Location

The town is located south of Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 in the district Teltow-Fläming

Teltow-Fläming

Teltow-Fläming is a Kreis in the southwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Dahme-Spreewald, Elbe-Elster, the districts Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, the district Potsdam-Mittelmark, and the Bundesland Berlin.-Geography:The district is named after the two main regions...

 on the plateau of Teltow

Teltow

Teltow is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany.-Geography:Teltow is part of the agglomeration of Berlin. The distance to the Berlin city centre is , while the distance to Potsdam is ....

. In earlier times, it was part of the district Zossen

Zossen

Zossen is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped together in 2003 to form the city.-Geography:...

.

Parts of the town

Since 1997/2003 the following villages are part of the city:

• Ahrensdorf
• Genshagen (with Genshagen Palace)
• Gröben
• Groß Schulzendorf
• Jütchendorf
• Kerzendorf
• Löwenbruch
• Mietgendorf
• Schiaß
• Siethen
  Siethen
  Siethen is a village and a part of the city of Ludwigsfelde in the district of Teltow-Fläming in the federal state of Brandenburg. The name Siethen means "land of corn".- Demographics :...
  
  
• Wietstock

Population

(at the end of each year)

• 1998: 22,726
• 1999: 22,942
• 2000: 23,031
• 2001: 23,809
• 2002: 23,652
• 2003: 24,164
• 2004: 24,260

History

The first settlement in the main town took place at 1750 under Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...

; several villages already existed in the 13th century (Gröben 1170). Ludwigsfelde has been classified as a town since 1965.

Sport

Ludwigsfelde is one of the sister towns of football club, Hertha BSC Berlin. The Ludwigsfelder Football Club played in the Oberliga Nord/Ost in 2005/2006. The Ludwigsfelder Handball Club have been promoted to the Regionalliga.

There are also German champions in cycle ball and model gliding.

On 7 August 2005, a marathon was run during the European Speed Skating Championships

European Speed Skating Championships

The European Speed Skating Championships are a series of speed skating events held annually to determine the best allround speed skater of Europe. The International Skating Union has organised the European Championships for Men since 1893 and the European Championships for Women since 1970. The...

.

Economy and infrastructure

In 1936, Daimler-Benz Motoren GmbH

Daimler-Benz

Daimler-Benz AG was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and internal combustion engines; founded in 1926. An Agreement of Mutual Interest - which was valid until year 2000 - was signed on 1 May 1924 between Karl Benz's Benz & Cie., and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, which had...

 was founded in Genshagen / Ludwigsfelde. Work started on an aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

 engine factory on an area of 375 ha. The population grew with the demand for labour. During the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) -era, the "Pitty", "Troll", "Wiesel" and "Berlin" scooters

Scooter (motorcycle)

A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...

 were built at the Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau

Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau

Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau , usually abbreviated as IFA, was a conglomerate and a union of companies for vehicle construction in the former East Germany ....

 (IFA) VEB Automobilwerke Ludwigsfelde (Automobilwerk Ludwigsfelde), later W50 HGV

Large Goods Vehicle

A large goods vehicle , is the European Union term for any truck with a gross combination mass of over...

s, and from 1986, the L60 was produced. After the collapse of the DDR, production was halted due to falling orders and the takeover by Daimler-Benz. From the mid nineties, Ludwigsfelde concentrated on the production of small vans such as the Mercedes-Benz Vario

Mercedes-Benz Vario

The Mercedes-Benz Vario is a heavy van manufactured by Mercedes-Benz. Originally launched as the T2 in 1986, the Vario gained its current name when it was facelifted in 1996. The T2 van itself succeeded the Mercedes-Benz L van series.The bodyshell remained relatively unchanged since production...

 and the Van Mercedes-Benz Vaneo, production of which was halted in the summer of 2005. From 2006, a successor, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light and heavy commercial vehicle, built by Daimler AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a van, chassis cab and minibus, and sold as a Mercedes model, except in the U.S. where it is built from complete knock down kits and was sold by Freightliner until 2010 when Mercedes...

 and Volkswagen Crafter

Volkswagen Crafter

The Volkswagen Crafter, introduced in 2006, is the largest 3 to 5 tonne van sold by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. It is the third generation of the Volkswagen LT truck, which has been in production since 1975....

will be produced.