Küstrin-Kietz is a small village located in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

state 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 ...

, at the Oder river and the border with

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 populous ...

. Since 1998 it has been part of the

Küstriner Vorland Küstriner Vorland (literally " Küstrin's foreland") is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany at the border with Poland. History It was established on January 1, 1998 by the merger of Küstrin-Kietz with the v ...

municipality.

History

Before the implementation of the Oder-Neisse line in 1945, Kietz was the western suburb of the town of Küstrin. According to the Allied Potsdam Agreement, it then became part of the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a ...

, while the remaining city districts formed present-day

Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (literally Kostrzyn upon Oder) (; german: Küstrin ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, close to the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia ...

in Poland. In 1954 the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

authorities made an attempt to rename the place ''Friedensfelde'' (literally: "fields of peace"), alluding to the Oder-Neisse line called "border of peace" in official usage. Ultimately the settlement retained its name Kietz, though without a mention of "Küstrin", which would have been considered

revanchist Revanchism (french: revanchisme, from ''revanche'', " revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country, often following a war or social movement. As a term, revanchism originated in 1870s F ...

by Communist officials. In a 1991 plebiscite the inhabitants voted for "Küstrin-Kietz". Today Küstrin-Kietz is the site of a major

Schengen The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

border crossing, re-opened in 1992 on the '' Bundesstraße 1'' and '' Droga krajowa No. 22'' main road from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

to Gorzów Wielkopolski. The Oder bridge of the former

Prussian Eastern Railway The Prussian Eastern Railway (german: Preußische Ostbahn) was a railway in the Kingdom of Prussia and later Germany until 1918. Its main route, approximately long, connected the capital, Berlin, with the cities of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) ...

line was rebuilt after

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 ...

; it is today in use by RegionalBahn trains connecting Kostrzyn with

Berlin-Lichtenberg station Berlin-Lichtenberg is a railway station in Berlin, Germany. It is located on the Eastern Railway, Wriezen Railway and Berlin Frankfurter Allee–Berlin-Rummelsburg railway lines in the Lichtenberg district. The station is also part of the Berli ...

External links

A site on the history of Küstrin-Kietz

Küstriner Vorland official site
Villages in Brandenburg Localities in Märkisch-Oderland Former municipalities in Brandenburg Divided cities Germany–Poland border crossings {{Brandenburg-geo-stub

History

See also

External links