Fürstenwalde

Fürstenwalde/Spree

City centre in Fürstenwalde

Coat of arms
Fürstenwalde/Spree

Coordinates: 52°22′N 14°04′E / 52.367°N 14.067°E / 52.367; 14.067Coordinates: 52°22′N 14°04′E / 52.367°N 14.067°E / 52.367; 14.067
Country Germany
State Brandenburg
District Oder-Spree
Government
  Mayor Hans-Ulrich Hengst ([neutral])
Area
  Total 70.55 km2 (27.24 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
  Total 30,967
  Density 440/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 15517
Dialling codes 03361
Vehicle registration LOS
Website www.stadt-fuerstenwalde.de

Fürstenwalde/Spree is the most populous town in the Oder-Spree District of Brandenburg, Germany.

Geography

It is situated in the glacial valley of the river Spree north of the Rauen Hills, about 60 km (37 mi) east of Berlin and 30 km (19 mi) west of Frankfurt (Oder) and the border with Poland. 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 rim of historic Lubusz Land.

Fürstenwalde station is a stop on the railway line from Berlin to Frankfurt (Oder), the former Lower Silesian-Mark Railway. It also has access to the parallel Bundesautobahn 12.

History

Furstenwalde in the Margraviate of Brandenburg 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 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. 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 Reformist robbers led by Nickel von Minkwitz. 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.

Demography

Fürstenwalde/Spree:
Population development within the current boundaries (2013)
[2]
Year Population
1875 11 929
1890 15 783
1910 26 286
1925 28 369
1933 32 081
1939 35 842
1946 28 993
1950 30 815
1964 30 849
1971 31 296
Year Population
1981 35 566
1985 35 443
1989 36 083
1990 35 214
1991 34 572
1992 34 350
1993 33 984
1994 33 539
1995 33 628
1996 33 823
Year Population
1997 34 085
1998 34 157
1999 34 167
2000 34 044
2001 33 981
2002 33 726
2003 33 639
2004 33 374
2005 33 336
2006 33 121
Year Population
2007 33 104
2008 32 867
2009 32 576
2010 32 468
2011 30 910
2012 30 885
2013 30 967

Notable people

International relations

Fürstenwalde is twinned with:

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, June 20, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.