Fürstenwalde/Spree
Town
Town hall and Cathedral
Town hall and Cathedral
Coat of arms of Fürstenwalde/Spree
Coat of arms
Location of Fürstenwalde/Spree within Oder-Spree district
Fürstenwalde/Spree is located in Germany
Fürstenwalde/Spree
Fürstenwalde/Spree
Fürstenwalde/Spree is located in Brandenburg
Fürstenwalde/Spree
Fürstenwalde/Spree
Coordinates: 52°22′N 14°04′E / 52.367°N 14.067°E / 52.367; 14.067
CountryGermany
StateBrandenburg
DistrictOder-Spree
SubdivisionsCity center and 4 districts
Government
 • Mayor (2018–26) Matthias Rudolph[1]
Area
 • Total70.55 km2 (27.24 sq mi)
Elevation
43 m (141 ft)
Population
 (2021-12-31)[2]
 • Total32,120
 • Density460/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
15517
Dialling codes03361
Vehicle registrationLOS
Websitehttps://www.fuerstenwalde-spree.de/

Fürstenwalde/Spree (German pronunciation: [ˈfʏʁstn̩ˌvaldə] ⓘ; Lower Sorbian: Pśibor pśi Sprjewje [ˈpɕibɔr ˈpɕi sprʲɛwʲɛ])[3] is the most populous town in the Oder-Spree District of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany.

Geography

The town is situated in the glacial valley (Urstromtal) of the Spree river north of the Rauen Hills, about 60 km (37 mi) east of Berlin and 30 km (19 mi) west of Frankfurt (Oder). The district capital Beeskow is about 25 km (16 mi) to the southeast. In the north, the municipal area comprises the village of Trebus. The town is located on the western part of historic Lubusz Land (Land Lebus).

The Fürstenwalde station is a stop on the railway line from Berlin to Frankfurt (Oder), the former Lower Silesian-Marcher Railway. It also has access to the parallel Bundesautobahn 12. The 39 MW Fürstenwalde Solar Park supplies electricity to the local grid.

History

Postcard from 1911

The settlement of Fürstenwalde was first mentioned in a 1272 deed, founded in the course of the German Ostsiedlung migration at a ford across the Spree river, probably near the site of a former Slavic settlement. The Lebus Land had been acquired from Poland by the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg in 1248/1249. The town's importance rose as a staple port and terminal of the transportation of goods on the river.

In 1373 Emperor Charles IV, since 1367 also Margrave of adjacent Lower Lusatia campaigned the Brandenburg lands and enforced the renunciation of the Wittelsbach margrave Otto VII of Brandenburg by the Treaty of Fürstenwalde. From 1373 to 1415, the town was part of the Bohemian Crown. As also the collegiate church in Lebus was destroyed, Bishop Wenceslaus moved the official seat of the Bishopric of Lebus to Fürstenwalde, where the St Mary's Church was raised to a cathedral.

The last Catholic bishop was Georg von Blumenthal (1490–1550), who was besieged in his palace by Lutheran robbers led by Nickel von Minckwitz. The Bishop had to escape through a window in disguise. The bishopric was secularized during the Reformation in 1555, and was completely disbanded at the ascension of Joachim Frederick as Margrave of Brandenburg in 1598.

From the 18th century, Fürstenwalde was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, and from 1815 to 1947, it was administratively located in the Province of Brandenburg. During World War II, it was the location of a subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.[4] From 1947 to 1952 it was part of the State of Brandenburg, from 1952 to 1990 of the Bezirk Frankfurt of East Germany and since 1990 again of Brandenburg.

Demography

Fürstenwalde/Spree: Population development
within the current boundaries (2020)[5]
YearPop.±% p.a.
1875 11,929—    
1890 15,783+1.88%
1910 26,286+2.58%
1925 28,369+0.51%
1939 35,842+1.68%
1950 30,815−1.36%
1964 30,849+0.01%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1971 31,296+0.21%
1981 35,566+1.29%
1985 35,443−0.09%
1990 35,214−0.13%
1995 33,628−0.92%
2000 34,044+0.25%
2005 33,336−0.42%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2010 32,468−0.53%
2015 31,741−0.45%
2016 32,025+0.89%
2017 32,098+0.23%
2018 31,941−0.49%
2019 31,965+0.08%
2020 31,992+0.08%

Politics

Seats in the town's assembly (Stadtverordnetenversammlung) as of 2014 local elections:

Twin towns – sister cities

Fürstenwalde is twinned with:[6]

Notable people

Julius Pintsch
  • Karl Friedrich Schulz (1784–1850), Protestant composer and music teacher
  • Julius Pintsch (1815–1884), founder of the former industrial company Julius Pintsch AG Berlin-Fürstenwalde
  • Ernst Laas (1837–1885), pedagogue and philosopher
  • Max Valentin (1875–1920), sculptor and architect
  • Wilhelm Burgdorf (1895–1945), general of the infantry
  • Wolfgang Götze (1937–2021), theoretical physicist
  • Hans-Michael Rehberg (1938–2017), actor and film director
  • Ludolf von Wartenberg (born 1941), politician, member of Bundestag
  • Helmut Panke (born 1946), manager
  • Burkhard Reich (born 1964), footballer
  • Axel Schulz (born 1968), boxer

References

  1. ↑ Landkreis Oder-Spree Wahl der Bürgermeisterin / des Bürgermeisters, accessed 2 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Bevölkerungsentwicklung und Flächen der kreisfreien Städte, Landkreise und Gemeinden im Land Brandenburg 2021" (PDF). Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). June 2022.
  3. ↑ Sophie Wauer, Klaus Müller: "Die Ortsnamen des Kreises Beeskow-Storkow", pp. 226–228
  4. ↑ Megargee, Geoffrey P. (2009). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume I. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 1305. ISBN 978-0-253-35328-3.
  5. ↑ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
  6. ↑ "Städtepartnerschaften". fuerstenwalde-spree.de (in German). Fürstenwalde/Spree. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
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