SALZWEDEL  , a

town in the Prussian province of Saxony, in a plain on the navigable Jeetze, a tributary of the Elbe, 32 in . N.W. of Stendal and 1o6 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 five 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 The old town hall, burnt down in 1895, has been replaced by a modern edifice .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, '8''), and Danneil, Geschichte der kOniglichen Burg zu Salzwedel (Salzwedel, 1865) .