Golßen (; dsb, Gólišyn) or Golssen is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in the district of
Dahme-Spreewald
Dahme-Spreewald ( dsb, Wokrejs Damna-Błota) is a district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Oder-Spree, Spree-Neiße, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Elbe-Elster and Teltow-Fläming, and by the city ...
, in
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, 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 ar ...
,
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 ...
. It is the administrative seat of the ''
Amt
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
'' ("collective municipality")
Unterspreewald
Unterspreewald is a municipality in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in Brandenburg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe afte ...
.
Geography
It is situated in the northwest of the
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 ...
region, close to the border with the Brandenburgian
Mittelmark
The Mittelmark (German for "Middle March") is a historical region in eastern Germany that was the core territory of the Margrave of Brandenburg between the Oder and Elbe rivers.
The name refers to the location of the territory between the Altmar ...
core territory. The municipal area stretches from the eastern (Lower)
Fläming Heath
The Fläming Heath is a region and hill chain that reaches over 100 km from the Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of t ...
down to the Glogau-Baruth ''
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 ...
'' (glacial valley) traversed by the
Dahme River. It also comprises the villages of Mahlsdorf and Zützen.
Golßen station is a stop on the
Berlin–Dresden railway
The Berlin–Dresden railway is a double track, electrified main line railway in the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony, which was originally built and operated by the ''Berlin-Dresden Railway Company'' (''Berlin-Dresdener Eisenbahn- ...
line. The area around the town is known for the cultivation of
Spreewald gherkins
Spreewald gherkins (German: Spreewälder Gurken or Spreewaldgurken) are a specialty pickled cucumber from Brandenburg, which are protected by the EU as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).
Overview
In the 1870s, Theodor Fontane found tha ...
.
History
![Golssen Rathaus 11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Golssen_Rathaus_11.JPG)
The settlement arose in the course of the German ''
Ostsiedlung
(, literally "East-settling") is the term for the Early Medieval and High Medieval migration-period when ethnic Germans moved into the territories in the eastern part of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire (that Germans had al ...
'' eastward migration during the 11th century, possibly at the site of an earlier
Slavic village of fortress. ''Golsyn'' in the
March of Lusatia
The March or Margraviate of Lusatia (german: Mark(grafschaft) Lausitz) was as an eastern border march of the Holy Roman Empire in the lands settled by Polabian Slavs. It arose in 965 in the course of the partition of the vast ''Marca Geronis''. R ...
was first mentioned in a 1276 deed issued by the
Wettin margraves. With the former march, Golßen was purchased by the
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
emperor
Charles IV in 1367 and incorporated into the
Lands of the Bohemian Crown
The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were a number of incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods connected by feudal relations under the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of B ...
. The Bohemian kings temporarily put the estates around Golßen Castle in pawn to several holders, such as Margrave
William I of Meissen (in 1395).
During the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, the Lusatias again passed to the Wettin electors of
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
by the 1635
Peace of Prague. Golßen Castle was built about 1723, it passed to the Counts of
Solms-Baruth
Solms-Baruth was a Lower Lusatian state country, from 16th century until 1945.
History
The House of Solms had its origins at Solms, Hesse, and ruled several of the many minor states of the Holy Roman Empire. These lost their independence in the G ...
in the 19th century. Surrounded by extended gardens, parts of the buildings were refurbished in a
Neoclassical style by
Eduard Knoblauch
(Carl Heinrich) Eduard Knoblauch (born 25 September 1801 in Berlin; died 29 May 1865 in Berlin) was a Germans, German architect.
Eduard Knoblauch was born in his family's house on Poststraße 23 in the Nikolaiviertel neighborhood in Berlin, Ge ...
in 1852. The neighbouring estates of Zützen were held by the
Kleist Kleist, or von Kleist, is a surname.
von Kleist:
*August von Kleist (1818–1890), Prussian Major General
*Conrad von Kleist (1839-1900), German politician (German Conservative Party), member of Reichstag
*Ewald Georg von Kleist (ca. 1700–1748), ...
noble family. A
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
palace in Zützen, erected according to plans designed by
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
(Hans) Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff (17 February 1699 – 16 September 1753) was a painter and architect in Prussia.
Knobelsdorff was born in Kuckädel, now in Krosno Odrzańskie County. A soldier in the service of Prussia, he resigned his ...
, burnt down completely in the late days of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
After the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, Golßen was incorporated into the
Prussian
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
province of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, 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 ar ...
in 1816.
Demography
Politics
Seats in the municipal assembly (''Stadtverordnetenversammlung'') as of 2019
local elections
In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
:
* Independent Citizen's List Golßen : 5 (+5)
*
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
(SPD): 5 (-4)
*
Alternative for Germany
Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist
*
*
*
*
*
*
* political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...
(AFD): 4 (+4)
*
Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 2 (-2)
The mayor in Golßen is Daniela Maurer (SPD).
Sons and daughters of the town
* Johann Eberhard von Droste zu Zützen (1662-1726), Saxon general, commander of the
fortress Königstein and landlord
* Knut Hickethier (born 1945), media scientist
* Alfred Hoffmann (born 1958), Catholic clergyman
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golssen
Localities in Dahme-Spreewald