According to legend, Albert I of Brandenburg permitted the founding of the city in 1140 because of the good beer which was offered to him.

Large parts of the defensive wall with town gate and wet moats were built during that period.

Frederick I of Prussia settled 25 Huguenot families, comprising craftsmen, farmers, traders, and scientists, in the town in 1699.

From the 18th century, Bernau was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, and from 1815 to 1947, it was administratively located in the Province of Brandenburg.

[3] In early 1945, a death march of prisoners of various nationalities from the dissolved camp in Żabikowo to Sachsenhausen passed through the town.

The ADGB Trade Union School (Bundesschule des Allgemeinen Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes), designed by Bauhaus director Hannes Meyer, opened in 1930.

In 2005, Annelie Grund created a monument for the victims of a witch hunt.The church of St. Marien in the Late Gothic style dominates the skyline of the town.

Until the 1960s, the city centre, enclosed by the defensive wall, consisted of small old buildings with timber framed construction.