Hennigsdorf

Hennigsdorf (German pronunciation: [ˈhɛnɪçsˌdɔʁf] ^ⓘ) is a town in the district of Oberhavel, in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. It is situated north-west of Berlin, just across the city border, which is formed mainly by the Havel river.

Hennigsdorf
Town
Martin Luther Church
Coat of arms
Location of Hennigsdorf within Oberhavel district
Hennigsdorf Show map of Germany Hennigsdorf Show map of Brandenburg
Coordinates: 52°38′16″N 13°12′13″E
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Oberhavel
Subdivisions	3 districts
Government
• Mayor (2017–25)	Thomas Günther[1] (SPD)
Area
• Total	31.47 km2 (12.15 sq mi)
Elevation	33 m (108 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	26,782
• Density	850/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	16761
Dialling codes	03302
Vehicle registration	OHV
Website	www.hennigsdorf.de

History

Catholic church

Church in Nieder Neuendorf

Former rectifier station

The town was first mentioned in 1375, when it was part of the Bohemian Crown. Afterwards it was part of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, then of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701, and of the German Empire from 1871. During World War II, in 1944, a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was established, in which some 650 women, mostly Polish, were imprisoned and subjected to forced labour.^[3] In April 1945, the subcamp was dissolved and the surviving prisoners were sent on a death march to the Ravensbrück concentration camp.^[4]

After the war, it formed part of East Germany. The municipality shared its borders with the former West Berlin, and so during the period 1961–1990 it was separated from it by the Berlin Wall.

In 1951/2, the Havel Canal was constructed to link Hennigsdorf with Paretz, thus avoiding a passage through the reach of the River Havel, between Spandau and Potsdam, that was under the political control of West Berlin. The canal is still in use, providing a shorter route for shipping from west of Berlin to the Oder–Havel Canal and Poland.^[5]

Geography

Subdivision

Hennigsdorf consists of 3 districts:

• Hennigsdorf
• Nieder Neuendorf (since 1923)
• Stolpe-Süd (since May 1, 1998)

Neighbouring places

• Velten
• Hohen Neuendorf
• Berlin
• Schönwalde-Glien
• Oberkrämer

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Hennigsdorf is twinned with:^[6]

• Alsdorf, Germany
• Choisy-le-Roi, France
• Kralupy nad Vltavou, Czech Republic
• Środa Wielkopolska, Poland

Economy

Located in Hennigsdorf is the (Bombardier until 2021) Stadler LEW Hennigsdorf train factory and a steel smelter.^[7]

Sport

Hennigsdorf is home to Stahl Hennigsdorf Rugby, a rugby union club. The team, formed in 1948 under the leadership of Erwin Thiesies, was the most successful side during the East German era of the town, having won 27 national championships from 1952 to 1990.^[8]

Demography

• 
  Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state; Grey background: Time of Nazi rule; Red background: Time of communist rule)
• 
  Recent Population Development (Blue Line) and Forecasts

Hennigsdorf: Population development
within the current boundaries (2013)^[9]

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1875 863 —     1890 1,178 +2.10% 1910 2,764 +4.36% 1925 7,914 +7.26% 1933 10,503 +3.60% 1939 13,383 +4.12% 1946 13,671 +0.30% 1950 16,611 +4.99% 1964 21,160 +1.74% 1971 25,093 +2.47% 1981 28,155 +1.16% 1985 27,788 −0.33% 1989 25,770 −1.87% 1990 25,062 −2.75% 1991 24,737 −1.30%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1992 24,573 −0.66% 1993 24,505 −0.28% 1994 24,482 −0.09% 1995 24,528 +0.19% 1996 24,349 −0.73% 1997 24,637 +1.18% 1998 25,472 +3.39% 1999 26,197 +2.85% 2000 26,306 +0.42% 2001 26,390 +0.32% 2002 26,435 +0.17% 2003 26,282 −0.58% 2004 26,142 −0.53% 2005 26,139 −0.01% 2006 26,007 −0.50%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2007 25,891 −0.45% 2008 25,729 −0.63% 2009 25,900 +0.66% 2010 25,909 +0.03% 2011 25,597 −1.20% 2012 25,704 +0.42% 2013 25,800 +0.37% 2014 25,928 +0.50% 2015 26,264 +1.30% 2016 26,139 −0.48% 2017 26,369 +0.88% 2018 26,272 −0.37% 2019 26,345 +0.28% 2020 26,559 +0.81%

Notable people

Erich Muhsfeldt

• Michael Hartmann (born 1974), footballer
• Frank Klawonn (born 1966), rower
• Dirk Kummer (born 1966), actor, director, writer
• Martin Männel (born 1988), footballer
• Erich Muhsfeldt (1913–1948), SS officer at Auschwitz and Majdanek concentration camps executed for war crimes
• Erich Priebke (1913–2013), Nazi war criminal
• Karsten Schmeling (born 1962), rower
• Erwin Thiesies (1908–1993), rugby union player who died in Hennigsdorf

See also

• LEW Hennigsdorf, large rail vehicle factory located in Hennigsdorf