Hanseatic city of Stendal, a city in the Altmark

Hanseatic city of Stendal

The Hanseatic city of Stendal is the first stop on our summer trip through the Altmark in Saxony-Anhalt. Stendal is one of the Hanseatic cities of the Altmark. We like Hanseatic cities. That is why we are particularly interested in them. Hanseatic cities have fascinated us since our trip to Stralsund. We were curious about what can be seen in Stendal from the Hanseatic period. However, we do not have much time for them City, we are accompanied on this day by a TV team from the MDR. We are here on the occasion of our invitation by the LEADER action group Uchte-Tanger-Elbe to get to know the region as #AltmarkBlogger. The Altmark wants to become known and show its tourist attractions. This also includes the Hanseatic city of Stendal.

 

 

 

 

Hanseatic city of Stendal sights

Sun

We drive to Winckelmann Platz in Stendal. Some old city gates are still standing. One of them happens on our way to the city. Directly in front of us rises St. Mary's Church with its two pointed church towers. The church was first mentioned 1283. In the 15. Century it is consecrated in its present form. It served as a council church of the Hanseatic merchants and is thus one of the buildings that are of particular interest to us.

 

 

On our tour of the city center, we can also take a quick look inside the church. There we are particularly impressed by the choir barrier from the 15. Century. This separates the sanctuary from the prayer room for the community. From this time also comes the remarkable pulpit.

 

 

At the Winckelmann Platz we then get an overview of the city on a model. You can also see the medieval layout of the residential districts and streets.

 

 

Johann Joachim Winckelmann - the most famous son of the Hanseatic city of Stendal

The statue of Johann Joachim Winckelmann rises right next to the model of the city. The son of a Stendal shoemaker showed early on that he was called to higher things. Although he came from a humble background, he had an extraordinary career. With diligence and determination, Winckelmann rose to become the most important art scholar of his time. He is considered the founder of modern German art history and classical archeology. In this function his path even led him to Rome. There he was entrusted with the city's collection of antiquities.

 

 

Winkelmann's tragic end

Less honorable, however, was the end of this influential man. After many years in Rome, he made his way back to Stendal. Already in Vienna, however, he decided not to complete his journey and returned again to return to the city on the Tiber. During a stopover in Trieste, he finally fell victim to an assassination attempt whose background is still unclear. The idea for the Winckelmann monument in Stendal was none other than Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who already suggested to 1826 to the mayors of the city to erect a monument to their most important son. That should still be up to the 20. Last century. Today there is also a museum dedicated to him in Stendal.

 

 

Old Town and Market Square

The market square of Stendal can be reached in a few steps on the other side of St. Mary's Church. There is also the town hall of the city. This building also bears witness to the economic boom of the Hanseatic League. The older part of the town hall is a brick building from the 15. Century. Later, the building was extended and the cultivation changed in the 16. Century in the style of the Renaissance. The two parts of the building dominate today the market place of Stendal.

Roland statue

In front of the brick building of the Stendaler Rathaus is a statue of Roland. This is a copy of the original statue from the year 1525. This Roland is depicted as a knight and holds a sword as a sign of his power in one hand. The other holds a sign depicting the Brandenburg eagle.

 

Restaurants in the Hanseatic city of Stendal

First things first: restaurants and cafés are few and far between in the Altmark. This is because after the reunification, many people left the region in search of better-paying jobs. Few have returned. Instead, entrepreneurs came from the West who set up their own business here. Even in the style of one Viennese coffee house. The owner of the Kaffeekult coffee house is not a local either, as he tells us. His café is located in the historic brick building of the town hall and looks really cozy with its medieval vault and the golden shimmering coffee containers. These take up an entire wall of the café and exude an intoxicating scent of freshly roasted coffee.

 

 

Restaurants in the Hanseatic city of Stendal

For coffee you will not only get cakes of all kinds, but also homemade chocolates with imaginative ingredients, such as pralines with sea buckthorn ganache or dark chocolate balls filled with chilli orange ganache. Instead, we laugh at the red cassis chocolates that we can taste. Their fresh-fruity filling is just the thing for the hot late August day we visit.

On the other side of the market square we see the wine shop “The Olive Tree”. However, there is not enough time for a personal visit. Instead, we eat in the evening in the only award-winning restaurant in the Altmark: the Restaurant Atrium in the Hanseatic town of Stendal. This is located just a few steps from the St. Marien Church at Breite Straße 17. In the evening, in the pretty apple orchard behind the restaurant building, we enjoy the country house cuisine, which was worth 13 points to the Gault Millau testers. Definitely a good choice, in our opinion.

 

 

 

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Travel Arrangements:

Parking at the airport

Here you can reserve your parking space at the airport.

Arrival in the Hanseatic city of Stendal

For example, book yours here Arrival by plane, bus or train*. The nearest airport is Berlin Tegel. From there you take the train to Altmark. Alternatively, you can also arrive by car or bike.

Car Rentals:

Cheap car hire - book quickly and easily!

Accommodation in the Hanseatic city of Stendal:

Accommodation in Stendal * You can also book through our partner booking.com.

Our accommodations in the Altmark:

Gutshof Ottersburg *  Click here for a map
Ottersburg Manor 1
Holiday sheepfold
39517 Ottersburg

Pension Kunsthof Dahrenstedt * Click here for a map
Dahrenstedter Dorfstr. 6
39576 Dahrenstedt

Bismarcksche Landgut Welle (there is a holiday apartment in which we did not live) Click here for a map
Weller Dorfstrasse 21 - 25
39576 Stendal OT wave

Manor house Birkholz Click here for a map
Holiday home
Birkholzer Schulstrasse 5
39517 Tangerhütte

Do you know this?

• Hanseatic city of Elburg in Holland
• Stralsund insider tips
• Tradition in the Erzherzog Johann Hotel in Bad Aussee
• Hotel Johann Strauss in Vienna

 

Source Hanseatic City of Stendal: own research on site. Our opinions definitely remain our own.

We would also like to thank the Leader Action Group Uchte-Tanger-Elbe for the kind support of this trip to Stendal City in the same district Stendal. Our opinion, however, remains our own.

Text Hanseatic City of Stendal: © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos © Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline