SALZWEDEL, a town in the Prussian province of Saxony, in a plain on the navigable Jeetze, a tributary of the Elbe, 32 m. N.W. of Stendal and 106 m. by rail N.W. of Berlin, on the line to Bremen. Pop. (1905) 11,122. Salzwedel is partly surrounded by medieval walls and gates. The church of St Mary is a fine Gothic structure of the 13th century with live naves and a lofty spire. The old town hall, burnt down in 1895, has been replaced by a modern edifice. The industries include linen and damask weaving, tanning, brewing and the manufacture of pins, chemicals and machinery, and a brisk river trade is carried on in agricultural produce.
Salzwedel, formerly Soltwedel, was founded by the Saxons, and was from 1070 to 1170 the capital of the old or north Mark, also for a time called the “mark of Soltwedel,” the kernel of Brandenburg-Prussia. The old castle, perhaps founded by Charlemagne, was purchased in 1864 by the king of Prussia. Salzwedel was also a member of the Hanseatic League, and at the beginning of the 16th century seems to have transacted a great part of the inland commerce of North Germany.
See Pohlmann, Geschichte der Stadt Salzwedel (Halle, 1811), and Danneil, Geschichte der königlicheu Burg zu Salzwedel (Salzwedel, 1865).