Schönhausen

Schönhausen
Parish church
Coat of arms
Schönhausen
Location of Schönhausen within Stendal district
Coordinates: 52°34′43″N 12°2′23″E / 52.57861°N 12.03972°E / 52.57861; 12.03972Coordinates: 52°34′43″N 12°2′23″E / 52.57861°N 12.03972°E / 52.57861; 12.03972
Country	Germany
State	Saxony-Anhalt
District	Stendal
Municipal assoc.	Elbe-Havel-Land
Government
• Mayor	Catherine Tanne-Roloff
Area
• Total	74 km2 (29 sq mi)
Elevation	34 m (112 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	2,147
• Density	29/km2 (75/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	39524
Dialling codes	039323
Vehicle registration	SDL

Schönhausen is a municipality in the district of Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. It is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Elbe-Havel-Land.

The village is situated on a terminal moraine, stretching along the eastern bank of the Elbe River. It is located about 70 km (43 mi) north of the state capital of Magdeburg, halfway between Stendal in the west and Rathenow in the east. Since 1 January 2010 Schönhausen includes the former municipality of Hohengöhren.

Schönhausen station is a stop on the Berlin–Lehrte railway line, served by Regionalbahn trains. The parallel Hanover–Berlin high-speed railway runs through the municipality without stopping.

Schönhausen was founded by the Bishops of Havelberg, who had the Romanesque brick church with its prominent westwork erected in 1212. After the Protestant Reformation, the Schönhausen estate was secularized by the Electors of Brandenburg.

In 1562 the administrator of Havelberg, Joachim III Frederick of Brandenburg, ceded the Schönhausen estates to the Bismarck family from Stendal, who had to swap it against Burgstall in the Altmark. The village was devastated by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years' War. In 1680 it became part of the Brandenburgian Duchy of Magdeburg, a constituent land of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1701.