Brandenburg

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Coordinates: 52°21′43″N 13°0′29″E / 52.36194°N 13.00806°E / 52.36194; 13.00806
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the German state. For the town, see Brandenburg an der Havel. For other uses, see Brandenburg (disambiguation).

State of Brandenburg
Land Brandenburg (
Low German)
Kraj Bramborska (Lower Sorbian)
State
NUTS Region
DE4
HDI (2018)0.923[4]
very high · 14th of 16
Websitebrandenburg.de

Brandenburg,

tenth-most populous. Potsdam is the state capital and largest city, and other major towns are Cottbus, Brandenburg an der Havel and Frankfurt (Oder)
.

Brandenburg surrounds the national capital and city-state of Berlin, and together they form the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, the third-largest metropolitan area in Germany with a total population of about 6.2 million.[5] There was an unsuccessful attempt to unify both states in 1996 and the states cooperate on many matters to this day.

Brandenburg originated in the Northern March in the 900s AD, from areas conquered from the Wends. It later became the Margraviate of Brandenburg, a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 15th century, it came under the rule of the House of Hohenzollern, which later also became the ruling house of the Duchy of Prussia and established Brandenburg-Prussia, the core of the later Kingdom of Prussia. From 1815 to 1947, Brandenburg was a province of Prussia.

Following the

German Democratic Republic in 1949. In 1952, the state was dissolved and broken up into multiple regional districts. Following German reunification, Brandenburg was re-established in 1990 and became one of the five new states
of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The origin of the name Brandenburg is believed to be West Slavic brani boru, meaning 'defensive forest'.[citation needed]

History

History of Brandenburg and Prussia
Present
Main articles: Margraviate of Brandenburg and Brandenburg (historical land)

In late medieval and early modern times, Brandenburg was one of seven

Hohenzollern, the eastern European connections of Berlin, and the status of Brandenburg's ruler as prince-elector
together were instrumental in the rise of that state.

Early Middle Ages

Main article: Northern March

Brandenburg is situated in territory known in antiquity as

Slavic peoples are believed to have settled in the Brandenburg area. The Slavs expanded from the east, possibly driven from their homelands in present-day Ukraine and perhaps Belarus by the invasions of the Huns and Avars. They relied heavily on river transport. The two principal Slavic groups in the present-day area of Brandenburg were the Hevelli in the west and the Sprevane
in the east.

Beginning in the early 10th century,

Otto I established margraves to exert imperial control over the pagan Slavs west of the Oder River. Otto founded the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg. The Northern March was founded as a northeastern border territory of the Holy Roman Empire. However, a great uprising of Wends
drove imperial forces from the territory of present-day Brandenburg in 983. The region returned to the control of Slavic leaders.

Late Middle Ages

Main article: Margraviate of Brandenburg
Eisenhardt Castle in Bad Belzig

During the 12th century, the German kings and emperors re-established control over the mixed Slav-inhabited lands of present-day Brandenburg, although some Slavs like the

Brandenburg an der Havel
, which was the first center of the state of Brandenburg, began.

In 1134, in the wake of a German

Pribislav, in 1150. After crushing a force of Sprevane who occupied the town of Brandenburg in the 1150s, Albert proclaimed himself ruler of the new Margraviate of Brandenburg. Albert, and his descendants the Ascanians, then made considerable progress in conquering, colonizing, Christianizing, and cultivating lands as far east as the Oder. Within this region, Slavic and German residents intermarried. During the 13th century, the Ascanians began acquiring territory east of the Oder, later known as the Neumark (see also Altmark
).

In 1320, the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end, and from 1323 up until 1415 Brandenburg was under the control of the

Margrave of Brandenburg gained the status of a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. In the period 1373–1415, Brandenburg was a part of the Bohemian Crown. In 1415, the Electorate of Brandenburg was granted by Emperor Sigismund to the House of Hohenzollern
, which would rule until the end of World War I. The Hohenzollerns established their capital in Berlin, by then the economic center of Brandenburg.

16th and 17th centuries

Main article: Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg's victory over Swedish forces at the Battle of Fehrbellin in 1675

Brandenburg converted to Protestantism in 1539 in the wake of the

Protestant Reformation, and generally did quite well in the 16th century, with the expansion of trade along the Elbe, Havel, and Spree rivers. The Hohenzollerns expanded their territory by co-rulership since 1577 and acquiring the Duchy of Prussia in 1618, the Duchy of Cleves (1614) in the Rhineland, and territories in Westphalia. The result was a sprawling, disconnected country known as Brandenburg-Prussia that was in poor shape to defend itself during the Thirty Years' War
.

Beginning near the end of that devastating conflict, however, Brandenburg enjoyed a string of talented rulers who expanded their territory and power in Europe. The first of these was

von Blumenthal (son of the above) negotiated the incorporation of the Duchy of Prussia
into the Hohenzollern inheritance.

Kingdom of Prussia and German Empire

Main articles: Kingdom of Prussia and Province of Brandenburg
The Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, is today a World Heritage Site.
The Province of Brandenburg, as superimposed on modern borders

When Frederick William died in 1688, he was followed by his son Frederick, third of that name in Brandenburg. As the lands that had been acquired in Prussia were outside the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, Frederick assumed (as Frederick I) the title of "King in Prussia" (1701). Although his self-promotion from margrave to king relied on his title to the Duchy of Prussia, Brandenburg was still the most important portion of the kingdom. However, this combined state is known as the Kingdom of Prussia.

Brandenburg remained the core of the Kingdom of Prussia, and it was the site of the kingdom's capitals, Berlin and Potsdam. When Prussia was subdivided into provinces in 1815, the territory of the Margraviate of Brandenburg became the

Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany
when Prussia was dissolved in 1947.

East Germany

Glienicke Bridge, which connected East Germany to the American sector of West Berlin, became known for the exchange of captured spies.

After the foundation of

Magdeburg districts (town Havelberg). East Germany relied heavily on lignite
(the lowest grade of coal) as an energy source, and lignite strip mines marred areas of south-eastern Brandenburg. The industrial towns surrounding Berlin were important to the East German economy, while rural Brandenburg remained mainly agricultural.

Federal Republic of Germany

The present State of Brandenburg was re-established on 3 October 1990 upon German reunification.[10] The newly elected Landtag of Brandenburg first met on 26 October 1990.[11] As in other former parts of East Germany, the lack of modern infrastructure and exposure to West Germany's competitive market economy brought widespread unemployment and economic difficulty. In the recent years, however, Brandenburg's infrastructure has been modernized and unemployment has slowly declined.

Berlin-Brandenburg fusion attempt

Main article: Fusion of Berlin and Brandenburg
The coat of arms proposed in the interstate treaty

The legal basis for a combined state of Berlin and Brandenburg is different from other state fusion proposals. Normally, Article 29 of the Basic Law stipulates that states may only merge after a specific federal Act of Parliament is enacted.[12] However, a clause added to the Basic Law in 1994, Article 118a, allows Berlin and Brandenburg to unify without federal approval, requiring a referendum and a ratification by both state parliaments.[13]

In 1996, an attempt of unifying the states of Berlin and Brandenburg was rejected at referendum.[14] Both share a common history, dialect and culture and in 2020, over 225,000 residents of Brandenburg commute to Berlin. The fusion had the near-unanimous support by a broad coalition of both state governments, political parties, media, business associations, trade unions and churches.[15] Though Berlin voted in favor by a small margin, largely based on support in former West Berlin, Brandenburg voters disapproved of the fusion by a large margin.[16] It failed largely due to Brandenburg voters not wanting to take on Berlin's large and growing public debt and fearing losing identity and influence to the capital.[14]

Geography

See also: Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region and List of cities in Brandenburg by population

Brandenburg is bordered by

Freistaat Sachsen in the south, Saxony-Anhalt in the west, and Lower Saxony
in the northwest.

The

Sorbian
are both used.

Further information: Mathiasberg

Protected areas

Brandenburg is known for its well-preserved natural environment and its ambitious natural protection policies which began in the 1990s. 15 large protected areas were designated following Germany's reunification. Each of them is provided with state-financed administration and a park ranger staff, who guide visitors and work to ensure nature conservation. Most protected areas have visitor centers.

National parks

Biosphere reserves

biosphere reserve by UNESCO

Nature parks

Demographics

Brandenburg has the

second lowest population density
among the German states, after Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Population density in Berlin-Brandenburg in 2015

Development

Development of Brandenburg's population from 1875 within current borders
Land Brandenburg: Population development
within the current boundaries (2020)[17]
YearPop.±% p.a.
1875 1,444,441—    
1890 1,578,138+0.59%
1910 1,879,375+0.88%
1925 2,048,866+0.58%
1939 2,433,881+1.24%
1950 2,746,002+1.10%
1964 2,620,071−0.33%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1971 2,667,096+0.25%
1981 2,667,052−0.00%
1985 2,667,237+0.00%
1990 2,602,404−0.49%
1995 2,542,042−0.47%
2000 2,601,962+0.47%
2005 2,559,483−0.33%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2010 2,503,273−0.44%
2015 2,484,826−0.15%
2016 2,494,648+0.40%
2017 2,504,040+0.38%
2018 2,511,917+0.31%
2019 2,521,893+0.40%
2020 2,531,071+0.36%

Religion

Religion in Brandenburg – 2011
religion percent
Other
 
 79.8%
Registered EKD Protestants
 
 17.1%
Registered
Roman Catholics
 
 3.1%

17.1% of the Brandenburgers are registered members of the local, regional

Roman Catholic Church (mostly the Archdiocese of Berlin, and a minority in the Diocese of Görlitz).[18] The majority (79.8%)[18] of Brandenburgers, whether of Christian or other beliefs, choose not to register with the government as members of these churches, and therefore do not pay the church tax
.

Foreign population

Significant foreign born populations[19]
Nationality Population (Dec 2020)
 Ukraine 35,275
 Poland 28,160
 Syria 18,345
 Russia 11,405
 Afghanistan 9,585
 Romania 8,715
 Vietnam 6,425
 Turkey 5,120
 Bulgaria 3,760
 Iran 3,075

Politics

See also:
List of rulers of Brandenburg

Politically, Brandenburg is a stronghold of the

Minister-Presidents of Brandenburg have come from the Social Democratic Party (unlike any other state except Bremen) and they even won an absolute majority of seats and every single-member constituency in the 1994 state election
.

On a federal level, the Social Democratic Party has also been the strongest party in most federal elections, their strongholds being the northwestern part of the state and Potsdam and its surrounding areas. However, the Christian Democratic Union won the most votes in 1990, their 2013 landslide and in 2017. In 2009, The Left won the most votes in a year where, like in 2017, the Social Democratic collapsed. Prominent politicians from Brandenburg include Social Democrats Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who served in the Bundestag for Brandenburg before being elected President of Germany, and likely Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, who sits in the Bundestag for Potsdam.

Like in all other New states of Germany, the populist parties The Left and, more recently, the Alternative for Germany are especially strong in Brandenburg.

Brandenburg has 4 out of 69 votes in the Bundesrat and, as of 2021, 25 seats out of 736 in the Bundestag.

Subdivisions

Brandenburg is divided into 14 rural districts (Landkreise) and four urban districts (kreisfreie Städte), shown with their population in 2011:[20]

Administrative divisions of Brandenburg
District Population
Barnim 176,953
Dahme-Spreewald 161,556
Elbe-Elster 110,291
Havelland 155,226
Märkisch-Oderland 189,673
Oberhavel 203,508
Oberspreewald-Lausitz 120,023
Oder-Spree 182,798
Ostprignitz-Ruppin 102,108
Potsdam-Mittelmark 205,678
Prignitz 80,872
Spree-Neiße 124,662
Teltow-Fläming 161,546
Uckermark 128,174
Stadt Brandenburg an der Havel 71,534
Stadt Cottbus 102,129
Stadt Frankfurt (Oder) 60,002
Stadt Potsdam 158,902

Government

Main articles:
List of Ministers-President of Brandenburg, and Landtag of Brandenburg
Further information: Land Brandenburg Commissioner for the Study of the Repercussions of the Communist Dictatorship
The Brandenburg parliament building (Landtag) in Potsdam
Dietmar Woidke, current Minister-President of Brandenburg

The most recent election took place on 1 September 2019. A coalition government was formed by the Social Democrats, The Greens, and the Christian Democratic Union led by incumbent Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD), replacing the previous coalition between the Social Democrats and The Left.[21] The next ordinary state election will likely occur in autumn 2024.[22]

Party Votes % +/- Seats +/- Seats %
Social Democratic Party (SPD) 331,238 26.2 Decrease5.7 25 Decrease5 28.4
Alternative for Germany (AfD) 297,484 23.5 Increase11.3 23 Increase12 26.1
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 196,988 15.6 Decrease7.4 15 Decrease6 17.0
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 136,364 10.8 Increase4.6 10 Increase4 11.4
The Left (Linke) 135,558 10.7 Decrease7.9 10 Decrease7 11.4
Brandenburg United Civic Movements/Free Voters (BVB/FW) 63,851 5.05 Increase2.3 5 Increase2 5.7
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 51,660 4.1 Increase2.6 0 ±0 0
Human Environment Animal Protection 32,959 2.6 Increase2.6 0 ±0 0
Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) 8,712 0.7 Decrease0.8 0 ±0 0
Others 10,292 0.8 0 ±0 0
Total 1,265,106 100.0 88 ±0
Voter turnout 61.3 Increase13.4

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 72.9 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.2% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 26,700 euros or 88% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 91% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the third lowest of all states in Germany.[23]

The unemployment rate stood at 5.6% in November 2022 and was higher than the German average but lower than the average of Eastern Germany.[24]

Year[25] 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Unemployment rate in % 17.0 17.5 17.5 18.8 18.7 18.2 17.0 14.7 13.0 12.3 11.1 10.7 10.2 9.9 9.4 8.7 8.0 7.0 6.3 5.8 6.3 5.9

Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg is located in Brandenburg.

Transport

Condor, easyJet and Ryanair
. In 2016, Schönefeld handled 11,652,922 passengers (an increase of 36.7%).

Schönefeld's existing infrastructure and terminals were incorporated into the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER),[26] which opened in 2020.[27] Berlin Brandenburg Airport had an initial capacity of 35–40 million passengers a year. Due to increasing air traffic in Berlin and Brandenburg, plans for airport expansions were in the making.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport receives over sixty combined passenger, charter and cargo airlines.

Education and research

Higher education

The University of Potsdam

In 2016, around 49,000 students were enrolled in Brandenburg universities and higher education facilities.

Open Access strategy calling on universities to develop transformation strategies to make knowledge from Brandenburg freely accessible to all.[30]

Universities in Brandenburg:

Culture

Music

The

Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt,[32] in 1721 (though probably composed earlier). They are widely regarded as among the finest musical compositions of the Baroque era
and are among the composer's best known works.

Cuisine

Main article: Brandenburg cuisine
Spreewald gherkins

A famous speciality food from Brandenburg are the

Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). They are one of the biggest exports of Brandenburg.[33]

Notable people

See also

Notes

  1. Low German: Brannenborg; Polabian: Branibor; Lower Sorbian: Bramborska [ˈbrambɔrska]
  2. ^ German: Land Brandenburg; Low German: Land Brannenborg; Lower Sorbian: Kraj Bramborska

References

  1. Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 2019. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Bruttoinlandsprodukt, Bruttowertschöpfung | Statistikportal.de". Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder | Gemeinsames Statistikportal (in German). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  3. ^ BP = Brandenburg Province, SB = Soviet Zone, Brandenburg. With the abolition of states in East Germany in 1952 vehicle registration followed the new Bezirk subdivisions. Since 1991 distinct prefixes are specified for each district.
  4. ^ "Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Berlin-Brandenburg | IKM". 31 August 2020.
  6. ISBN 0-8014-3977-9
    .
  7. ^ Institut für Sorbische Volksforschung in Bautzen (1962). Lětopis Instituta za serbski ludospyt. Bautzen: Domowina.
  8. ISBN 0-7864-2248-3
    .
  9. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Berlin § Government Administration and Politics" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 778.
  10. ^ "Ländereinführungsgesetz (1990)" (in German). Archived from the original on 29 May 2004.
  11. ^ "Historischer Kalender - 20 Jahre Land Brandenburg". Archived from the original on 11 April 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  12. ^ "Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland" [Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany]. Article 29, of 24 May 1949 (in German). Parlamentarischer Rat.
  13. ^ "Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland" [Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany]. Einzelnorm 118a, of 27 October 1994 (in German). Bundestag.
  14. ^ a b "LÄNDERFUSION / FUSIONSVERTRAG (1995)". 2004. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Die Brandenburger wollen keine Berliner Verhältnisse". Tagesspiegel (in German). 4 May 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  16. ^ Barry, Colleen (6 May 1996). "Eastern Voters Block Merger With Berlin". AP News. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  17. ^ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
  18. ^ a b Die kleine Brandenburg–Statistik 2011. Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg. Archived 24 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ [1] 31 December 2014 German Statistical Office. Zensus 2014: Bevölkerung am 31. Dezember 2014
  20. ^ "Amt für Statistik Berlin Brandenburg – Statistiken". www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de (in German). Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  21. ^ SPIEGEL, DER (20 November 2019). "Dietmar Woidke in Brandenburg als Ministerpräsident wiedergewählt – DER SPIEGEL – Politik". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Bundesrat – Election dates in the federal states". www.bundesrat.de. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018". Eurostat. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022.
  24. ^ "Arbeitslosenquote nach Bundesländern in Deutschland 2018 | Statista". Statista (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  25. ^ (Destatis), © Statistisches Bundesamt (13 November 2018). "Federal Statistical Office Germany – GENESIS-Online". www-genesis.destatis.de. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  26. ^ "The future lies in Schoenefeld". Berlin-airport.de. Archived from the original on 2 May 2011.
  27. ^ "The BER will remain ghost-airport until 2020", welt.de, 15. December 2017
  28. ^ "Dateien". www.statistischebibliothek.de. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  29. ^ "Brandenburg auf dem Sprung zu 2,5 Millionen-Einwohner-Marke". Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  30. doi:10.5281/zenodo.2581783
  31. ^ Johann Sebastian Bach's Werke, vol.19: Kammermusik, dritter band, Bach-Gesellschaft, Leipzig; ed. Wilhelm Rust, 1871
  32. ISBN 0-312-27266-9
  33. ^ "Germany's Spreewald gherkins – possibly the best in the world". The Guardian. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brandenburg.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Brandenburg.
Wikisource has the text of the 1921 Collier's Encyclopedia article Brandenburg.
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