Senftenberg ( wen, Zły Komorow) is a town in

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

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 square ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, capital of the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district.

Geography

Senftenberg is located in the southwest of the historic

region at the border with

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

. Its town centre is situated north of the river

Black Elster The Black Elster or Schwarze Elster () is a long river in eastern Germany, in the states Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, right tributary of the Elbe. Its source is in the Upper Lusatia region, near Elstra. The Black Elster flows through t ...

and the artificial Senftenberger Lake, part of the Lusatian Lake District chain, approximately northwest of

Hoyerswerda Hoyerswerda () or Wojerecy () is a major district town in the district of Bautzen in the German state of Saxony. It is located in the Sorbian settlement area of Upper Lusatia, a region where some people speak the Sorbian language in addition to ...

, and southwest of

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exte ...

Senftenberg station Senftenberg station is a railway station in Senftenberg in the German state of Brandenburg. It is a through station at the railway junction of the Lübbenau-Kamenz, the Großenhain–Cottbus and the Schipkau–Senftenberg railways. It is clas ...

is north of the centre and a major railway freight yard is located to its north-east, with a locomotive depot.

History

Senftenberg was first mentioned in a 1279 deed issued by Henry III the Illustrious of Wettin, then margrave of

Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...

. With Lower Lusatia, the settlement was acquired by the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

under

Charles IV of Luxembourg Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

in 1368. Elector Frederick II of

acquired Senftenberg in 1448, whereafter the area as a border stronghold of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of Germany, German monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of ...

was separated from Bohemian Lusatia, until in 1635 all Lusatian territories fell to

by the Peace of Prague. According to the 1815

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, Lower Lusatia was annexed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

and incorporated into the

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg (german: Provinz Brandenburg) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg ...

. From 1952 to 1990, it was part of the

Bezirk Cottbus Cottbus was a district () of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The administrative seat and main town was Cottbus. History The district was established, along with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, ''de facto'' replacing the East Germa ...

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 ...

Names

* cs, Zlý Komorov *german: Senftenberg * pl, Zły Komorów * hsb, Zły Komorow * dsb, Zły Komorow

Lake Senftenberg

Lake Senftenberg is a popular tourist destination. In 1973, the former open cast mine, was officially opened to the public. Today, the lake is known for its excellent water quality. It is part of the so-called Lusatian Lakeland, a group of 23 artificial lakes.

Demography

After the second half of the 19th century the inhabitants increased because of workers coming to Senftenberg to work in the coal mines. After the German Reunion, many inhabitants moved to the western part of Germany. Bevölkerungsentwicklung Senftenberg.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) Bevölkerungsprognosen Senftenberg.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)

Sports

In Senftenberg is the soccer club FSV Glückauf Brieske-Senftenberg.

Twin towns – sister cities

Senftenberg is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Fresagrandinaria, Italy *

Nowa Sól Nowa Sól is a city on the Oder River in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the capital of Nowa Sól County and had a population of 38,763 (2019). History The first settlement in the region of modern Nowa Sól dates to the 14th century, ...

, Poland * Püttlingen, Germany * Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, France * Senftenberg, Austria *

Veszprém Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county ( comitatus or 'megye') o ...

, Hungary * Žamberk, Czech Republic

Notable people

Hermann Kuhnt Hermann Kuhnt (14 April 1850 – 31 October 1925) was a German ophthalmologist born in Senftenberg, Brandenburg. He studied medicine in Bonn, Berlin and Würzburg, and following graduation worked at the anatomy institute in Rostock under Frie ...

(1850–1925), ophthalmologist *

Herbert Windt Herbert Windt (15 September 1894, Senftenberg, Brandenburg – 2 November 1965, Deisenhofen, now a part of Oberhaching, Bavaria) was a German composer who became one of the most significant film score composers of the Third Reich. He was best kno ...

(1894–1965), composer *

Joachim Sauer Joachim Sauer (; born 19 April 1949) is a German quantum chemist and professor emeritus of physical and theoretical chemistry at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He is the husband of the former chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. He is o ...

(born 1949), chemist and professor

Gallery

Senftenberg kirchplatz.JPG, Old Town Senftenberg rekonsruiert.JPG, Estate housing Senftenberg selk.JPG,

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

church
in "Jüttendorf" Senftenberg Postmeilensäule 3.jpg, Coats of Arms of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

and

on a postal milestone

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in Oberspreewald-Lausitz