Rühstädt is a municipality in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located close the confluence of the rivers Havel and Elbe. Rühstädt is famous for its high number of resident white storks and has been awarded the title European Stork Village by the initiative EuroNatur in 1996.

Rühstädt: Population development
within the current boundaries (2013)

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1875 1,257 —     1890 1,246 −0.06% 1910 1,139 −0.45% 1925 1,110 −0.17% 1933 1,018 −1.08% 1939 1,020 +0.03% 1946 1,442 +5.07% 1950 1,476 +0.58% 1964 1,015 −2.64% 1971 973 −0.60% 1981 762 −2.41% 1985 702 −2.03% 1989 673 −1.05% 1990 663 −1.49% 1991 638 −3.77% 1992 619 −2.98% 1993 614 −0.81% 1994 632 +2.93% 1995 619 −2.06% 1996 627 +1.29%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1997 649 +3.51% 1998 624 −3.85% 1999 610 −2.24% 2000 601 −1.48% 2001 601 +0.00% 2002 590 −1.83% 2003 598 +1.36% 2004 595 −0.50% 2005 582 −2.18% 2006 564 −3.09% 2007 553 −1.95% 2008 558 +0.90% 2009 558 +0.00% 2010 565 +1.25% 2011 499 −11.68% 2012 487 −2.40% 2013 481 −1.23% 2014 468 −2.70% 2015 461 −1.50% 2016 472 +2.39%