RENDSBURG

town, Schleswig-Holstein Land (state), northern Germany, on the Eider River and the Kiel Canal (there bridged), west of Kiel. An old fortress town on the Schleswig and Holstein border, it was first mentioned in 1199 as Reinoldesburg. Chartered in 1253, it was often an object of dispute between the Danish kings and the counts of Schleswig and Holstein. It served as a German centre of operations in the revolt of Schleswig and Holstein against Denmark in 184850, and, after the German-Danish and Austro-Prussian wars (186466), it passed to Prussia. Commercial development was stimulated by the opening of the Kiel Canal in 1895, which made it an inland seaport. Rendsburg is divided by the Eider River into the Altstadt (Old Town) on an island in the Eider, the Neuwerk district to the south, and the industrial suburbs to the north. Historic landmarks include St. Mary's Church (128793), the town hall (1566), and Christ Church (1696). Many medieval houses have survived. An important centre of water, road, and rail traffic, Rendsburg developed an economy based on marketing agricultural products, shipbuilding, ironworking, and the manufacture of textiles, fertilizer, and machinery. Pop. (1993 est.) 31,473.