens and the Elbe meadows can be seen from the upper platform of the Elbe Tower. From here you can also look directly into the nest of storks. But the "mother hen of the city" is St. John's Church with its mighty red gable roof shining far into the country. The late Romanesque basilica, built in 1150, was constantly rebuilt until the 16th century, when it took on its present form.

What else can you experience in the old Hanseatic city?

From Arendsee to Apolda to Jerusalem, people knew the itinerant preacher Gustav Nagel, whose birthplace is in Werben. One of the most beautiful streets in Werben is Seehäuser Straße, where once the farmers, merchants, craftsmen, i.e. the rather "well-heeled" lived. Werben's old town presents itself essentially as a Biedermeier town. This was the period between 1815 and 1848, the time of bourgeois niches as a reaction to the police state and the outbreak of the revolution. These were turbulent times, similar to those of 1989. No wonder that the city has chosen the Biedermeier period as a theme: The Biedermeier Christmas Market is one of the most beautiful Christmas markets in the region. And the Biedermeier Summer with its market is just as much an experience.       

Ihr Ansprechpartner

Tourist-Information Hansestadt Werben

 

Markt 1
39615 Werben
Tel. +49 39393 92755
Fax +49 39393 92754
touristinfo-werben@t-online.de
www.werben-elbe.de

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