Mühlberg, Brandenburg

Mühlberg
Church and town hall Church and town hall
Coat of arms of Mühlberg Coat of arms
Mühlberg
Location of Mühlberg within Elbe-Elster district 250px
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Elbe-Elster
Government
• Mayor	Dieter Jähnichen
Area
• Total	88.55 km2 (34.19 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	3,969
• Density	45/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	04931
Dialling codes	035342
Vehicle registration	EE
Website	www.muehlberg-elbe.de

Mühlberg is a town in the Elbe-Elster district, in the southwesternmost part of Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the river Elbe, about halfway between Riesa to the south and Torgau to the northwest. It is about 60 km east of Leipzig. It is accessed by the Bundesstraße 182 (Riesa - Torgau - Wittenberg) on the left bank of the Elbe, connected with the town by a bridge, opened in 2008. Mühlberg consists of the Ortsteile Mühlberg, Altenau, Brottewitz, Fichtenberg, Koßdorf and Martinskirchen.

History

The earliest documentary mention of Mühlberg is in 1230. The town was founded on a sandy island where the River Elbe could be crossed under protection of a castle. There is archaeological evidence, in the form of burials, of Slavic settlement dating back to ca. 600 A.D. The forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor defeated the Schmalkaldic League at the Battle of Mühlberg near the castle on April 24, 1547. From 1939-1945 there existed a World War II prisoner-of-war camp (Stalag IV-B) near Mühlberg. About 300000 prisoners passed the camp and about 3000, most of them Soviet soldiers, died there. After World War II the camp was re-used by the Soviet secret service NKVD as NKVD Special Camp No. 1. About 6700 of the 22000 prisoners of the NKVD are buried in mass graves near the camp area. Today a memorial area remembers on the victims of both camp periods.

Demography

• Bevölkerungsentwicklung Mühlberg.pdf

  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)

• Bevölkerungsprognosen Mühlberg.pdf

  Recent Population Development (Blue Line) and Forecasts

Mühlberg/Elbe:
Population development within the current boundaries (2013)

Year Population 1875 5 468 1890 5 854 1910 5 895 1925 6 244 1933 6 288 1939 6 700 1946 8 862 1950 8 660 1964 6 836 1971 6 973

Year Population 1981 6 433 1985 6 349 1989 6 193 1990 6 076 1991 5 956 1992 5 916 1993 5 838 1994 5 736 1995 5 662 1996 5 586

Year Population 1997 5 499 1998 5 435 1999 5 307 2000 5 185 2001 5 067 2002 4 957 2003 4 857 2004 4 768 2005 4 698 2006 4 581

Year Population 2007 4 485 2008 4 437 2009 4 334 2010 4 244 2011 4 128 2012 4 051 2013 3 969

Sites of interest

• Marienstern Abbey
• Castle
• Historic town centre of Mühlberg

External links

•  
•  
• Website on the history of POW camp Stalag IVb and Soviet special camp No.1 near Mühlberg