Brandenburg, city in northeastern Germany, in the state of Brandenburg, on the Havel River, near Berlin. It is an industrial center, with shipyards and plants manufacturing textiles, tin plate, bicycles, paper, hosiery, and beer. Brandenburg is made up of three sections—Old Town, New Town, and Cathedral Town. Cathedral Town, on an island in the Havel, is the site of the cathedral, which was built in 1170, and a medieval castle. In Old Town, on the right bank of the river opposite New Town, is the town hall, a structure completed in the 14th century. Brandenburg is also noted for its encircling walls and the Katharinenkirche, a Gothic edifice built between the 14th and 16th centuries. Brandenburg was taken from the Slavs by Henry I, called Henry the Fowler, in 927 and 928. In 948 it became the seat of a bishopric.