Königs Wusterhausen (; , ) is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district of the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 ...

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 ...

a few kilometers outside

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Geography

Geographical location

Königs Wusterhausen – locally known as "KW" () or "KWh" ()– lies on the Notte canal and the river Dahme southeast of

. Much further away to the west lies the state capital

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

The abbreviation "KW" is also a reminder of the Königs Wusterhausen radio transmitter as "KW" is also the abbreviation for "Kilowatt" and "Kurzwelle" (German: "Shortwave")

Parts of town

Königs Wusterhausen is the biggest town in the Dahme-Spreewald district. The municipal reforms in 2003 brought about seven amalgamations, since which time the communities of Zeesen, Kablow, Diepensee, Niederlehme, Senzig, Wernsdorf and Zernsdorf have belonged to Königs Wusterhausen, the town's land area has grown sixfold, and its population has doubled.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung KönigsWusterhausen.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 KönigsWusterhausen.pdf, Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2020-2030 (green line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)

History

In 1320, in connection with an investiture on 19 September, the settlement ("hus to wosterhusen") and the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

received their first-known documentary mentions. By 1400, the two were both a

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

held by the noble family of Schlieben. In 1500 the estate of Wendisch Wusterhausen was verified for the first time by the ''Schenken'' (a noble title) of Landberg zu Teupitz. On 14 October 1669 Privy Councillor Friedrich von Jena acquired the castle and the village of Wendisch Wusterhausen. In early July 1683, ''Kurprinz'' Friedrich, later (1688) Elector Friedrich III, and later still (1701) King Frederick I in

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

, acquired the castle and the village. In 1698, ''Kurprinz'' Friedrich Wilhelm was given the castle along with the attached estate as a gift by his father. After his accession to the throne, King Frederick William I in Prussia, remodelled the castle into a hunting lodge, which his son Frederick II (Frederick the Great) despised. In 1718, the town, hitherto known as Wusterhausen, was given its current name, Königs Wusterhausen ("Königs" = "king's" in German). In 1862,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Theodor Fontane visited Königs Wusterhausen for his '' Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg''. Since 1901, Königs Wusterhausen has been home to the Brandenburg School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (''Brandenburgische Schule für Blinde und Sehbehinderte''), endowed by the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

merchant Hermann Schmidt. In 1920 came the launch of Germany's first

radio transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna with the purpose of signal transmissio ...

, the Transmitter Königs Wusterhausen, and in 1935, Königs Wusterhausen was raised to town status. In 1937, Saint Elisabeth's Catholic Church was built and consecrated. In 1938, the Berlin

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

ringroad – now

Bundesautobahn 10 is an ring road, orbital motorway around the German capital city of Berlin. Colloquially called ''Berliner Ring (Berlin Beltway)'', it is predominantly located in the state of Brandenburg, with a short stretch of in Berlin itself. It should ...

– was dedicated, and now serves cities and towns around Berlin, including Königs Wusterhausen. By now, the National Socialists were in power, and in 1944 they built a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

for

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s and

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

at the railway goods station. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and until 1990, Königs Wusterhausen lay in the former

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 ...

. In 1972, Germany's deadliest-ever aviation accident occurred when an Interflug passenger flight crashed near Königs Wusterhausen, killing 156 people. 1972 also saw the collapse of Königs Wusterhausen's central tower, which at 243 m tall was the most prominent structure at the radio transmission facility.

Worship

Christianity

In Königs Wusterhausen, there is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish as well as congregations of the

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church body A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...

named Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia. The oldest church in town is the village ''Wehrkirche'' (a church whose architecture contains typically military elements) in Deutsch Wusterhausen, built in the 13th century. In 1998 the Evangelical Königs Wusterhausen

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

() merged in the Berlin-

Neukölln Neukölln (), officially abbreviated Neuk, is one of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is located south-east of Berlin's center and stretches from the inner city southward to the border with Brandenburg, encompassing the eponymous quarter of Neu ...

deanery. The Protestant congregations in Königs Wusterhausen (KW), Deutsch Wusterhausen, Niederlehme, Senzig, Zeesen, and Zernsdorf (all components of KW) as well as that in Schenkendorf (a component of

Mittenwalde Mittenwalde () is a town in the Dahme-Spreewald district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 30 km southeast of Berlin (centre). On May 28, 1562, the town of Mittenwalde lent Berlin 400 guilders, a debt which has never been repaid, tho ...

), today make up the ecclesiastical Region 9. The Catholic parish belongs to the Deanship of Köpenick-Treptow of the Archdiocese of Berlin. Both communities have very active youth groups, the Evangelical ''Junge Gemeinde'' ("Young Community") and the ''Katholische Jugend'' ("Catholic Youth"). In January 2013, the Freie Baptistengemeinde Königs Wusterhausen was organized. They are located near the post office and hold weekly services as well as other Bible studies including "Jungschar" and a monthly "Jugendtreff".

Politics

City council

Königs Wusterhausen's town council consists of 36 councillors, with the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(''Bürgermeister'') as head. According to the results of the latest local election in May 2019, they were apportioned as follows: *

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD) – 8 seats * Christian Democratic Union (CDU) – 5 seats *

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(AfD) – 5 seats * The Left (Linke) – 5 seats *Free Voters (citizens' coalition) (FWKW) – 4 seats *Wir für KW (WfKW) – 3 seats *

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

– 3 seats * Free Democratic Party (FDP) – 1 *Other – 4 seats

Twin towns – sister cities

Königs Wusterhausen is twinned with: * Příbram, Czech Republic * Germantown, United States * Hückeswagen, Germany * Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Berlin), Germany

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

*Königs Wusterhausen Hunting Lodge and Garden, known as Prussian King Frederick William's favourite place to stay. Today the castle is a museum of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg. Numerous valuable objects of baroque paintings and handicrafts are on display, including paintings with connections to Frederick William and his family, many pieces of the original interior, as well as a large collection of portraits, mainly of officers, which the "soldier king" painted himself. *''Kreuzkirche'' ("Cross Church"), begun in 1693, new glazing in 1949 with 3 choir windows and 4 ornamental round panes by Charles Crodel. *''Neue Mühle'' ("New Mill")

Canal lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a chamber in a permanently fixed position i ...

(first documented in 1739), difference in levels 1.50 m * Watertower (begun 1910, shut down 1965), now a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

with beer garden and exhibition areas *210-metre transmission mast (built 1925)

Museums

*Königs Wusterhausen Transmission and Radio Technology Museum on the Funkerberg Of the once great number of building works on the Funkerberg ("Transmitter Mountain"), very little is preserved nowadays, as many transmission towers were dismantled for technical reasons after the Central Tower collapsed and fell on 15 November 1972. Today, only a 210-m-high mast and two small freestanding towers are found there. It along with the remaining buildings form a technological monument. Until 1999, this mast bore the transmitting antenna that served as the reserve antenna for the

longwave In radio, longwave (also spelled long wave or long-wave and commonly abbreviated LW) is the part of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave (MW) broadcasting band. The term is historic, dati ...

stations at Zehlendorf bei Oranienburg and Donebach. In 1994, a 67-m-high

precast concrete Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable molding (process), mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples i ...

cellular transmission tower was put up. It is today the only active transmitter on the Funkerberg. The first attempts at transmissions were in 1908. On 22 December 1920, music and speech were transmitted wirelessly from the Funkerberg for the first time on "Welle 2400" – longwave. It went down in history as the German postal system's Christmas concert. Königs Wusterhausen is thus also said to be the cradle of German radio. The artists in that broadcast were, incidentally, postal employees. The initiative was German radio pioneer Hans Bredow's brainchild (for this and other groundbreaking work, he is considered the "Father of German Radio"). Until 1926, the popular ''Sonntagskonzerte'' ("Sunday Concerts") were broadcast. The station's studio was at first a remodelled bathroom in the first broadcasting house on the Funkerberg.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

(Königs Wusterhausen regional trains (RE2 RB22, 24, 36) and

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

•S46 to Westkreuz• station) *

s/ Freeways: A 10 (Berliner Ring), A 13 *Highways: ''Bundesstraße'' (Federal highway) 179 (B 179) *Air travel:

Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport Berlin Brandenburg Airport () () is an international airport in Schönefeld, just south of the Germany, German capital and state of Berlin, in the state of Brandenburg. Named after the former Mayor of West Berlin, West Berlin mayor and Chance ...

(BER) *Waterways: Königs Wusterhausen inland port.

Notable people

* Heinrich Mederow (born 1945), rower, bronze medalist at the 1972 Olympics * Marek Kalbus (born 1969), opera and concert singer * Sandra Keller (born 1973), actress * Mike Jesse (born 1973), footballer * Sabine Jünger (born 1973), politician (The Left) *

Judith Arndt Judith Arndt (born 23 July 1976) is a retired German professional sports, professional cycle sport, cyclist, who last rode for the GreenEDGE-AIS cycling team. She won the bronze medal in the Track cycling, 3000 m pursuit event at the 1996 S ...

(born 1976), cyclist

References

External links

City of Königs WusterhausenFriends of the Königs Wusterhausen transmitter

Catholic YouthEvangelical Young Community
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Konigs Wusterhausen Localities in Dahme-Spreewald Teltow (region) Holocaust locations in Germany