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Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder; ) is a town 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 ...
, in northeastern
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 ...
. With the official status of a '' Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (major district town), it is the largest town of the Uckermark district, located near the river
Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...
, which forms 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 ...
.


Overview

The formerly agrarian town today has one of the largest
oil refineries An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, liquefie ...
(''PCK Raffinerie GmbH'') in Germany, established in 1958 and connected to the Russian
Druzhba pipeline The Druzhba pipeline (russian: нефтепровод «Дружба»; also has been referred to as the Friendship Pipeline and the Comecon Pipeline) is one of the world's longest oil pipelines and one of the largest oil pipeline networks in th ...
network. The refinery uses 20 million cubic meters of water per year for the process. A large
paper factory Papermaking is the manufacture of paper and cardboard, which are used widely for printing, writing, and packaging, among many other purposes. Today almost all paper is made using industrial machinery, while handmade paper survives as a speciali ...
(''
UPM UPM may refer to: * Ultra-pure metal * UPM (company), UPM-Kymmene Oyj, a pulp and paper company * Union pour la méditerrannée, Mediterranean Community * Union for a Popular Movement, opposition party of France * Unit production manager, someone ...
'') is located near Schwedt. Most industries were located in the remote area during
communist rule A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
in the 1960s and 1970s. Large residential areas were built for the workers moving to Schwedt. About 9% of the town's flats are in prefab concrete buildings (''
Plattenbau (plural: , german: Platte + Bau, lit=panel/slab' + 'building/ construction) is a building constructed of large, prefabrication, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of (in this context: panel) and (building). Such buildings ...
'') dating from the era. As many jobs were lost after
German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
and the return to market economy, Schwedt has lost a quarter of its population since 1990. In recent decades, Schwedt became a model town for the demolition of ''Plattenbau'' housing to combat urban decay.


Geography

Schwedt is situated in the east of the historic
Uckermark The Uckermark () is a historical region in northeastern Germany, straddles the Uckermark (district), Uckermark District of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern-Greifswald District of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its traditional capital is Prenzlau. Geogra ...
region stretching from the Oder to the
Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...
River. It is situated on a sandur at the western edge of the Oder
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
running along the
German-Polish border German Polish or Polish German may refer to: * German–Polish relations *German minority in Poland *Polish minority in Germany Poles in Germany are the second largest Polish diaspora (''Polonia'') in the world and the biggest in Europe. Estimate ...
, which in 1995 was declared as the
Lower Oder Valley National Park The Lower Oder Valley International Park is a shared German- Polish nature reserve. It comprises the western banks of the Oder ( pl, Odra) river within the Uckermark district in the German state of Brandenburg as well as the steep eastern banks i ...
nature reserve. Across the river and the border, about to the southeast, is the Polish town of
Chojna Chojna (german: Königsberg in der Neumark; csb, Czińsbarg; la, Regiomontanus Neomarchicus "King's Mountain in the New March") is a small town in northwestern Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately south of Szczeci ...
. The nearest German towns are
Angermünde Angermünde () is a town in the district of Uckermark in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is about northeast of Berlin, the capital of Germany. The population is about 14,000, but has been declining since its traditional industrial base, ...
(about to the west) and
Gartz Gartz is a town in the Uckermark district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the West bank of the Oder River, on the border with Poland, about 20 km south of Szczecin, Poland. It is located within the historic region of Western Pomeran ...
( down the Oder).


Local districts

In a 1974 municipal reform, the neighbouring village of Heinersdorf was incorporated into Schwedt, followed by Blumenhagen, Gatow and Kunow in 1993, by Kummerow in 1998, by Criewen and Zützen in 2001, Stendell in 2002, the former town
Vierraden Vierraden was the name of a small town in the northeast of the German state of Brandenburg. On October 26, 2003, it was incorporated into the city of Schwedt (Oder), which is about 3 kilometers to the south. Until the incorporation, Vierraden was ...
in 2003,
Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelh ...
in January 2021 and
Berkholz-Meyenburg Berkholz-Meyenburg is a former municipality in the Uckermark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Since 19 April 2022, it is an ''Ortsteil'' of the town Schwedt Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. With th ...
,
Mark Landin Mark Landin is a former municipality in the Uckermark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It was merged into the town Schwedt on 19 April 2022.
and Passow in April 2022. With Schwedt is among the 100 largest German municipalities by area.


Nearest cities and towns

Gartz Gartz is a town in the Uckermark district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the West bank of the Oder River, on the border with Poland, about 20 km south of Szczecin, Poland. It is located within the historic region of Western Pomeran ...
(Germany),
Penkun Penkun () is a town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, and one of the smallest in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 25 km east of Prenzlau, and 23 km southwest of Szczecin. Penkun is known for its Renaissance c ...
(Germany),
Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
(Poland),
Gryfino Gryfino (german: Greifenhagen; nds, Gripenhagen; Kashubian: ''Gripiewò'') is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 21,393 inhabitants (2017). It is also the capital of Gryfino County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previo ...
(Poland),
Cedynia Cedynia (pronounced ; german: Zehden, la, Cedene) is a small historic town in Poland, and the administrative seat of Gmina Cedynia in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is situated close to the Oder river and the border with Germa ...
(Poland),
Chojna Chojna (german: Königsberg in der Neumark; csb, Czińsbarg; la, Regiomontanus Neomarchicus "King's Mountain in the New March") is a small town in northwestern Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately south of Szczeci ...
(Poland),
Mieszkowice Mieszkowice (german: Bärwalde in der Neumark; Kashubian: ''Berwôłd'') is a town in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship in western Poland, about east of the Oder river and the border with Germany. It is the administrative seat of t ...
(Poland),
Moryń Moryń (german: Mohrin; csb, Mòrzëno) is a town in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northwestern Poland. Geography Historically it is located in the border area between medieval Greater Poland and Pomerania, which in the Lat ...
(Poland),
Trzcińsko-Zdrój Trzcińsko-Zdrój (german: Bad Schönfließ; csb, Szénflét) is a town in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,591 inhabitants (2005). It is also the centre of an urban-rural municipality with the same name, an area of ...
(Poland),
Myślibórz Myślibórz (pronounced ; german: Soldin; csb, Żôłdzëno) is a town in northwestern Poland, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is the capital of the Powiat of Myślibórz (powiat myśliborski), with a population of 11,867. It is home to th ...
(Poland),
Pyrzyce Pyrzyce ( csb, Përzëca; formerly german: Pyritz) is a town in Pomerania, north-western Poland. As of 2007, it had 13,331 inhabitants. Pyrzycw is the capital of the Pyrzyce County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), which was previousl ...
(Poland).


History

After the
Migration Period The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...
, the area had been settled by
Polabian Slavs Polabian Slavs ( dsb, Połobske słowjany, pl, Słowianie połabscy, cz, Polabští slované) is a collective term applied to a number of Lechitic ( West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern German ...
. From 937 onwards the lands of the Slavic
Ukrani 250px, ''Burgwallinsel'', a former Ukrian Oberuckersee.html"_;"title="burgh_on_an_isle_in_Lake_Oberuckersee">burgh_on_an_isle_in_Lake_Oberuckersee_ The_Ukrani_or_UkriansOberuckersee.html"_;"title="burgh_on_an_isle_in_Lake_Oberuckersee">burgh_o ...
tribes in the west were subdued by the
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
forces of Margrave
Gero Gero I ( – 20 May 965), sometimes called the Great ( la, magnus),Thompson, 486. Also se was a German nobleman who ruled an initially modest march centred on Merseburg in the south of the present German state of Saxony-Anhalt, which he expande ...
and incorporated into his vast ''
Marca Geronis The ''Marca Geronis'' (march of Gero) was a vast super-march in the middle of the tenth century. It was created probably for Thietmar (in the 920s) and passed to his two sons consecutively: Siegfried and Gero. On Gero's death in 965 it was divide ...
'', while the lands east of the Oder were held by Pomeranian tribes under sovereignty of the newly formed Duchy of Poland ruled by Duke
Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...
. The Saxon
Northern March The Northern March or North March (german: Nordmark) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and ...
was lost in the
Great Slav Rising In the Slavic revolt of 983, Polabian Slavs, Wends, Lutici and Obotrite tribes, that lived east of the Elbe River in modern north-east Germany overthrew an assumed Ottonian rule over the Slavic lands and rejected Christianization under Emperor Ott ...
of 983, and not before 1147 the Saxon count
Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (german: Albrecht der Bär; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Bal ...
again invaded the lands on the Oder river, which remained disputed between the newly established
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 o ...
and the
Pomeranian dukes This is a list of the duchies and dukes of Pomerania. Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes (All Pomerania) The lands of Pomerania were firstly ruled by local tribes, who settled in Pomerania around the 10th and 11th centuries. Non-dynastic ...
. The settlement of Schwedt was first mentioned in a 1265 deed. In the course of the
Brandenburg–Pomeranian conflict Starting in the 12th century, the Margraviate, later Electorate, of Brandenburg was in conflict with the neighboring Duchy of Pomerania over frontier territories claimed by them both, and over the status of the Pomeranian duchy, which Brandenburg ...
, the Brandenburg margrave Louis II the Roman ceded it to Duke Barnim III of Pomerania in 1354. It was again besieged by the first
Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
margrave
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoller ...
in 1434, but to no avail. In 1481 the
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
n counts of
Hohnstein Hohnstein () is a town located in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district of Saxony, Germany. As of 2020, its population numbered a total of 3,262. Geography It is situated in Saxon Switzerland, 12 km east of Pirna, and 28 km so ...
acquired the estates; they granted town privileges to Schwedt as well as to neighbouring Vierraden and introduced the
Protestant 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 ...
. The rise of Schwedt came to an end with the extinction of the Hohnstein counts in 1609 and the disastrous
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 ...
, when the town on the road from
Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
to
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 ...
was plundered several times. In 1631 King
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
, after landing in Pomerania, camped here on his way to the Battle of Breitenfeld. Six years later the Swedish field marshal
Johan Banér Johan Banér (23 June 1596 – 10 May 1641) was a Swedish field marshal in the Thirty Years' War. Early life Johan Banér was born at Djursholm Castle in Uppland. As a four-year-old he was forced to witness how his father, the Privy Councillou ...
set the town on fire, after its citizens refused to capitulate. During the
Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
, the
Treaty of Schwedt The Treaty of Schwedt was concluded on 6 October 1713, during the Great Northern War, between the Tsardom of Russia and Brandenburg-Prussia in Schwedt. Brandenburg-Prussia was promised southern Swedish Pomerania up to the Peene river, which had jus ...
was signed in the town. Near the end 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 ...
, over two months of heavy fighting destroyed an estimated 85 percent of the town, including the Schwedt Castle. The
Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...
occupied Schwedt on April 26, 1945, two weeks before the final defeat of Nazi Germany. Afterwards it formed part of
East Germany 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 ...
. During the 1960s, the government of the DDR expanded housing and encouraged people to move to Schwedt, a trend that ended with the
fall of Communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
.


Demography

Bevölkerungsentwicklung Schwedt.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 (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
; Red Background: Time of communist
East Germany 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 ...
) Bevölkerungsprognosen Schwedt.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)


Twin towns – sister cities

Schwedt is twinned with: *
Chojna Chojna (german: Königsberg in der Neumark; csb, Czińsbarg; la, Regiomontanus Neomarchicus "King's Mountain in the New March") is a small town in northwestern Poland in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. It lies approximately south of Szczeci ...
, Poland *
Gryfino Gryfino (german: Greifenhagen; nds, Gripenhagen; Kashubian: ''Gripiewò'') is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 21,393 inhabitants (2017). It is also the capital of Gryfino County in West Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previo ...
, Poland *
Koszalin Koszalin (pronounced ; csb, Kòszalëno; formerly german: Köslin, ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-stat ...
, Poland *
Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is on ...
, Germany *
Moryń Moryń (german: Mohrin; csb, Mòrzëno) is a town in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northwestern Poland. Geography Historically it is located in the border area between medieval Greater Poland and Pomerania, which in the Lat ...
, Poland *
Tuapse Tuapse (russian: Туапсе́; ady, Тӏуапсэ ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: Tuapse i ...
, Russia


Notable people

* Heinrich Schmelka (1777–1837), stage actor * Leonhardt von Blumenthal (1810–1900), Prussian Field Marshal * Karl von Schmidt (1817–1875), Prussian cavalry commander *
Paul von Hintze Paul von Hintze (13 February 1864, in Schwedt/Oder – 19 August 1941, in Meran) was a German naval officer, diplomat, and politician who served as Foreign Minister of Germany in the last stages of World War I, from July to October 1918. Upbring ...
(1864–1941), naval officer, diplomat and politician *
Max Lemke __NOTOC__ Max Lemke (7 April 1895 – 29 May 1985) was a German Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht during World War II, the last commander of the Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1 „Hermann Göring“ and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron C ...
(1895–1985), officer, Major-General last in World War II *
Heinz von Cleve Heinz von Cleve (27 June 1897 – 9 October 1984) was a German stage and film actor.Goble p.293 Life Cleve was the son of Gottlieb von Cleve, a young officer in the 2nd Dragoon Regiment, by his marriage to Elisabeth zu Dobeneck. He attended school ...
(1897–1984), actor *
Horst Wendlandt Horst Otto Gregor Wendlandt (15 March 1922 – 30 August 2002) was a German film producer. He produced more than 100 films between 1956 and 2002. In the 1960s Horst Wendlandt's production company Rialto Film produced films based on Edgar Wa ...
(1922–2002), film producer * Jörg Hoffmann (born 1970), freestyle swimmer *
Britta Steffen Britta Steffen (; born 16 November 1983) is a German competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle sprint events. Biography In 1999, Steffen won six titles at the European Junior Championships, and won a medal as a member of Germany's rel ...
(born 1983), freestyle swimmer


References


External links

* * *
official website of National Park "Unteres Odertal"

official website of PCK Raffinerie GmbH
{{Authority control Localities in Uckermark (district) Germany–Poland border crossings Socialist planned cities