Rathenow

Rathenow (German: [ˈʁaːtənoː] ^ⓘ) is a town in the district of Havelland in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, with a population of 24,063 (2020).

Rathenow
Town
Church
Coat of arms
Location of Rathenow within Havelland district
Rathenow Show map of Germany Rathenow Show map of Brandenburg
Coordinates: 52°36′N 12°20′E
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Havelland
Subdivisions	6 Ortsteile
Government
• Mayor (2022–30)	Jörg Zietemann[1]
Area
• Total	113.1 km2 (43.7 sq mi)
Elevation	29 m (95 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	25,055
• Density	220/km2 (570/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	14702, 14712
Dialling codes	03385
Vehicle registration	HVL
Website	www.rathenow.de

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.^[3][4] Prisoners of the latter were mostly Dutch, Belgian and French.^[4]

Demographics

• 
  Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state)
• 
  Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)

Rathenow: Population development
within the current boundaries (2020)^[5]

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1875 12,443 —     1890 18,841 +2.80% 1910 29,125 +2.20% 1925 32,056 +0.64% 1939 37,449 +1.12% 1950 32,254 −1.35% 1964 31,083 −0.26%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1971 31,834 +0.34% 1981 33,952 +0.65% 1985 33,312 −0.47% 1990 31,945 −0.83% 1995 30,498 −0.92% 2000 28,811 −1.13% 2005 26,973 −1.31%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2010 25,301 −1.27% 2015 24,387 −0.73% 2016 24,243 −0.59% 2017 24,309 +0.27% 2018 24,309 +0.00% 2019 24,208 −0.42% 2020 24,179 −0.12%

Twin towns — sister cities

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

Rathenow is twinned with:

• Złotów, Poland
• Rendsburg, Germany

Notable people

Joachim Mrugowsky during the Doctors' trial

• Christian Beeck (born 1971), footballer
• Stephan Bodecker (1384–1459), Bishop of Brandenburg
• Jörg Friedrich (rower) (born 1959), rower
• Jörg Freimuth (born 1961), high jumper
• Jörg Heinrich (born 1969), football player and manager
• Wulf Herzogenrath (born 1944), art historian and curator
• Rosemarie Köhn (1939–2022), 1993-2006 Bishop of Hamar (Norway) (world's second woman as a Lutheran bishop)
• Joachim Mrugowsky (1905–1948), physician and Nazi war criminal; executed
• Mario Streit (born 1967), rower
• Immo Stabreit (born 1933), diplomat
• George William Ziemann (1809–1881), Christian Missionary