Erkner

Erkner

Coat of arms
Erkner

Coordinates: 52°25′N 13°45′E / 52.417°N 13.750°ECoordinates: 52°25′N 13°45′E / 52.417°N 13.750°E
Country Germany
State Brandenburg
District Oder-Spree
Government
 • Mayor Jochen Kirsch (SPD)
Area
 • Total 16.60 km2 (6.41 sq mi)
Population (2012-12-31)[1]
 • Total 11,438
 • Density 690/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 15537
Dialling codes 03362
Vehicle registration LOS
Website www.erkner.de

Erkner is a town in the Oder-Spree District of Brandenburg, Germany, situated on the south-eastern edge of the German capital city Berlin.

Geography

The town is situated between the lakes Dämeritzsee, a part of the river Spree, and Flakensee, surrounded by a mainly forested landscape. Neighbouring municipalities are Woltersdorf in the north, Grünheide (Mark) in the east, Gosen-Neu Zittau in the south and Berlin in the west.

History

In 1579, Erkner was first mentioned in the Rüdersdorf church records as "Arckenow", a fishermen's place of residence („Mittwoch s post Convers, Pauli hat Hans der Fischer im Arckenow taufen lassen Und ist genant Maria.“). This field name developed to Erkenau-Erkener-Erkner. Until 1701 the settlement only grew up to seven houses.

This changed in 1712, when a coaching inn for the new Post road from Berlin to Frankfurt (Oder) was built. As of 1748, three Palatine farming families settled "on the Buchhorst" (a locality within Erkner). Later they moved their homesteads to the present-day Buchhorster Straße. One of those homesteads now houses the Heimatmuseum (local history museum) with Erkner's oldest house.
In 1752, Prussian king Friedrich II installed a Mulberry plantation with 1,500 trees, of which only one is still standing in today's Friedrichstraße.

The village grew up to 260 inhabitants in 1805. At this time Erkner was a barge-men's village with several localities: „The Erkner“, Neu Buchhorst, Schönschornstein, Alte Hausstelle, Hohenbinde, Jägerbude and until 1884 Woltersdorfer Schleuse. Settled along the waterways between the rivers Oder, Spree, Havel and Elbe, the mass transports of lime, coal and other materials from the limestone mine in nearby Rüdersdorf to Berlin and from the industrial areas of Silesia to Berlin respectively. In 1822, two thirds of the families had a barge-men as head of the household. Supported also by five wharfs in the village, this profession continued to be important for Erkner until the end of the 19th century.

In 1842, the Berlin-Frankfurt Railway opened with a stop in Erkner, which was upgraded to a railway station the following year due to the huge reception by Berlin excursionists. Since 1846, this railway connects Berlin via Erkner with Breslau and thereby two important industrial areas of Prussia.

The industrialisation of Erkner began in 1860 with the founding of the first Continental European tar destillation by Julius Rütgers. In 1909, the world's first industrialised production of Plastics (Bakelite) began on his premises in cooperation with Leo Baekeland. On May 25, 1910 the Bakelite Gesellschaft m.b.H. Berlin-Erkner (Link to German Wikipedia) was founded here. A few months later, on October 10, Baekeland founded the General Bakelite Company in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

From 1885-1889 the German writer Gerhard Hauptmann has lived in Erkner. His three sons were born in this time. In 1888, the town officially adopted the name Erkner. The Catholic parish St. Boniface Erkner was founded in 1910.

On June 6, 1998 Erkner was the first town in Eastern Germany to be granted city rights after the German Reunification.

Demography

Twinned Towns

Erkner is a twin town of Gołuchów in the Greater Poland Voivodeship.

Culture and Sights

Museums

Churches

Memorials

Photogallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden 31. Dezember 2012 (XLS-Datei; 83 KB) (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 31 December 2012.

External links

Media related to Erkner at Wikimedia Commons