The best city hikes and walks in Altmarkkreis Salzwedel

The castle tower in the Salzwedel castle garden is the oldest preserved building in the city. It is considered the historical heart and architectural landmark of the Hanseatic city. The round brick tower was built at the end of the 12th century (probably around 1160). It served as the central defensive tower (keep) of a once powerful, ring-shaped lowland castle. This castle complex had an overall diameter of about 220 meters and protected the important trade route (Salzstraße) at the crossing of the river Jeetze. The tower today has a striking height of around 24 meters. Originally, it was even higher and culminated in a steep roof spire. To withstand possible sieges, the foundation was built extremely solidly. The wall thickness at the base of the tower is an impressive 3.60 meters. Typical for medieval defensive towers, the original entrance is not at ground level, but is a so-called high entrance at a height of about 12 meters. Inside, in the lower, windowless area, lies the former dungeon. The tower is freely accessible in the park-like castle garden and is surrounded by old trees and the remains of the historic castle wall. While the garden area can be visited free of charge daily from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, the interior of the tower is usually only open for special city events or as part of guided tours booked through the Salzwedel Tourist Information.

The Burggarten in Salzwedel is a quiet city park in the center, located on the grounds of the historic Salzwedel Castle. • Address: Burgstraße 42, 29410 Salzwedel • Opening hours: Daily from morning until evening (approx. 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM) • Admission: The park is freely accessible. • Atmosphere: Very quiet, green, and characterized by historical flair. Visitors appreciate the place for strolling and lingering. • The Keep (Castle Tower): The well-preserved defensive tower dates from the late 12th century. It is about 24 meters high with impressive wall thickness at the base. The high entrance is at a height of around 12 meters. • Memorial Hall (Hall of Honor): In 1923, a hall of honor was erected for the fallen of World War I. • Remains of St. Anne's Chapel: Remains of the old castle chapel's walls can still be seen on the grounds. • Remains of the defensive wall and castle moat: Evidence of the former ring-shaped lowland castle, which was likely built in the 9th century to protect a trade route on the Jeetze river. • Directly from the Burggarten, stairs lead down to the courtyard of the well-known Baumkuchen bakery Café Kruse, where the famous Salzwedel Baumkuchen can be enjoyed. • In summer, the park occasionally serves as a venue for open-air festivals.

The St. Lawrence Church is the Catholic parish church of the Hanseatic city of Salzwedel and is considered the city's oldest preserved church building. It is located on the Romanesque Road in Saxony-Anhalt. As the original church tower was dismantled over the centuries, the church today lacks a classic church tower. It is semi-circularly surrounded by picturesque half-timbered houses and blends unobtrusively into the historic cityscape. The building was constructed in the mid-13th century (approx. 1230–1250) as a late Romanesque, three-nave brick basilica. Later, craftsmen incorporated Gothic cross-ribbed vaults into the nave and choir. After the Reformation, the structure lost its function as a place of worship. From 1692, it was used for decades as a salt warehouse (Salzfaktorey) by electoral order. The salt deposits, deeply embedded in the masonry, pose enormous structural challenges for monument preservation to this day, as they attract moisture and damage the bricks. After a devastating city fire in 1705, the side aisles were demolished. It was not until the 19th century that the Catholic community took over the dilapidated building again. The northern side aisle was finally reconstructed in the 1960s on the old, medieval foundations.

Many thanks for your descriptions, which say a lot about the Jeetze.

The Jeetze (later called Jeetzel in its Lower Saxony course) is the lifeline of the Hanseatic city of Salzwedel in Saxony-Anhalt. The approximately 73-kilometer-long river originates in the Altmark and flows into the Elbe near Hitzacker. In Salzwedel, it significantly shapes the cityscape and history. Thanks to the Jeetze, Salzwedel received its Hanseatic rights in 1263. From the Middle Ages until the 19th century, the river served as an important trade and transport route, via which goods were transported by ship to the Elbe and further to Hamburg. The city even had its own harbor. Today, the Jeetze winds through the historic old town in numerous branches and small canals.

The Stendal Gate in Gardelegen These are the remains of one of the four representative city gates from the 16th century, which at the time, connected by a city wall, led around Gardelegen. On the opposite side of the street, there was a bastion, just as this one still exists today in remnants on the left side. On the site of the former city fortification, the green ring of ramparts now extends around the city center. The moat can still be discerned in some places. https://www.gardelegen.de/B%C3%BCrgerservice/Anliegen-von-A-bis-Z/Verwaltung/Stendaler-Tor-.php?ModID=9&FID=3524.613.1&La=1&object=tx%7C3524.1.1&redir=1

The town hall, first mentioned in a document in 1241 as a trading and exhibition house, stands in the middle of the historic old town on a triangular town hall square. The finely structured late Gothic brick facade, the arcades with star vaults on the south side, the richly vaulted interiors, the Hausmann Tower with its double lantern, and the coats of arms on the east and west sides make the building one of the most noteworthy in the city. https://www.gardelegen.de/B%C3%BCrgerservice/Anliegen-von-A-bis-Z/Verwaltung/Das-Rathaus-zu-Gardelegen.php?ModID=9&FID=3524.154.1

The Roland is a historical landmark and memorial figure on the southwest corner of the town hall in the Hanseatic city of Gardelegen. It is traditionally regarded as a symbol of civic freedom, independence, and the city's market rights and own jurisdiction. The current statue is 4.30 meters high, made of Ummendorf sandstone, and was created by the sculptor Lutz Gaede. It depicts a knight in armor with a raised sword and the city's coat of arms on the shield. A special feature is the back of the figure, where a tree with a Till Eulenspiegel is depicted. The city of Gardelegen looks back on a long tradition of a total of three Roland statues: The first Roland (before 1450): First mentioned in the city ordinance in 1450, it served, among other things, as a meeting point in case of fire alarm. This first figure was destroyed in a devastating city fire in 1526. The second Roland (1564): Financed by the city's economic upswing and prosperity (including through the export of the famous Garley beer), a new sandstone knight was erected in 1564. This one was also severely damaged in a fire in 1667 and finally collapsed completely on April 18, 1727. The current Roland (2002): Exactly 275 years after the predecessor's collapse, the current, third statue was unveiled on April 18, 2002. https://www.gardelegen.de/Tourismus/Pers%C3%B6nlichkeiten/Roland-zu-Gardelegen.php?object=tx%7C3524.5.1&ModID=7&FID=3524.18247.1&NavID=3524.468