DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Brandenburg
Landkreis: Potsdam-Mittelmark

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Beelitz is situated at an elevation of 40 m on the river Zauche in the midst of the nature reserve Nuthe-Nieplitz in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, about 18 km south of Potsdam.

The oldest document referring to Slavic settlement of the name Belizi dates from A.D. 997. However, it is not clear whether this referred to what later became Beelitz or whetehr it refered to a place that was located wher today the district town Belzig is located. Beelitz became a pilgrimage site in 1247. The origin of the pilgrimages was a legend about a consecrated wafer that became miracle-working after it had been defiled by Jews. This legend is also the first document mentioning the presence of Jewish people in the Brandenburg region. In 1731 Beelitz became a garrison town when the new Hussar squadrons founded by Friedrich Wilhelm I, King in Prussia, were stationed in the town.

The sanatoriums [left] for pulmonary diseases were built by the state health insurance company of Berlin between 1898 and 1930. The complex comprising some 60 buildings has been put under monumental protection and is still one of the largest health institutions in Germany. During both World Wars the complex was used as a military hospital. In 1916, private Adolf Hitler was patient in the sanatorium for several weeks. After World War II the sanatoriums were transformed into a military hospital for the Soviet Army, the largest of its kind outside the Soviet Union. The Soviets used the sanatoriums until 1994. SInce then, some of the buildings have been renovated and are again used for medical purposes.