Cottbus
Encyclopedia
Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg
, Germany
, situated around 125 km (77.7 mi) southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree
. As of , its population was .
erected a castle
on a sandy island in the River Spree
. The first recorded mention of the town's name was in 1156. In the 13th century German settlers
came to the town and thereafter lived side-by-side with the Sorbs. In medieval times
Cottbus was known for wool
, and the town's drapery was exported all over the Brandenburg, Bohemia
and Saxony
. In 1462 Cottbus was acquired by the Margraviate of Brandenburg
; in 1701 the city became part of the Kingdom of Prussia
. In 1815 the surrounding districts of Upper
and Lower Lusatia
were ceded by the Kingdom of Saxony
to Prussia.
From 1949 until German reunification
in 1990, Cottbus was part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
, but Sorbian is rarely spoken on the streets.
Next to Cottbus is the famous Branitz Park, created by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau after 1845.
Cottbus is also home of the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) and the maths/science-oriented Max-Steenbeck-Gymnasium, which is named after the physicist Max Steenbeck
.
Every year Cottbus is host to the East European
Film Festival
.
Cottbus has a football (soccer) team called Energie Cottbus
currently playing in the 2nd Division
.
s in the area around Cottbus (Lausitz). The biggest stations are "Schwarze Pumpe" (1600 MW), "Boxberg
" (1900 MW) and "Jänschwalde" (3000 MW).
with:
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, situated around 125 km (77.7 mi) southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree
Spree
The Spree is a river that flows through the Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany, and in the Ústí nad Labem region of the Czech Republic...
. As of , its population was .
History
The settlement was established in the 10th century, when SorbsSorbs
Sorbs are a Western Slavic people of Central Europe living predominantly in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland. In Germany they live in the states of Brandenburg and Saxony. They speak the Sorbian languages - closely related to Polish and Czech - officially recognized and...
erected a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
on a sandy island in the River Spree
Spree
The Spree is a river that flows through the Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany, and in the Ústí nad Labem region of the Czech Republic...
. The first recorded mention of the town's name was in 1156. In the 13th century German settlers
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
came to the town and thereafter lived side-by-side with the Sorbs. In medieval times
Medieval Times
Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament is a family dinner theater featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting, and jousting performed by a cast of 75 actors and 20 horses. Each location is housed in a replica 11th-century castle, with the exception of the Toronto location, which is housed...
Cottbus was known for wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
, and the town's drapery was exported all over the Brandenburg, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
. In 1462 Cottbus was acquired by the Margraviate of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
; in 1701 the city became part of the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
. In 1815 the surrounding districts of Upper
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia is a region a biggest part of which belongs to Saxony, a small eastern part belongs to Poland, the northern part to Brandenburg. In Saxony, Upper Lusatia comprises roughly the districts of Bautzen and Görlitz , in Brandenburg the southern part of district Oberspreewald-Lausitz...
and Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
were ceded by the Kingdom of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
to Prussia.
From 1949 until German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1990, Cottbus was part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Culture and education
Cottbus is the cultural centre of the Lower Sorbian minority. Many signs in the town are bilingual, and there is a Lower Sorbian-medium GymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, but Sorbian is rarely spoken on the streets.
Next to Cottbus is the famous Branitz Park, created by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau after 1845.
Cottbus is also home of the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) and the maths/science-oriented Max-Steenbeck-Gymnasium, which is named after the physicist Max Steenbeck
Max Steenbeck
Max Christian Theodor Steenbeck was a German physicist who worked at the Siemens-Schuckertwerke in his early career, during which time he invented the betatron in 1934. He was taken to the Soviet Union after World War II , and he contributed to the Soviet atomic bomb project...
.
Every year Cottbus is host to the East European
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
Film Festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
.
Cottbus has a football (soccer) team called Energie Cottbus
Energie Cottbus
FC Energie Cottbus is a German association football club based in Cottbus, Lusatia . It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was, at the time, East Germany...
currently playing in the 2nd Division
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
.
Power generation
There are several coal-fired power stationPower station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s in the area around Cottbus (Lausitz). The biggest stations are "Schwarze Pumpe" (1600 MW), "Boxberg
Boxberg Power Station
Boxberg Power Station is a lignite-fired power station with three units at Boxberg , Saxony. Since the late nineties it produces 1900 MW...
" (1900 MW) and "Jänschwalde" (3000 MW).
Twin towns – Sister cities
Cottbus is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
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See also
- Cottbus Air BaseCottbus Air BaseCottbus Air Base is a former military airport north-west of Cottbus in Brandenburg, Germany.- History :During World War II the air base in Cottbus was used by the Luftwaffe and during the 1970s and '80s by the National People's Army...
- Cottbus-Drewitz AirportCottbus-Drewitz AirportCottbus-Drewitz Airport is a civilian airport located in Drewitz, an Ortsteil of Jänschwalde, approximately north-east of Cottbus in Brandenburg, Germany.- History :...
- Cottbus-Neuhausen AirportCottbus-Neuhausen AirportCottbus-Neuhausen Airport is a civilian airport located in Neuhausen/Spree, approximately south-east of Cottbus in Brandenburg, Germany.- External links :*...
- KlingeKlingeKlinge is a village in the Lausitz region, east of the city of Cottbus in Brandenburg. It is part of the municipality of Wiesengrund.-Transport:...