{{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox German place
Cottbus ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}) or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:IPA|main}};<ref>Template:Multiref2</ref><ref>Template:Multiref2</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian settlement area ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) of Lower Lusatia, and is the second-largest city on the River Spree after Berlin, which is situated around Template:Convert downstream. The city is located on the shores of Germany's largest artificial lake, the Cottbuser Ostsee ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).
Cottbus is considered the political and cultural center of the Lower Sorbian-speaking Sorbs (in Lower Lusatia also called the Wends), while the overall center of all Sorbs (Lower and Upper) is Bautzen (Budyšin). Cottbus is the largest bilingual city in Germany. Signage is mostly in German and Lower Sorbian. The city is the seat of several Lower Sorbian institutions like the Lower Sorbian version of the Sorbischer Rundfunk ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}/{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), the Lower Sorbian Gymnasium, and the Wendish Museum ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}). The use of the Lower Sorbian language, however, is more widespread in the surrounding villages than in the city itself. Cottbus Hauptbahnhof (Chóśebuz głowne dwórnišćo) is a major railway junction with extensive sidings/depots.
In the 10th century, the Wends constructed the largest Slavic castle of Lower Lusatia, a gord, on a Spree island. This former gord is considered the nucleus of the city. On it rises the massive 13th century Castle Tower ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) with its blue clock.
Cottbus is the seat of the Brandenburg University of Technology (Template:Langx, Template:Langx). Due to this, the city has the official names {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}/{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('University City Cottbus'). Branitz Castle, built in 1770–71, in the southeast of the city, was a residence of the Prince of Pückler-Muskau. The prince, who also created Muskau Park, designed the extensive Branitz Park on the shores of the Spree, with its two grass pyramids. Cottbus State Theater ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) is the only state theater in Brandenburg. The Wendish Quarter is a part of the city supposed to resemble the traditional Sorbian architectural style, constructed of prefabricated concrete slabs in East Germany between 1984 and 1989.
SpellingEdit
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the spelling of the city's name was disputed. In Berlin, the spelling "Kottbus" was preferred, and it is still used for the capital's {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("Cottbus Gate"). Locally the traditional spelling "Cottbus" (which defies standard German-language rules) was preferred, and it is now used in most circumstances. Because the official spelling used locally before the spelling reforms of 1996 had contravened even the standardized spelling rules already in place, the Template:Ill (Template:Langx) stress their urgent recommendation that geographical names should respect the national spelling standards.Template:Clarification needed A citizen of the city may be identified as either a "Cottbuser" or a "Cottbusser".
Names in different languages:
- Template:Langx, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
- Template:Langx
- Template:Langx
- Template:Langx, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}
- Template:Langx
- Template:Langx
- Template:Langx
HistoryEdit
Medieval periodEdit
The settlement was established in the tenth century, when Sorbs erected a castle on a sandy island in the River Spree. It was captured by the March of Lusatia in 965, then it passed to Poland under Bolesław I the Brave in 1002, and back to the March of Lusatia in 1032. 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 the Middle Ages Cottbus was known for wool, and the town's drapery was exported throughout Brandenburg, Bohemia and Saxony. It was also located on an important trade route, called the "Salt Road", which was used to transport salt from Halle to Lusatia and further east to Poland.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It was part of the Margraviate of Lusatia and later Lower Lusatia, which was held by the House of Wettin until it became a Bohemian Crown Land in 1367. In 1445 Cottbus was acquired by the Margraviate of Brandenburg from Bohemia. It was an exclave almost completely surrounded by Bohemian Lower Lusatia (with a short border with the Electorate of Saxony to the south-west).
Modern periodEdit
In 1514 Jan Rak founded the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a Sorbian gymnasium, in the city. In 1635 Lower Lusatia was ceded by Bohemia to Saxony, thereby making Cottbus an enclave of Saxony. Since the 1690s, French, Walloons and Palatines settled in the city.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1701 Brandenburg-Prussia became the Kingdom of Prussia.
In 1807, following the War of the Fourth Coalition, Cottbus was ceded by Prussia to the Kingdom of Saxony by the Treaty of Tilsit, reuniting it with Lower Lusatia. Cottbus was returned to Prussia by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic wars. Lower Lusatia was also ceded to Prussia and both became part of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg (and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), where they remained until 1947. In the 19th century, the Bramborski Serbski Casnik Sorbian newspaper was published in the city, and in 1880, the first Lower Lusatian department of the Maćica Serbska organization was established there.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Up to 142 French prisoners of war were held in the town by the Prussians during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 1871 Prussia, and therefore Cottbus, became part of the German Empire. According to the Prussian census of 1905, the city of Cottbus had a population of 46,270, of which 97% were Germans, 2% were Sorbs and 1% were Poles.<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref>
World War I and the interwar periodEdit
During World War I, Germany operated two prisoner-of-war camps and a detention center for Allied privates in the city.<ref>Stanek, p. 74</ref> The first captives, some 7,500 Russians, were mostly kept outdoors, which, combined with poor sanitary and medical conditions, resulted in an epidemic typhus outbreak, with 70% of the prisoners falling ill, and some 400 dying.<ref>Stanek, pp. 74–75</ref> Soon, also POWs of other nationalities, including French, British, Belgian, Serbian, Romanian, Italian, Portuguese and Australian were held in the POW camps in Cottbus.<ref>Stanek, p. 77</ref> Conditions in the camps were poor due to overcrowding, filth, inadequate heating in winter, and insufficient medical supplies in the camps' lazarettes.<ref>Stanek, pp. 78–79</ref> Western Allied POWs were eventually released until mid-January 1919, whereas Russian POWs remained in the camps and were employed at local lignite mines.<ref name=ps83>Stanek, p. 83</ref> Many Russian POWs preferred to stay in the camp rather than leave for Soviet Russia and be forced into the Communist Party and army, and many were released to Russia only between September 1920 and January 1921, however some 600 to 1,000 Russians remained in the camp as of June 1921.<ref>Stanek, pp. 83–84, 90</ref>
The former prisoner-of-war camp was used as a concentration camp for some 1,200 to 1,500 Polish activists, civilians and insurgents of the Silesian Uprisings of 1919–1921, who were often subjected to harassment, beatings and tortures, with their deportation from Upper Silesia to Cottbus being a breach of the Treaty of Versailles.<ref>Stanek, pp. 84–85, 91</ref> Among the prisoners were dozens of women with children, and elderly men, and camp conditions remained poor.<ref>Stanek, pp. 92–94</ref> It was also the site of a concentration camp for unwanted Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Since late 1922, also Polish laborers and their families were detained in the camp before their deportation to Poland.<ref>Stanek, p. 99</ref> The camp was eventually closed in December 1923.<ref>Stanek, p. 100</ref>
World War II and the post-war periodEdit
During World War II, a Nazi prison for women was operated in the city with multiple forced labour subcamps located both in the city and other places in the region.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Polish actor Władysław Hańcza was imprisoned in a forced labour camp in the city in 1944–1945.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the final weeks of the war, Cottbus was taken by the Red Army on 22 April 1945.
In January 1946, Cottbus issued 34 semi-postal postage stamps to help finance rebuilding the city. From 1949 until German reunification in 1990, Cottbus was part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). From 1952 to 1990, Cottbus was the administrative seat of Bezirk Cottbus.
BoroughsEdit
| German | Lower Sorbian | Inhabitants | Surface area (km2) | Population density | First mention | Incorporation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitte (de) | Srjejź | 10,732 | 1.7 | 6,313 | ||
| 2 | Schmellwitz (de) | Chmjelow | 14,116 | 8.1 | 1,743 | 1414 | 1950 |
| 3 | Sandow (de) | Žandow | 15,301 | 8.7 | 1,759 | 1415 | 1905 |
| 4 | Spremberger Vorstadt (de) | Grodkojske pśedměsto | 13,800 | 3.6 | 3,833 | ||
| 5 | Ströbitz (de) | Strobice | 15,726 | 11.7 | 1,344 | 1452 | 1950 |
| 6 | Sielow (de) | Žylow | 3,510 | 18.8 | 187 | 1300 | 1993 |
| 7 | Saspow (de) | Zaspy | 686 | 4.3 | 160 | 1455 | 1950 |
| 8 | Merzdorf (de) | Žylowk | 1,089 | 7.4 | 147 | 1411 | 1993 |
| 9 | Dissenchen (de) | Dešank | 1,101 | 30.7 | 36 | 1536 | 1993 |
| 10 | Branitz (de) | Rogeńc | 1,446 | 5.4 | 268 | 1449 | 1993 |
| 11 | Madlow (de) | Módłej | 1,630 | 3.0 | 543 | 1346 | 1950 |
| 12 | Sachsendorf (de) | Knorawa | 10,584 | 6.6 | 1,603 | 1779 | 1950 |
| 13 | Döbbrick (de) | Depsk | 1,695 | 15.5 | 109 | 1551 | 1993 |
| 14 | Skadow (de) | Škódow | 568 | 4.6 | 123 | 1407 | 1993 |
| 15 | Willmersdorf (de) | Rogozno | 633 | 6.4 | 99 | 1449 | 1993 |
| 16 | Kahren (de) | Kórjeń | 1,259 | 14.0 | 90 | 1300 | 1993 |
| 17 | Kiekebusch (de) | Kibuš | 1,292 | 3.7 | 349 | 1427 | 2003 |
| 18 | Gallinchen (de) | Gołynk | 2,768 | 5.5 | 503 | 1421 | 2003 |
| 19 | Groß Gaglow (de) | Gogolow | 1,487 | 4.6 | 323 | 1389 | 2003 |
| Cottbus | Chóśebuz | 99,423 | 164.3 | 605 | 1156 |
DemographyEdit
- Bevölkerungsentwicklung Cottbus.pdf
Development of population since 1875 within the current boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population development in Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of Nazi Germany; Red Background: Time of communist East Germany)
- Bevölkerungsprognosen Cottbus.pdf
Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line))
Template:Historical populations
ClimateEdit
Cottbus has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) in spite of being far inland on a relatively high latitude. Summers are very warm for being so far north, while winters are often mild due to prevailing trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean facing little natural obstacles on the way to the area. When wind directions come from elsewhere, hard freezes occasionally take place. As a result, the annual temperature amplitude is quite high for an oceanic climate, ranging from Template:Convert in summer to Template:Convert in winter. Precipitation is frequent, although usually light in accumulation. Snowfall is a regular occurrence with 36 days of snow cover annually,<ref name=NOAA/> but Cottbus remains mild enough that it usually thaws quickly. Most of the year is gloomy, with a notable exception in late spring.
Culture and educationEdit
Cottbus is the cultural centre of the Lower Sorbian minority. Many signs in the town are bilingual, and there is a Lower Sorbian-medium Gymnasium and a Sorbian Quarter, 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. Schloss Branitz (Branitz Castle) was rebuilt by Gottfried Semper in a late Baroque style between 1846 and 1852, and the gardens Prince Hermann laid feature two pyramids. One of these, the Seepyramide, is in the middle of an artificial lake and serves as his mausoleum.<ref>Udo Lauer, Fürst Pücklers Traumpark, Ullstein Verlag, 1996, Berlin</ref>
Cottbus is also home to the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) and the maths/science-oriented Max-Steenbeck-Gymnasium, named after the physicist Max Steenbeck.
Every year Cottbus hosts the East Europe International Film Festival.Template:Citeneeded
Cottbus has a football team, Energie Cottbus, that plays in the Regionalliga Nordost as of the 2021–2022 season. Their home matches are played at the city's Stadion der Freundschaft.
EconomyEdit
TransportationEdit
Cottbus is served by Cottbus Hauptbahnhof main railway station.
Two airports serve the city: Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-east of Cottbus), and Cottbus-Neuhausen Airport (approximately 10 km (6.2 miles) south-east of Cottbus).
Berlin Brandenburg Airport can be reached in one hour from Cottbus.
Local public transport is served by trams and buses operated by Cottbusverkehr GmbH and DB Regio Bus Ost GmbH, both of which are members of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg (VBB).
Power generationEdit
There are several lignite-fired power stations in the area around Cottbus (Lausitz) fed through local open pit mining. The biggest stations are "Schwarze Pumpe" (1600 MW), "Boxberg" (1900 MW) and "Jänschwalde" (3000 MW). Some of the open-pit mines have already been shut down with the former Template:Ill being converted into an artificial lake with Template:Cvt surface area called Cottbuser Ostsee (Cottbus eastern lake).Template:Update inline
GovernanceEdit
Mayor and city councilEdit
The current mayor is Tobias Schick of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2022. The most recent mayoral election was held on 11 September 2022, with a runoff held on 9 October, and the results were as follows:
Template:Election table ! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Candidate ! rowspan=2| Party ! colspan=2| First round ! colspan=2| Second round |- ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Tobias Schick | align=left| Social Democratic Party | 13,300 | 31.8 | 29,526 | 68.6 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Lars Schieske | align=left| Alternative for Germany | 11,026 | 26.4 | 13,488 | 31.4 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Thomas Bergner | align=left| Christian Democratic Union | 10,302 | 24.6 |- | | align=left| Sveb Benken | align=left| Our Cottbus! | 2,485 | 5.9 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Felix Sicker | align=left| Free Democratic Party | 2,377 | 5.7 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Lysann Kobbe | align=left| dieBasis | 1,621 | 3.9 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Johann Staudinger | align=left| Independent | 716 | 1.7 |- ! colspan=3| Valid votes ! 41,827 ! 99.4 ! 43,014 ! 99.1 |- ! colspan=3| Invalid votes ! 260 ! 0.6 ! 383 ! 0.9 |- ! colspan=3| Total ! 42,087 ! 100.0 ! 43,397 ! 100.0 |- ! colspan=3| Electorate/voter turnout ! 78,918 ! 53.3 ! 78,912 ! 55.0 |- | colspan=7| Source: City of Cottbus (1st round, 2nd round) |}
The city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows:
Template:Election table ! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 41,731 | 29.2 | Template:Increase 6.9 | 14 | Template:Increase 3 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 27,991 | 19.6 | Template:Increase 4.0 | 9 | Template:Increase 1 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 22,894 | 16.0 | Template:Decrease 1.2 | 7 | Template:Decrease 2 |- | | align=left| Our Cottbus! (UC!) | 12,938 | 9.0 | Template:Decrease 0.4 | 4 | Template:Decrease 1 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| The Left (Die Linke) | 10,173 | 7.1 | Template:Decrease 6.6 | 3 | Template:Decrease 4 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 7,066 | 4.9 | Template:Decrease 4.2 | 2 | Template:Decrease 2 |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Active Citizens–Free Voters (AUB–FW) | 6,195 | 4.3 | Template:Decrease 1.6 | 2 | Template:Decrease 1 |- | | align=left| Mittle Class Initiative Brandenburg (MIBrb) | 5,881 | 4.1 | New | 1 | New |- | bgcolor=Template:Party color| | align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 2,926 | 2.0 | Template:Decrease 2.0 | 1 | Template:Decrease 1 |- | | align=left| Social Upheavel (SUB) | 2,704 | 1.9 | Template:Steady 0.0 | 1 | Template:Steady 0 |- | | align=left| Secure Future Cottbus (ZSC) | 2,456 | 1.7 | New | 1 | New |- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 142,965 ! 100.0 ! ! 56 ! ±0 |- ! colspan=2| Invalid ballots ! 769 ! 1.6 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Total ballots ! 48,820 ! 98.4 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 78,002 ! 62.6 ! Template:Increase 6.3 ! ! |- | colspan=7| Source: City of Cottbus |}
Twin towns – sister citiesEdit
Template:See also Cottbus is twinned with:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Div col
- Template:Flagicon Montreuil, France (1959)
- Template:Flagicon Grosseto, Italy (1967)
- Template:Flagicon Lipetsk, Russia (1974)
- Template:Flagicon Zielona Góra, Poland (1975)
- Template:Flagicon Targovishte, Bulgaria (1975)
- Template:Flagicon Košice, Slovakia (1978)
- Template:Flagicon Saarbrücken, Germany (1987)
- Template:Flagicon Gelsenkirchen, Germany (1995)
- Template:Flagicon Nuneaton and Bedworth, England, United Kingdom (1999)
Notable peopleEdit
- Janice Behrendt (born 1983), beauty queen and model
- Carl Blechen (1798–1840), landscape painter
- Kurt Demmler (1943–2009), songwriter; accused of sexual abuse, he hanged himself in his jail cell.
- Rudi Fink (born 1958), amateur boxer and boxing coach
- Gustav Theodor Fritsch (1838–1927), anatomist, anthropologist and physiologist
- Marco Geisler (born 1974), rower
- Otto Hugo Paul Grottkau (1846–1898), socialist and trade unionist and American journalist
- Robert Harting (born 1984), discus thrower
- Martha Israel (1905–Template:Circa), politician
- Tony Martin (born 1985), cyclist
- Jens Melzig (born 1965), footballer
- Daniel Musiol (born 1983), cyclist
- Thomas Neumann (born 1975), artist
- Reinhold Platz (1886–1966), aircraft designer and manufacturer at Fokker
- Colin Raak (born 2000), footballer
- Gabriele Reinsch (born 1963), world record holder discus throwing
- Viktoria Schmidt-Linsenhoff (1944–2013), art historian and professor
- Maja Wallstein (born 1986), politician
- Heiko Schwarz (born 1989), footballer
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Template:Wikivoyage inline
- Template:Official website Template:In lang
- Homepage of Brandenburg Technical University
- Template:Cite EB1911
{{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:Bezirke DDR Seats