Fürstenwalde/Spree (;
Lower Sorbian
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England
See also
*Nizhny
Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...
: ''Pśibor pśi Sprjewje'') is the most populous town in the
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-Spree ...
District of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Geography
The town is situated in the glacial valley (''
Urstromtal
An ''urstromtal'' (plural: ''Urstromtäler'') is a type of broad glacial valley, for example, in northern Central Europe, that appeared during the ice ages, or individual glacial periods of an ice age, at the edge of the Scandinavian ice sheet and ...
'') of the
Spree
Spree may refer to:
Geography
* Spree (river), river in Germany
Film and television
* ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
* ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery
* "Spree" (''Numbers' ...
river north of the
Rauen Hills, about east of
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
and west of
Frankfurt (Oder). The district capital
Beeskow
Beeskow ( dsb, Bezkow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, and capital of the Oder-Spree district. It is situated on the river Spree, 30 km southwest of Frankfurt an der Oder.
Demography
File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Beeskow.pdf, Developm ...
is about to the southeast. In the north, the municipal area comprises the village of Trebus. The town is located on the western part of historic
Lubusz Land (Land Lebus).
The
Fürstenwalde station is a stop on the railway line from Berlin to Frankfurt (Oder), the former
Lower Silesian-Marcher Railway. It also has access to the parallel
Bundesautobahn 12
, also known as Autobahn der Freiheit (English: ''Motorway of Freedom'') is an autobahn
The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which transla ...
. The 39 MW
Fürstenwalde Solar Park
The Fürstenwalde Solar Park is a photovoltaic power station in Fürstenwalde, Germany. It has a capacity of 39.64 megawatt (MW) and an annual output of 36.5 GWh. The solar park was developed by the company ''Solarhybrid'' and built b ...
supplies electricity to the local grid.
History
The settlement of ''Fürstenwalde'' in the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe.
Brandenburg developed out ...
was first mentioned in a 1272 deed, founded in the course of the German ''
Ostsiedlung'' migration at a ford across the Spree river, probably near the site of a former
Slavic settlement. The Lebus Land had been acquired from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
by the
Ascanian
The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt.
The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...
margraves in 1248/1249. The town's importance rose as a
staple port and terminal of the transportation of goods on the river.
In 1373 Emperor
Charles IV, since 1367 also Margrave of adjacent
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia (; ; ; szl, Dolnŏ Łużyca; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the sou ...
campaigned the Brandenburg lands and enforced the renunciation of the
Wittelsbach
The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
margrave
Otto VII of Brandenburg by the Treaty of Fürstenwalde. As also the collegiate church in
Lebus
Lebus ( pl, Lubusz) is a historic town in the Märkisch-Oderland District of Brandenburg, Germany. It is the administrative seat of '' Amt'' ("collective municipality") Lebus. The town, located on the west bank of the Oder river at the border wi ...
was destroyed, Bishop
Wenceslaus
Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are german: Wenzel, pl, Wacław, Więcesław, Wieńczysław, es, Wenceslao, russian ...
moved the official seat of the
Bishopric of Lebus
The Diocese of Lebus (; ; ) is a former diocese of the Catholic Church. It was erected in 1125 and suppressed in 1598. The Bishop of Lebus was also, '' ex officio'', the ruler of a lordship that was coextensive with the territory of the diocese. T ...
to Fürstenwalde, where the
St Mary's Church was raised to a
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
.
The last
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
bishop was
Georg von Blumenthal
Georg von Blumenthal (1490 – 25 September 1550) was a German Prince-Bishop of Ratzeburg and Bishop of Lebus. He also served as a Privy Councillor of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Chancellor of the University of Frankfurt (Oder), common ...
(1490–1550), who was besieged in his palace by Lutheran robbers led by Nickel von Minckwitz. The Bishop had to escape through a window in disguise. The bishopric was secularized during the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in 1555, and was completely disbanded at the ascension of
Joachim Frederick as
Margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Em ...
of Brandenburg in 1598.
Demography
File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Fürstenwalde.pdf, Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of Nazi rule; Red Background: Time of Communist rule)
File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Fürstenwalde.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 (german: Volkszählung) 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, wa ...
in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005–2030 (yellow line); for 2017–2030 (scarlet line); for 2020–2030 (green line)
Politics
Seats in the town's assembly (''Stadtverordnetenversammlung'') as of 2014 local elections:
*
The Left: 7
*
Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU): 6
*
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD): 6
*
Free Voters
Free Voters (german: Freie Wähler, FW or FWG) in Germany may belong to an association of people which participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it involves a locally organized group of voters ...
(BFZ): 5
*
Free Democratic Party (FDP): 3
*
Alternative for Germany (AfD): 2
*
Alliance 90/The Greens: 2
*
Pirate Party Germany
The Pirate Party Germany (german: Piratenpartei Deutschland), commonly known as Pirates (), is a political party in Germany founded in September 2006 at c-base. It states general agreement with the Swedish Piratpartiet as a party of the informa ...
: 1
Twin towns – sister cities
Fürstenwalde is
twinned with:
*
Choszczno
Choszczno (german: Arnswalde) is a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 14,831. The town is in a marshy district between the river Stobnica and Klukom lake, southeast of Stargard and on t ...
, Poland
*
Reinheim
Reinheim is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated southeast of Darmstadt.
International relations
Twin towns - Sister cities
Reinheim is twinned with:
* Licata, Italy (since 29.6.2001)
* Cestas, France ...
, Germany
*
Sulechów
Sulechów (pronounced , german: Züllichau) is a town located within the Zielona Góra County, in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Sulechów. Established in the Middle Ages, the town features many h ...
, Poland
Notable people
*Karl Friedrich Schulz (1784–1850), Protestant composer and music teacher
*
Julius Pintsch
Carl Friedrich Julius Pintsch (6 January 1815 – 20 January 1884) was a German tinsmith, manufacturer and inventor who is primarily known for the invention of Pintsch gas. The gas, distilled from naphtha or other petroleum products, was wi ...
(1815–1884), founder of the former industrial company ''Julius Pintsch AG Berlin-Fürstenwalde''
*
Ernst Laas (1837–1885), pedagogue and philosopher
*Max Valentin (1875–1920), sculptor and architect
*
Wilhelm Burgdorf
Wilhelm Emanuel Burgdorf (15 February 1895 – 2 May 1945) was a German general during World War II, who served as a commander and staff officer in the German Army. In October 1944, Burgdorf assumed the role of the chief of the Army Personnel O ...
(1895–1945), general of the infantry
*
Wolfgang Götze
Wolfgang Götze (born 11 July 1937 – 20 October 2021) was a German theoretical physicist.
He began his physics education at Humboldt University of Berlin and the Free University of Berlin, after which he obtained his doctorate at the Technical ...
(born 1937), theoretical physicist
*
Hans-Michael Rehberg
Hans-Michael Rehberg (2 April 1938 – 7 November 2017) was a German actor.
Biography
Rehberg, born in Fürstenwalde, Brandenburg, was one of six children. He grew up in Bavaria after the family moved to Lake Starnberg.
After training as an ac ...
(1938–2017), actor and film director
*
Ludolf von Wartenberg (born 1941), politician, member of Bundestag
*
Helmut Panke (born 1946), manager
*
Burkhard Reich (born 1964), footballer
*
Axel Schulz
Axel Schulz (born 9 November 1968) is a German former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 1999, and in 2006. He challenged three times for both the IBF and European heavyweight titles. As an amateur he won a bronze medal at the 198 ...
(born 1968), boxer
References
External links
*
*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furstenwalde
Localities in Oder-Spree