Salzwedel, the second-largest town in the Altmark, lies at the junction of the rivers Dumme and Jeetze. Its fine half-timbered buildings bear witness to the one-time prosperity of this old Hanseatic town situated at the intersection of important long-distance trade routes.
Salzwedel has many richly decorated half-timbered burghers' houses. A notable example is the Hochständerhaus at Schmiedestrasse 30. At Schmiedestrasse 17 is a 19th C. building with a fine carved doorway of 1534, known as the Adam and Eve Doorway. One of the finest buildings in the town is the Ritterhaus at Badestrasse 9, with rich Renaissance carved decoration.
To the east of the Burg in Salzwedel is the church of a former Franciscan friary, a Late Gothic brick-built hall-church (15th C.). Most of the conventual buildings (probably 13th C.) have been preserved and are now occupied by municipal offices.
The former Propstei (Deanery) houses the Friedrich Danneil Museum in Salzwedel, with a collection of material of the prehistoric and early historical periods in the Altmark; also the Salzwedel Madonna (13th C.) and a Late Gothic triptych by Lucas Cranach the Younger (1582).
Address: Friedrich Danneil Museum, An der Marienkirche 3, D-29410 Salzwedel, Germany
Hours:
February 1 to December 30: 1pm-4:30pm; Sun:1pm-5pm; Sat:1pm-5pm; Closed: Mon
The newer part of Salzwedel is centered on St Catherine's Church (first mentioned in 1280; rebuilt in Late Gothic style c. 1450). The most notable features of the interior are the Corpus Christi Chapel (1490), the 15th C. stained glass, the bronze font (1421), the baptistery screen (1567) and the pulpit (1592). Fine wall paintings showing part of the medieval town were discovered during restoration work in 1983.
St Lawrence's Church in Salzwedel, around which the Old Town grew up, was originally an aisled basilica (13th C.), which was used from 1692 to 1859 as a salt store and suffered considerable damage. The north aisle was restored in 1962.
The parish church of St Mary (originally Late Romanesque, 12th C.; altered in Late Gothic style, 1450-68) in Salzwedel is a brick-built basilica with double aisles, transept, choir with triangular end and groined vaulting. It has fine Late Gothic stained glass and wall paintings, a large Late Gothic winged altar (c. 1510), a pulpit of 1481, a Late Gothic Triumphal Cross group and a Late Romanesque lectern (c. 1200).
Near St Lawrence's Church in Salzwedel is the Town Hall of the Old Town (originally built 1509, and soon afterwards enlarged). In Late Gothic style, it has stepped gables, turrets and a chamber with stellar vaulting. It is now a lawcourt.
There are considerable remains of the old town walls in Salzwedel, particularly on the west and south (in the Peace Park), including the Karlsturm (14th-15th C.), a round brick tower and two square brick towers: the Neuperver Torturm (c. 1460-70) and the Steintorturm (c. 1520-30).
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