Lebus

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Lebus


Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Märkisch-Oderland District
Population	3,375 (June 30, 2005)
Area	73.43 km²
Population density	62 /km²
Elevation	16 m
Coordinates	52°25′ N 14°32′ E
Postal code	15326
Area code	033604
Licence plate code	MOL
Mayor	Bernd Tillack (FW)
Website	www.amt-lebus.de

Lebus (Polish: Lubusz) is a town in the southeast of the Märkisch-Oderland District in Brandenburg, Germany. It has a population of 3,375 (as of 2005). It was the center of the historical region known as Lebus/Lubusz.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Location
- 1.2 Districts
2 History
3 Politics
- 3.1 Town council
- 3.2 Heraldry
4 Attractions
- 4.1 Constructed
- 4.2 Natural
5 External links

[edit] Geography

[edit] Location

Lebus is located on the Oder river on the German border with Poland, 10 km north of Frankfurt (Oder). It is the seat of Amt Lebus.

[edit] Districts

Mallnow
Schönfließ
Wulkow

[edit] History

Settlement in the vicinity of Lebus has been traced as far back as 3,000 years. The ridges provided natural defense and led to fortifications being constructed upon them. The Germanic Lombards and Semnoni are believed to have lived in the area before the Common Era. After a settlement gap of approximately 1,000 years, the Slavic Leubuzzi tribe settled the area during the 8th and 9th centuries in the Migration Period. The land on both sides of the Oder became known as Terra Lebusana, or "Land of the Leubuzzi" in Latin.

The region was brought under Polish control by 966 under the rule of Duke Mieszko I. A castellan's castle was built to control it, which became over the next centuries a battleground for neighboring rulers. This Lubusz Land, which provides the name for the present-day Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland, was especially influenced by the Piast dukes in Silesia. The existence of a settlement known as Lubusz at a ford of the Oder near the castle was first documented in 1109, and Duke Henry I granted it a charter in 1226.

The Bishopric of Lebus was founded in 1124-25 during the reign of Boleslaus III to counter the power of Emperor Henry V and Magdeburg. It served as an important center for Catholic missionaries preaching in and developing the Oder region. The Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg acquired the Lubus Land around 1250; Germanization of the region proceeded throughout the 13th century and Lubusz became predominantly known as Lebus.

During the Middle Ages, Lebus served as an important stop on trade routes from the Baltic Sea to Italy and from Poznań to Flanders. After the destruction of the town's cathedral by troops of Emperor Charles IV in 1373, the seat of the bishopric was moved from Lebus to Fürstenwalde. The populace became Lutheran during the Reformation, and the bishopric was secularized in 1555 following the death of the last Catholic Bishop, Georg von Blumenthal. After the 16th century fires and political changes weakened the fortifications; the castle was decisively damaged by a lightning strike in 1713. Lebus gradually became a backwater locality.

During World War II, Lebus, including its medieval center, was almost completely destroyed, and its land east of the Oder joined Poland in 1945. The parish church of Lebus was restored in 1954.

[edit] Politics

[edit] Town council

The town council of Lebus has 16 representatives.

CDU 3 seats
SPD 5 seats
Pro Lebus 6 seats
Schill-Partei 1 seat
PDS 1 seat

(as of the communal vote from 26 October 2003)

[edit] Heraldry

The coat of arms of Lebus depicts a wolf carrying a sheep in its mouth.

[edit] Attractions

[edit] Constructed

The Heimatstube Lebus has information about the history and tourism sights of the town.

[edit] Natural

Nearby hills and ridges have provided natural defenses to the town for over a thousand years. The Turmberg offers a surprising view of the Oder river valley.