Forst (Lausitz) ( German, ) or Baršć (Łužyca) (

Lower Sorbian Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is sit ...

, ; Polish: Barść) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 ...

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 ...

, in eastern

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 lies east of

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

, on the Lusatian Neisse river which is also the German- Polish border. It is the capital of the

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 ...

district. It is known for its rose garden and textile museum. The town's population is 18,651. In Forst, there is a railway

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

across the Neiße belonging to the line

–

Żary Żary (, , , ) is a town in western Poland with 37,502 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship. It is the administrative seat of the Żary County and of the Gmina Żary within the county, though the town is not part of the gmina (c ...

which is serviced by regional trains and a

EuroCity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...

train between

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

(2011). There is also a road bridge across the river north of Forst.

Incorporated villages

* Forst (Lausitz) – Baršć (Łužyca) ** Domsdorf – Domašojce ** Eigene Scholle – Swójske Grunty ** Eulo – Wiłow ** Försterei Keune – Gólnikaŕnja Chójna ** Keune – Chójna ** Mexiko ** Noßdorf – Nosydłojce * Bohrau – Bórow * Briesnig – Rjasnik * Groß Bademeusel – Wjelike Bóžemysle * Groß Jamno – Jamne * Horno – Rogow * Klein Bademeusel – Małe Bóžemysle ** Försterei Bademeusel – Bóžemyslańska Gólnikaŕnja * Klein Jamno – Małe Jamne * Mulknitz – Małksa * Naundorf – Glinsk ** Neu Sacro – Nowy Zakrjow * Sacro – Zakrjow

History

A short distance to the south of the old Sorbian village of Altforst, the town probably originated around 1150 at a river crossing point on the important west–east trade route. Known as the "Salt Road", it was used to transport salt from Halle to Lusatia and further east to Poland. By 1265 it was developing into a permanent trading settlement round the Church of St Nicholas. The commercial importance of Forst increased with the development of a north–south route connecting to

Guben Guben (Polish language, Polish and Sorbian languages, Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the States of Germany, state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße Districts of German ...

, downstream along the Neisse River. In the fourteenth century the council was able to take on responsibility for the lower courts locally. In 1352 of Ileburg took over the overlordship of Forst from Frederick III of Meissen. At various times the town was under the suzerainty of Bohemian, Hungarian, Saxon and Polish monarchs. In 1628, clothiers from

Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...

Międzyrzecz Międzyrzecz (; , , ) is a town in western Poland, on the Obra (river), Obra and Paklica river, with 17,667 inhabitants (2020). The capital of Gmina Międzyrzecz and Międzyrzecz County. Since the Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998, it ha ...

and

Wschowa Wschowa (pronounced , ) is a town in the Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland with 13,875 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Wschowa County and a significant tourist site containing many important historical monuments. It is part of the his ...

in Poland settled in the town. In 1746, it was purchased by Heinrich von Brühl, minister of

Augustus III of Poland Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as List of rulers of Saxony, Elector of Saxony i ...

. In 1749, a new postal route was established from

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, which led through the town. Forst was awarded to the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

in the 1815

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

. The town was administered as a part of the Province of Brandenburg from 1815 to 1947. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in 1942–1943, the Germans operated a forced labour camp for Jewish men in the town. After the war it became part of the State of

, which became one of the constituent parts of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

in 1949. From 1952 to 1990, it was part of the East German

Bezirk Cottbus Cottbus was a Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic, district () of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The administrative seat and main town was Cottbus. History The district was established, along with the othe ...

. Since

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in 1990, it is again part of Brandenburg. Forst has experienced severe problems as a result of the 1990

, most notably from extreme

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

. In the past, the town was known for textile manufacturing, but all of the textile plants and factories have closed down.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Forst.pdf, Development of population since 1875 within the current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population development in Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

; Red Background: Time of communist

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

) File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Forst.pdf, Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)

Notable people

* Hugo Baum (1867–1950), botanist * Georg Thomas (1890–1946), general of infantry * Bruno Kastner (1890–1932), film and stage actor *

Max Seydewitz Max Seydewitz (December 19, 1892 – February 8, 1987) was a German politician (Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD, Socialist Workers' Party of Germany, SAPD and Socialist Unity Party of Germany, SED) who served as the Minister-President of ...

(1892–1987), politician (SPD, SED) * Brigitte Frank, née Herbst (1895–1959), wife of Hans Frank * Erich Neumann (1892–1948), politician (NSDAP) * Werner Heyde (1902–1964), psychiatrist, involved in the T 4 program * Georg Bose (1921–2011), German officer during World War II * Günter Nooke (born 1959), politician (CDU) * Dietmar Woidke (born 1961), politician (SPD) * René Rydlewicz (born 1973), footballer * Ronny Scholz (born 1978), cyclist

References

External links