Rathenow
Rathenow is a town in the district of Havelland in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, with a population of 24,063.
Overview
The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Gothic style in 1517-1589, and the Roman Catholic Church of St. George, are noteworthy.Rathenow is known for being the former capital of eyewear manufacturing in East Germany. It is also known for its stones, called Rathenow stones.
History
In 1675, during the Scanian War, it was the site of a battle between Swedish and Brandenburgian forces.During World War II, Rathenow was the location of a forced labour subcamp of the Nazi prison for women and juveniles in Berlin-Lichtenberg and a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Prisoners of the latter were mostly Dutch, Belgian and French.
Demographics
Twin towns — sister cities
Rathenow is twinned with:- Złotów, Poland
- Rendsburg, Germany
Notable people
- Christian Beeck, footballer
- Stephan Bodecker, Bishop of Brandenburg
- Jörg Friedrich , rower
- Jörg Freimuth, high jumper
- Jörg Heinrich, football player and manager
- Wulf Herzogenrath, art historian and curator
- Rosemarie Köhn, 1993-2006 Bishop of Hamar
- Joachim Mrugowsky, physician and Nazi war criminal; executed
- Mario Streit, rower
- Immo Stabreit, diplomat
- George William Ziemann, Christian Missionary