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Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder) is a city in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the largest city of the district Uckermark near the Oder river on the border with Poland.
Schwedt is an industrial city at the edge of the Lower Oder Valley National Park at the Polish border. Across the river and the border, about 10 km to the southeast, is the Polish town of Chojna (Königsberg/Neumark). The nearest German towns are Angermünde (18 km to the west) and Gartz (18 km down the Oder).
Schwedt has one of the largest oil refineries (PCK Raffinerie GmbH) in Germany and is the largest location of paper industry in Europe. Most industries were located in the formerly remote town of Schwedt during socialist rule in the 60s and 70s. Large residential areas were built for the workers moving to Schwedt. About 90% of the town's flats are in prefab concrete buildings (Plattenbau) dating from the era. As many jobs were lost after German reunification and the return to market economy, Schwedt has lost a quarter of its population since 1990. In recent years, Schwedt became a model town for the demolition of Plattenbau housings in order to fight flat vacancies and urban decay.
Since Poland's EU accession, over 400 Polish women, chiefly from the Szczecin area, have given birth to their babies in the border town of Schwedt. EU regulations allow patients to undergo treatment abroad without the domestic financing agency's permission only in emergency cases. Polish women turning up at the Schwedt hospital claim they've just happened to be in town for shopping, but in reality these are planned births
[edit] Local districts
Blumenhagen, Kunow, Criewen, Heinersdorf, Hohenfelde, Kummerow, Gatow, Stendell, former town Vierraden, Zützen
[edit] History
[edit] Population history
| Year |
Population |
| 1830 |
5,297 |
| December 1, 1875 |
9,592 |
| December 1, 1880 |
9,899 |
| December 1, 1890 |
9,801 |
| December 1, 1910 |
9,482 |
| June 16, 1933 |
9,176 |
| May 17, 1939 |
10,636 |
| October 29, 1946 |
5,961 |
|
| Year |
Population |
| August 31, 1950 |
6,506 |
| December 31, 1964 |
19,108 |
| January 1, 1971 |
34,292 |
| December 31, 1981 |
52,291 |
| December 31, 1990 |
49,443 |
| December 31, 1995 |
45,931 |
| December 31, 2000 |
40,634 |
| December 31, 2004 |
37,940 |
|
[edit] Notable people
[edit] Towns near Schwedt
[edit] External links
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