Stendal [key], city (1994 pop. 47,252), Saxony-Anhalt, N central Germany, on the Uchte River. It is a major rail junction and has sugar refineries, metalworks, food canneries, and chemical factories. Stendal was founded in 1151 by Albert the Bear. From 1258 to 1309 it was the seat of the elder line of the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg. The city joined the Hanseatic League c.1350. Among the numerous noteworthy structures of Stendal are the basilica (founded 1188), the city gates (13th–15th cent.), and the city hall (15th cent.). Johann Winckelmann, the archaeologist and historian, was born (1717) there, and Marie Henri Beyle (1783–1842), the French author, took his pen name (Stendhal) from the city.
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