Bismark, Germany

This article is about the German town. For further uses, see Bismarck.

Bismark
Coat of arms of Bismark Coat of arms
Bismark
Location of Bismark within Stendal district 250px
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Saxony-Anhalt
District	Stendal
Government
• Mayor	Gudrun Wolter
Area
• Total	289.43 km2 (111.75 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	8,626
• Density	30/km2 (77/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	39576, 39579, 39599, 39606, 39624, 39629
Dialling codes	039080, 039083, 039089, 039320, 039324, 039325, 039328
Vehicle registration	SDL
Website	www.stadt-bismark.de

Bismark is a town in the Stendal district, in the historic Altmark region of northern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km (14 mi) west of Stendal.

File:Bismark Kirche.jpg

Parish church

In the early 12th century the area then under the rule of Albert the Bear was settled with peasants descending from the Low Countries. The town's name is derived from the nearby Biese creek (after Dutch: bies meaning rush plants), a tributary of the Aland; though it may also refer to the bishop's march, a possession of the Havelberg bishops mentioned in a 1209 deed issued by the Ascanian margrave Albert II. With the Altmark, Bismark was part of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was adjudicated to the Prussian Province of Saxony after the 1815 Congress of Vienna.

One Herbordus of Bismarck was mentioned holding the office of a Schultheiß in Stendal about 1270. His descendant Otto von Bismarck received the honorary citizenship of Bismark in 1895.

Upon an administrative reform effective from 1 January 2010, the town of Bismark comprises the former municipalities of Badingen, Berkau, Büste, Dobberkau, Garlipp, Grassau, Hohenwulsch, Holzhausen, Käthen, Kläden, Könnigde, Kremkau, Meßdorf, Querstedt, Schäplitz, Schernikau, Schorstedt and Steinfeld.