Słubice is a

border town A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states, or regions. Usually the term implies that the nearness to the border is one of the things the place is most famous for. With close proximities to a different cou ...

in the

Lubusz Voivodeship Lubusz Voivodeship, or Lubuskie Province ( pl, województwo lubuskie ), is a voivodeship ( province) in western Poland. It was created on January 1, 1999, out of the former Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra Voivodeships, pursuant to the ...

, in western

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 ...

. Located on the

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 ...

river, it lies directly opposite the city of

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

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 betwee ...

, which it was a part of as ''Dammvorstadt'' until 1945. As of 2019, the town had a population of 16,705, with an urban agglomeration of Słubice-Frankfurt counting 85,000 inhabitants. Previously located in the Gorzów Wielkopolski Voivodeship (1975–1998), the town is currently the capital of

Słubice County __NOTOC__ Słubice County ( pl, powiat słubicki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland, on the German border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish lo ...

and the administrative seat of the Gmina Słubice. It is part of the historical region of

Lubusz Land Lubusz Land ( pl, Ziemia lubuska; german: Land Lebus) is a historical region and cultural landscape in Poland and Germany on both sides of the Oder river. Originally the settlement area of the Lechites, the swampy area was located east of Branden ...

History

The name is a modern Polish restored version of ''Zliwitz'', a West Slavic settlement east of the Brandendamm causeway across the

, mentioned in Frankfurt's city charter of 1253. Until 1249 it was part of the Polish

, which since 1138 in different periods formed part of the Greater Polish or Silesian provinces of then fragmented

. In 1225 ''Zliwitz'' was granted

staple right The staple right, also translated stacking right or storage right, both from the Dutch ''stapelrecht'', was a medieval right accorded to certain ports, the staple ports. It required merchant barges or ships to unload their goods at the port and to ...

s by

Henry the Bearded Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all P ...

. 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 ''Schlos ...

margraves 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 squ ...

had purchased the Lubusz Land from the Silesian Duke

Bolesław II the Bald Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, ...

in 1249. After a war broke out over control of the region in 1319, the area came under the control of the

Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country ha ...

. In 1319

Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania Wartislaw IV or Vartislav IV (before 1290 – 1 August 1326) was Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1309 until his death. He was the only son of Duke Bogislaw IV of Pomerania and his wife Margareta, a daughter of Vitslav II, Prince of Rügen. Varti ...

granted new privileges to the town of

, which today's Słubice was already part of. The area fell again to Brandenburg in 1324. Between 1373 and 1415 it was part of 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 o ...

(or the ''Czech Lands''), ruled by the Luxembourg dynasty. Słubice is closely linked to its German sister city Frankfurt (Oder), of which it was a part until 1945. The two cities have been forced apart by the drawing of the

Oder–Neisse line The Oder–Neisse line (german: Oder-Neiße-Grenze, pl, granica na Odrze i Nysie Łużyckiej) is the basis of most of the international border between Germany and Poland from 1990. It runs mainly along the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers a ...

, which drew the Polish-German border through the city. The two cities share many urban amenities and collaborate on various projects, such as a

wastewater treatment plant Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environmen ...

in Słubice that serves both towns, as well as the Collegium Polonicum extension of some of the Viadrina European University's departments on the Polish side of the border. Furthermore, Słubice is part of a special Słubice-Kostrzyn Economic Zone. Wikipedia Monument 2

Climate

Słubice has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

: ''Cfb'').

Culture

Słubice was the setting for the 2003 film '' Distant Lights'' (''Lichter'') as well as for scenes in the 2002 film ''

Grill Point ''Grill Point'' is a 2002 German drama film directed by Andreas Dresen. Its original German title is ''Halbe Treppe'', which means "Halfway up the Stairs" in English, and was the real-life name of the snack bar shown in the film. ''Grill Point'' ...

''. On October 22, 2014, a monument to Wikipedia editors by

Mihran Hakobyan Mihran Hakobyan ( hy, Միհրան Հակոբյան; born February 18, 1984) is an Armenian sculptor. He created the 2014 ''Wikipedia Monument'' in Słubice, the first one of its type. Biography Mihran Hakobyan was born in Stepanakert. His ...

was unveiled in the town, the first such honoring of the worldwide Wikipedian community.

Transport

The National roads 29 and 31, and the Voivodeship road 137 run through the town, and the A2 motorway, part of the

European route E30 European route E30 is an A-Class European route from the port of Cork in Ireland in the west to the Russian city of Omsk, near the border with Kazakhstan in the east. For much of the Russian stretch, it follows the Trans-Siberian Highway a ...

, runs nearby, south of the town.

Cuisine

The officially protected

traditional food Traditional foods are foods and dishes that are passed on through generations or which have been consumed for many generations. Traditional foods and dishes are traditional in nature, and may have a historic precedent in a national dish, regio ...

of Słubice and the county is ''schab tradycyjny słubicki'', a local type of

smoked Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meat, fish, and '' lapsang souchong'' tea are often smoked. In Europe, alder is the tra ...

''schab'' (

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved ...

loin The loins, or lumbus, are the sides between the lower ribs and pelvis, and the lower part of the back. The term is used to describe the anatomy of humans and quadrupeds, such as horses, pigs, or cattle. The anatomical reference also applies to pa ...

), a popular traditional

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

dish in the area (as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland).

Sports

Polonia Słubice football club is based in Słubice. Polonia's home ground is the OSiR Stadium.

Twin towns – sister cities

See twin towns of Gmina Słubice.

Notable people

* Sara James (born 2008), singer and songwriter * Tomasz Kułkiewicz (born 1978), footballer

Gallery

File:2006-05 Słubice 02.jpg, Former cinema '' Kino Piast'' ( pl) File:Collegium Polonicum - od strony Odry.jpg, Collegium Polonicum File:FFO 04-13 Slubice Holy Spirit Church.jpg, Holy Spirit Church File:Biblioteka-CP.jpg, Library of the Collegium Polonicum

References

External links

*
slubice24.plJewish Community in Słubice
on Virtual Shtetl {{DEFAULTSORT:Slubice Cities and towns in Lubusz Voivodeship Słubice County Divided cities Germany–Poland border crossings