On the last weekend of March, I decided to make a day trip and visit a couple of towns west of Berlin. I took a fast ICE train and reached the town of Stendal in less than an hour. After getting off the train and leaving the station I headed on to visit the city center on foot. As I entered the old town and passed through the imaginary border that once separated the medieval core from the newer outside divided by the walls, I first passed by the Dom of St Nikolaus. This large brick Gothic structure is located on the southern end of the old town and is known for its late medieval stained glass windows. Unfortunately, the church was closed and I was rather disappointed as it is the largest and main church in town. I continued on my visit to the city center, walking along a street lined by nice buildings some of which with timber framing. At the end of the street, I then came upon and visited the small church of St Anne, built in the late gothic style with a simple yet nice interior. After the visit to the church, I continued on my walk and reached the town's main square, the Marktplatz, closed to the side by the nice town hall dating to the 15th century and with refurbishments taking place hereinafter, ending it looking like a brick gothic building on one part and baroque white on the other. Behind it, jutting out from the rooftops, were the twin towers of the Marienkirhce which together with the town hall form an unmistakable ensemble. Right in front of the town hall to the side was also the nice statue of Roland, a typical stone statue of a knight with a drawn sword, signifying the town privileges of a medieval city. That one there is a 7.80 m high 1974 copy of the 1525 sculpture kept in the Altmark Museum of the town. At that point instead of continuing my visit to the town, I decided to head back to the station and from there take a train to the nearby town of Tangermünde and complete the visit to Stendal later. So after reaching Tangermünde with a small local train I got off the station and proceeded to visit its nice city center. As I reached the old town I walked through the pretty streets lined with nice timber-framed houses and first passed by the Salzkirche a 15th-century brick gothic church now used as an event space. Continuing on I then reached the Eulenturm, a defensive tower once part of the city fortifications and now standing alone in the middle of a street. Standing at 24 meters in height its bottom part dates to the beginning of the 14th century while the upper part to the end of the 15th century. From there I then took a side street and reached the town's castle, the Burg Tangermünde, located on the highest spot in town. It consists of a fortified set of circular walls with a city gate and tower on its western side, a tower house on the northern side, and other residential buildings in between now used as a hotel complex. The place was open though to visitors with just the buildings used by the hotel only accessible to guests. I passed through the gate and then walked through the nice garden in the middle used as a public park. The view from there was really nice with the Elbe river right below. Tangermünde was in fact built where the Tanger river joins the much larger Elbe river. The main tower house was unfortunately still closed and would only open in the early afternoon for visits so I had to skip it. From the castle I then continued on through the old town reaching shortly after the main church in town, St Stephen which I would visit later as it was still closed. I then walked along the nice straight main street, the Lange Straße, sided by nice buildings. Halfway along the street I then reached the central square where the town hall is located. This late medieval building was constructed in the 1430s featured a beautiful brick gothic gabled facade similar to the one of the Stralsund town hall and is thus considered one of the best and most representative of that style. Continuing onwards along the main street I then reached the southwestern part of the town and the end of the medieval core where the Neustädter Tor stands. This beautiful late Gothic brick city gate features a rectangular tower from the 1300s and a round tower from 1450. After exiting the old town by passing through the city gate I then passed by what was once the Dominican monastery and reached a bridge crossing over the small Tanger river. Here I then followed a semi-artificial dyke that separates the Tanger river from the Elbe and creates a small harbor for the city. I then walked on top of the dyke and reached its end where the mouth of the Tanger river joins the Elbe. From here I had a beautiful view of the old town of Tangermünde with its imposing tall medieval ramparts featuring defensive towers in each section. The ramparts must have once reached right on the river while now a section of pavement mostly used as a large parking lot separates them from the water. I decided to stop there and have my lunch which I had brought with me and admire the old town while enjoying my food. After eating I then walked back down the dyke and from there decided to walk right below the ramparts to admire their size from closer. At the end of the walls, I then re-entered the old town by passing through the impressive Elbe Gate and from there walking along some side streets admiring the nice architecture. Along the way, I saw some really nice 17th-century timber-framed houses with decorated wooden facades and doors. I then reached the church of St Stephen once more, and it was finally open and visited its interior. This large brick Gothic building built between the 14th and 15th centuries featured a pair of twin towers one of which was shorter than the other and without the tall baroque spire. The nice spacious interior with the typical gothic ribbed vaults featured many baroque furnishings including the pulpit from 1619, the high altar from 1705, and a beautiful early 17th-century organ. After the visit to the church, I then headed towards the train station from where I took a ride back to Stendal. Here I continued the visit to the rest of the town which I had interrupted before. I first passed by the Tangermünder Tor originally built during the 13th century as part of the Stendal fortifications and the oldest gate building of a city fortification in northern Germany. Only the tower of the main gate is still standing and its brick Gothic appearance is now due to a later modification during the 15th century. Not far from that I then passed by another surviving part of the ancient walls, the thick round tower known as Pulverturm. I then passed once more by the Dom but still found it closed and so continued on. Walking along the main street I passed by the Altmark Museum hosted inside what was once the complex of the church of St Catherine and after a bit then reached the main square once more. Here I decided to visit the church of St Mary built in brick Gothic during the 15th century. The interior was rather impressive with a beautiful Hanseatic astronomical clock from the 16th century and above it a 16th-century organ. There was then a gothic bronze baptismal font from the 15th century but most impressive of all was the choir with its chancel screen from the 13th century, the triumphal cross above it from the 14th century, and the huge winged altar from 1470. After the visit to the church, I continued on my walk and passed by another church, St Jacob, which was unfortunately closed. At the northern end of town, I then reached and admired the beautiful Uenglinger Tor, one of the surviving city gates, dating to 1460 in a beautiful brick gothic style and considered one of the most well-decorated city gates in northern Germany. From there I continued on and passed by another church that was closed, St Peter with its tall spire reminding me a lot of the church with the same name in Hamburg. At that point, I decided to end the tour of the city by walking around the perimeter of what were once the walls and which is now a nice trail sided by trees that marks the boundary of the old town. At the end of the walk, I reached the train station once more from where I eventually took the next train back to Berlin.
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