Großräschen ( Sorbian: ''Rań'') is a town in

Lower Lusatia Lower Lusatia (; ; ; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the Germany, German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the south, Lower Lusa ...

, in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Administratively, it is part of the district of

Oberspreewald-Lausitz Oberspreewald-Lausitz (, ) is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Dahme-Spreewald, Spree-Neiße, the districts Bautzen and Meissen in Saxony, and the district ...

, in the state of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Geographical position

Großräschen is south of the ''Niederlausitzer Landrücken'', a sandy stretch of land with pine forests in the centre of

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

. The source of the small river Rainitza used to be in meadows north of the town centre. South of the town, Lake Grossraschen (formerly an open-cast lignite mine) was completed in 2018. The town proper comprises the historical core, Kleinräschen, and Großräschen. The southernmost quarter, Bückgen, was pulled down due to mining. Outside the town proper are the villages of Freienhufen (historically Dobristroh), Bulldorf, Dörrwalde, Wormlage, Saalhausen, Woschkow, and Schmogro (Großräschen-Ost).

History

Both Großräschen and Kleinräschen were first mentioned in an official document in 1370. The form of settlement and the name suggest that Kleinräschen is older than Großräschen. The villages developed slowly; the Wendish population depended almost entirely on agriculture. From the middle of the 19th century onwards, heavy industry developed, and the villages grew rapidly. From 1815 to 1947, they were part of the

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...

. In 1965, they were granted the status of a town, having been incorporated into one community in 1925. From 1952 to 1990, Großräschen was part of the

Bezirk Cottbus Cottbus was a Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic, district () of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The administrative seat and main town was Cottbus. History The district was established, along with the othe ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. The 1980s brought the destruction of Bückgen, whose 4000 inhabitants had to leave their homes and were moved into blocks of flats. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the industrial decline (glass manufacturing, brick production, mining and agriculture used to appear in the town's coat of arms) caused heavy unemployment. The completion of the Grossraschen lake instigated a tourism industry with lakeside hotels, town marina harbor, rental holiday homes, and a lakeside winery.

Mayors

Thomas Zenker (SPD) was elected in November 2009 with 93.9% of the votes for a term of eight years. (Turnout 35.3%). He was re-elected in September 2017 with 85.6% for a second term of eight years.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Großräschen.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 Großräschen.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 (, ) 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, was the 2011 Europea ...

in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)

Sights

* Protestant Church * Catholic Church with interior decoration by Friedrich Preß * Medieval village church in Freienhufen * open-cast mine lookout * Historic village structures in Kleinräschen, Dörrwalde, Wormlage, Saalhausen (farm type of ''Senftenberger Vierseitenhof'') File:DSC03678-Drozdowski-Grossraeschen-Kurmaerker-V1.jpg, Kurmärker Großräschen, mit Wettigs Hof (13.03.2007) File:DSC03673-Drozdowski-Grossraeschen-IBA-Geschaeftsstelle-V1.jpg, IBA-Geschäftsstelle Großräschen (13.03.2007)

Infrastructure

* Rail links to Berlin, Senftenberg, Stralsund (slow trains) * Federal road B 96 * Motorway A 13/E 66

Partner cities

Trzebiatów Trzebiatów (pronounced ; ; ) is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 10,119 inhabitants (2016). Trzebiatów is located on the Rega River in the north-western part of Poland, roughly 9 kilometers south of the Baltic Sea, Balti ...

(Treptow),

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, since 2006 *

Sprockhövel Sprockhövel is a town in the district of Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Sprockhövel is located in the southern suburban part of the Ruhr area. It is 6 km southeast of Hattingen, 8 km northwest of Gevelsb ...

Hattingen Hattingen is a town in the northern part of the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History Hattingen is located on the south bank of the River Ruhr in the south of the Ruhr region. The town was first mentioned in 13 ...

, Germany

People

* Herbert Scurla (1905–1981) *

Bernhard Lehmann Bernhard Lehmann (born 11 January 1948 in Großräschen, Brandenburg) is an East German bobsledder who competed from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he won four medals with one gold (Four-man: 19 ...

(born 1948) * Hans-Joachim Hartnick (born 1955)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grossraschen Populated places in Oberspreewald-Lausitz