Dahme-Spreewald (, ) is a district in

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of

Oder-Spree Oder-Spree is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the eastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from north clockwise) the district Märkisch-Oderland, the district-free city Frankfurt (Oder), Poland, the districts Spree-Neiße and Dahme-Spreewal ...

Spree-Neiße Spree-Neiße (, ; Polish language, Polish: ''Powiat Sprewa-Nysa,'' ) is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the south clockwise) the districts Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis an ...

Oberspreewald-Lausitz Oberspreewald-Lausitz (, ) is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Dahme-Spreewald, Spree-Neiße, the districts Bautzen and Meissen in Saxony, and the district ...

Elbe-Elster Elbe-Elster is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Teltow-Fläming, Dahme-Spreewald, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Meißen, Nordsachsen and Wittenberg. The district has a partnership with the ...

and

Teltow-Fläming Teltow-Fläming () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the southwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the east clockwise) Dahme-Spreewald, Elbe-Elster, the districts Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, the district Potsdam-Mittelm ...

, and by the city of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

History

The Spreewald region has always been a centre of Sorbian culture. In medieval times the cities of Lübben and Luckau had successively been capitals of the margravate of

Lower Lusatia Lower Lusatia (; ; ; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the Germany, German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the south, Lower Lusa ...

. From 1815 on Lower Lusatia was a part of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. Throughout the 19th century the region remained an agriculturally used area, some urbanisation taking place in the very north (close to Berlin) only. When the state of Brandenburg was newly founded in 1990, the districts of Lübben, Luckau and Königs Wusterhausen had been established. In 1993 the three districts were merged.

Geography

The Spree river enters the district in the southeast and leaves to the northeast. The wooded regions along its banks are called Spreewald. The Spreewald is the westernmost part of Lusatia. Especially the cities of Lübben and

Lübbenau Lübbenau (, ; officially Lübbenau/Spreewald, Lower Sorbian, L.S. Lubnjow/Błota (meaning ''Lübbenau/Spree Forest'') Polish language, Polish: ''Lubniów'') is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Upper Spree Forest-Lusatia District of Brandenbu ...

welcome many tourists each year, offering boat trips and relaxing holidays in the beautiful

Spreewald The Spree Forest or Spreewald (; , , i.e. 'the Swamps') is a large inland delta of the river Spree, and a historical cultural landscape located in the region of (Lower) Lusatia, in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, about 100 km southeas ...

nature. The

Dahme river The Dahme () is a river that flows through the German states of Brandenburg and Berlin. It is a left bank tributary of the River Spree and is approximately long. Course The source of the Dahme is near the eponymous town Dahme. The river flo ...

is a tributary of the Spree. It forms many lakes in the northern part of the district. The Dahme leaves the district towards Berlin, where it is occasionally used for boat races. Eventually, it joins the Spree.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Landkreis Dahme-Spreewald.pdf, Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state) File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Landkreis Dahme-Spreewald.pdf, Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the

Census in Germany A national census in Germany (, ) was held every five years from 1875 to 1910. After the World Wars, only a few full population censuses have been held, the last in 1987. The most recent census, though not a national census, was the 2011 Europea ...

in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2014-2030 (red line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays: * top left: the bull is the heraldic animal of Lusatia * top right: the eagle is the heraldic animal of Brandenburg * bottom: the crown symbolises the former hunting lodge of the Prussian kings, which was in Königs Wusterhausen

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

* (German)
Spreewald tourist website
(German)

(German) {{Authority control