Brandenburg is one of the sixteen
statesGermany is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen states, known in German as . Since is also the German word for "country", the term is commonly used colloquially, as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of German law.The citizens of the states form the nation...
of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. 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 GermanyWest Germany is a common English name for the period of the Federal Republic of Germany between its' formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and the five states on its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany,...
and East Germany. The capital is
PotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and is part of the Metropolitan area of Berlin/Brandenburg. It is situated on the River Havel, some 25 kilometres southwest of the centre of Berlin....
. Brandenburg surrounds but does not include the national capital
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Historically, Brandenburg was an independent state, the
Margraviate of BrandenburgThe 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....
, which grew to become the core of independent Prussia and later the German state of Prussia. About a third of historic Brandenburg (land east of the Oder River) was annexed by Poland following the establishment of the new Oder-Neisse border in 1945 by the Allies. This region was historically known as East Brandenburg. The federal state of Brandenburg is named after the town of Brandenburg an der Havel.
History
In late medieval and early modern times, Brandenburg was one of seven
electoral statesThe Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors....
of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
, and, along with Prussia, formed the original core of the
German EmpireThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
, the first unified German state. Governed by the
HohenzollernThe House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
dynasty from in 1415, it contained the future German capital
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
. After 1618 the
Margraviate of BrandenburgThe 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....
and the Duchy of Prussia were combined to form
Brandenburg-PrussiaBrandenburg-Prussia was a German monarchy established by the personal union between the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1618.The monarchy was ruled by the branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty that had earlier ruled Brandenburg...
, which was ruled by the same branch of the
House of HohenzollernThe House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
. In 1701 the state was elevated as the
Kingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918, until the defeat of Germany in World War I, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire...
. Franconian
NurembergNuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich, at 49.27° N 11.5° E. The population is...
and
AnsbachAnsbach, or Anspach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated 25 miles southwest of Nuremberg and 90 miles north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river...
, Swabian
HohenzollernHohenzollern Castle is a castle, about south of Stuttgart, Germany, considered home to the Hohenzollern family that came to power during the Middle Ages and ruled Prussia and Brandenburg until the end of World War I....
, the eastern European connections of Berlin, and the status of Brandenburg's ruler as
prince-electorThe Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors....
together were instrumental in the rise of that state.
Early Middle Ages
Brandenburg is situated in territory known in antiquity as Magna Germania, which reached to the Vistula river. By the seventh century,
Slavic peoplesThe Slavic Peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern and central Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans...
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
HunsThe Huns were a group of nomadic pastoral people who, appearing from beyond the Volga, migrated into Europe c.AD 370 and built up an enormous empire in Europe. They were possibly the descendants of the Xiongnu who had been northern neighbours of China three hundred years before and may be the first...
and
AvarsThe Eurasian Avars, sometimes referred to as the European Avars, or Ancient Avars, were a highly organized and powerful confederation of a mixed ethnic background, thought to be closely related to the Mongols, Bulgars, Khazars and other Oghur Turkic peoples of the time...
. 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 900s, Henry the Fowler and his successors conquered territory up to the Oder River. Slavic settlements such as Brenna (Brandenburg an der Havel), Budusin (
BautzenBautzen ; is a city in eastern Saxony, Germany, and administrative center of the eponymous district. It is located on the Spree River. As of 2005, its population is 42,189...
), and Chośebuz (
CottbusCottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around 125 km southeast of Berlin on the River Spree. In 31 December, 2005, its population was 106,415.- History :...
) came under
imperialThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
control through the installation of margraves. Their main function was to defend and protect the eastern
marchesMark and march refer to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales.In contrast to a buffer zone, a march could be dominated by a single given country, and rather than being demilitarized, it could be strongly fortified for defence...
. In 948 Emperor
Otto IOtto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
established margraves to exert imperial control over the pagan Slavs west of the Oder River. Otto founded the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and
HavelbergThe Bishopric of Havelberg was a Roman Catholic diocese founded by King Otto I, King of the Germans, in 946. The diocese was suffragan to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. Its most famous bishop was Anselm of Havelberg. Its seat was in Havelberg in the Northern March and it roughly covered the...
. The
Northern MarchThe Northern March or North March was created out of the division of the vast Marca Geronis in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the Marca and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends...
was founded as a northeastern border territory of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
. However, a great uprising of
WendsThe term Wends or Wendish is used in Germanic languages for Slavs living near or within Germanic settlement areas after the migration period...
drove imperial forces from the territory of present-day Brandenburg in 983. The region returned to the control of Slavic leaders.
12th century
During the 12th century the
OttonianThe Ottonian dynasty was a dynasty of Germanic Kings , named after its first emperor but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin. The family itself is also sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Liudolf and one of its primary leading-names...
German kings and emperors re-established control over the mixed Slav-inhabited lands of present-day Brandenburg, although some Slavs like the
SorbsSorbs also known as Wends, Lusatian Sorbs or Lusatian Serbs, are a Slavic people settled in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland.Sorbs are divided into two groups:...
in
LusatiaLusatia is a historical region between the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers and the Elbe river in the eastern German states of Saxony and Brandenburg and south-western Poland ....
adapted to Germanization while retaining their distinctiveness. The
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
brought bishoprics which, with their walled towns, afforded protection from attacks for the townspeople. With the monks and bishops, the history of the town of
Brandenburg an der HavelBrandenburg an der Havel is a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Havel river. Population: 74,129 ....
, which was the first center of the state of Brandenburg, began. In 1134, in the wake of a German crusade against the
WendsThe term Wends or Wendish is used in Germanic languages for Slavs living near or within Germanic settlement areas after the migration period...
, the German magnate Albert the Bear was granted the
Northern MarchThe Northern March or North March was created out of the division of the vast Marca Geronis in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the Marca and was part of the territorial organisation of areas conquered from the Wends...
by the Emperor
Lothar IIILothair III of Supplinburg , was Duke of Saxony , King of Germany , and Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 to 1137. He was the son of Count Gebhard of Supplinburg.-A note on the ordinal:...
. He formally inherited the town of Brandenburg and the lands of the Hevelli from their last Wendish ruler, 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 BrandenburgThe 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....
. 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-Places:*Neumark, a region formerly of Brandenburg, now in Poland called Lubus Land*Neumark, Thuringia*Neumark, Saxony*Nowe Miasto Lubawskie, Poland-Other:*the Hungarian March was called the Neumark* Tim Neumark, an American pianist...
(see also
AltmarkThe Altmark is a region in Germany, between Hamburg and Magdeburg, comprising the northern third of Saxony-Anhalt . The region is rural and widely covered with forests...
).
Late Middle Ages
In 1320 the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end, and from 1323 up until 1415 Brandenburg was under the control of the
WittelsbachThe Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Their major principal roles were as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
s of
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, followed by the
LuxembourgThe House of Luxembourg was a mediæval Luxembourgian noble family. In 1308, Henry, Count of Luxembourg, became German king, his son, John of Luxembourg, shortly afterwards received the Bohemian crown. The dynasty's rule in the Holy Roman Empire was interrupted by the Wittelsbach twice. With the...
dynasty. Under the Luxembourgs, the Margrave of Brandenburg gained the status of a
prince-electorThe Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors....
of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1415, the Electorate of Brandenburg was granted by Emperor
SigismundSigismund was one of the longest ruling Kings of Hungary, reigning for fifty years from 1387 to 1437, and was also Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, and the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Bohemia from 1419, of Lombardia from 1431, and of Germany...
to the
House of HohenzollernThe House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
, which would rule until the end of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. The Hohenzollerns established their capital in Berlin, by then the economic center of Brandenburg.
16th and 17th centuries
Brandenburg converted to
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
in 1539 in the wake of the
Protestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
, 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 acquiring the Duchy of Prussia in 1618, the
Duchy of ClevesThe Duchy of Cleves was a state of the Holy Roman Empire in present Germany and the Netherlands . Its territory was part of the Low Countries, situated on both sides of the river Rhine, around its capital Cleves and roughly covering today's districts of Cleves, Wesel and the city of Duisburg...
(1614) in the
RhinelandThe Rhineland is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. After the collapse of the French Empire in the early 19th century, the German and Dutch speaking regions at the middle and lower course of the Rhine were annexed to the kingdom of Prussia...
, and territories in
WestphaliaWestphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Bochum, Detmold, Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Minden and Münster and included in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia....
. The result was a sprawling, disconnected country known as
Brandenburg-PrussiaBrandenburg-Prussia was a German monarchy established by the personal union between the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1618.The monarchy was ruled by the branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty that had earlier ruled Brandenburg...
that was in poor shape to defend itself during the
Thirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. The war was fought primarily in Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe...
.
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
Frederick WilliamFrederick William was the Elector of Brandenburg and the Duke of Prussia from 1640 until his death. He was of the House of Hohenzollern and is popularly known as the Great Elector because of his military and political skill...
, the so-called "Great Elector", who worked tirelessly to rebuild and consolidate the nation. He moved the royal residence to
PotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and is part of the Metropolitan area of Berlin/Brandenburg. It is situated on the River Havel, some 25 kilometres southwest of the centre of Berlin....
.
Kingdom of Prussia and united Germany
When Frederick William died in 1688, he was followed by his son
FrederickFrederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union. The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia...
, 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 PrussiaKing in Prussia was a title used by the Electors of Brandenburg from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently they used the title King of Prussia.The Prince-Elector of Brandenburg was a subject of the Holy Roman Emperor. In addition to his electorate which was part of the Holy Roman Empire, he also ruled the...
" (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 kingdom is known as the
Kingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918, until the defeat of Germany in World War I, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire...
.
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
Province of BrandenburgThe Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. Its capital was originally Potsdam, before moving to Berlin in 1827, then back to Potsdam in 1843 and finally in Berlin-Charlottenburg in 1918.-History:The province of Brandenburg...
. In 1881, the City of
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
was separated from the Province of Brandenburg. However, industrial towns ringing Berlin lay within Brandenburg, and the growth of the region's industrial economy brought an increase in the population of the province. The Province of Brandenburg had an area of and a population of 2.6 million (1925). After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the
NeumarkThe Neumark , also known as the New March or East Brandenburg , comprised a region of the Prussian province of Brandenburg, Germany, located east of the Oder River in contemporary Poland....
, the part of Brandenburg east of the
Oder-Neisse LineThe Oder-Neisse line was drawn in the aftermath of World War II as the eastern border of Germany and the western border of Poland. The line is formed primarily by the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, and meets the Baltic Sea west of the seaport cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście...
, was transferred to
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
; and its native German population expelled. The remainder of the province became a state in East Germany when Prussia was dissolved in 1947. The State of Brandenburg was completely dissolved in 1952 by the Socialist government of East Germany.
East Germany and reunified Germany
In 1952, the East German government divided Brandenburg among several
Bezirke or districts. (See
Administrative division of the German Democratic RepublicFollowing the redrawing of Germany's national boundaries after 1945, there were five states or Länder in the Soviet occupation zone:*Brandenburg,*Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania ,*Saxony ,...
). Most of Brandenburg lay within the Potsdam, Frankfurt (Oder), or Cottbus districts, but parts of the former province passed to the Schwerin, Neubrandenburg and Magdeburg districts (town
HavelbergHavelberg is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875...
). East Germany relied heavily on
ligniteLignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat. It is considered the lowest rank of coal; it is mined in Russia, the United States, Australia and many European countries,...
(the lowest grade of coal) as an energy source, and lignite strip mines marred areas of southeastern Brandenburg. The industrial towns surrounding Berlin were important to the East German economy, while rural Brandenburg remained mainly agricultural.
The present State of Brandenburg was re-established on October 3, 1990. As in other former parts of East Germany, the lack of modern infrastructure and exposure to West Germany's competitive market economy brought widespread joblessness and economic difficulty. In the recent years, however, Brandenburg's infrastructure has been modernized and joblessness has slowly declined.
In 1995, the governments of Berlin and Brandenburg proposed to merge the states in order to form a new state with the name of "Berlin-Brandenburg". The merger was rejected in a plebiscite in 1996 - while West Berliners voted for a merger, East Berliners and Brandenburgers voted against it.
Geography
Brandenburg is bordered by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the north,
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in the east, the Freistaat Sachsen in the south,
Saxony-AnhaltSaxony-Anhalt is one of the sixteen Bundesländer that make up the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of , and a population of 2.45 million...
in the west, and
Lower SaxonyLower Saxony lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen Bundesländer of Germany...
in the northwest.
The Oder River forms a part of the eastern border, the
Elbe RiverThe River Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It originates in the Krkonose Mountains of northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
a portion of the western border. The main rivers in the state itself are the
SpreeThe Spree is a river in Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin, Germany and in Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic. It is a left tributary of the Havel river and is approximately in length....
and the
HavelThe Havel is a river in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Elbe river and 325 km in length. Extended by the Oder-Havel Canal it connects the Oder with Berlin and the Elbe....
. In the southeast, there is a wetlands region called the
SpreewaldThe Spreewald is situated 100 km south-east of Berlin and designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1991. It is known for its traditional irrigation system which consists of more than 200 small channels within the 484 km² area. The landscape was shaped during the ice-age...
; it is the northernmost part of
LusatiaLusatia is a historical region between the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers and the Elbe river in the eastern German states of Saxony and Brandenburg and south-western Poland ....
, where the
SorbsSorbs also known as Wends, Lusatian Sorbs or Lusatian Serbs, are a Slavic people settled in Lusatia, a region on the territory of Germany and Poland.Sorbs are divided into two groups:...
, a
SlavicThe Slavic Peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern and central Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans...
people, still live. These areas are bilingual, i.e.,
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
and Sorbian are both used.
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 reunificationGerman reunification is the process in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and Berlin was united into a single city-state. The start of this process is commonly referred to by former citizens of the GDR as die Wende...
. 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
- Lower Oder Valley National Park
The Lower Oder Valley International Park is a shared German-Polish nature reserve. It comprises the western banks of the Oder river within the Uckermark district in the German state of Brandenburg as well as the steep eastern banks in the Gryfino and Police counties of the Polish West Pomeranian...
(106 km²)
Biosphere reserves
- Spreewald
The Spreewald is situated 100 km south-east of Berlin and designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1991. It is known for its traditional irrigation system which consists of more than 200 small channels within the 484 km² area. The landscape was shaped during the ice-age...
Biosphere Reserve
- Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve
- River Landscape Elbe-Brandenburg Biosphere Reserve
Nature parks
- Barnim Nature Park
Barnim Nature Park is a nature park and reserve in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It covers an area of 750 km² . It was established on September 24 1998....
- Dahme-Heideseen Nature Park
Dahme-Heideseen Nature Park is a nature park and reserve in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It covers an area of 594 km² . It was established September 19 1998 and is located southeast of Berlin....
- High Fläming Nature Park
High Fläming Nature Park is a 827 km² nature park in Potsdam-Mittelmark district in the German state Brandenburg. It is the third largest of 11 nature parks in the state of Brandenburg...
- Märkische Schweiz Nature Park
Märkische Schweiz Nature Park is a nature park and reserve in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It covers an area of 204 km² . It was established on October 1 1990 and is located east of Berlin....
- Niederlausitzer Heidelandschaft Nature Park
- Niederlausitzer Landrücken Nature Park
Niederlausitzer Landrücken Nature Park is a nature park and reserve in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It covers an area of 580 km² . It was established on September 9, 1997....
- Nuthe-Nieplitz Nature Park
Nuthe-Nieplitz Nature Park is a nature park and reserve in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It covers an area of 623 km² . It was established on August 1999 and is located south-west of Berlin....
- Schlaube Valley Nature Parke
- Uckermark Lakes Nature Park
Uckermark Lakes Nature Park is a nature park and reserve in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It covers an area of 895 km² . It was established on May 3 1997 and is located on the northern edge of Brandenburg state....
- Westhavelland Nature Park
Westhavelland Nature Park is a nature park and reserve in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It covers an area of 1315 km². It was established on June 11, 1998....
- Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park
Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park is a nature park and reserve in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It covers an area of 1,080 km². It was established on July 1, 2001....
Political subdivisions
Brandenburg is divided into 14 rural districts (
Landkreise):
- Barnim
Barnim is a district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by Poland, the district of Märkisch-Oderland, the city state of Berlin and the districts of Oberhavel and Uckermark.- History :...
- Dahme-Spreewald
Dahme-Spreewald is a district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Oder-Spree, Spree-Neiße, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Elbe-Elster and Teltow-Fläming, and by the city of Berlin.- History :...
- Elbe-Elster
Elbe-Elster is a Kreis in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Teltow-Fläming, Dahme-Spreewald, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Riesa-Großenhain,Torgau-Oschatz, Wittenberg...
- Havelland
Havelland is a geograhical region and district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Ostprignitz-Ruppin and Oberhavel, the city-state of Berlin, the district of Potsdam-Mittelmark, the city of Brandenburg and the state of Saxony-Anhalt .- History :The district was established...
- Märkisch-Oderland
Märkisch-Oderland is a Kreis in the eastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are the district Barnim, the country Poland, the district-free city Frankfurt , the district Oder-Spree and the Bundesland Berlin.-Geography:The district extends from the outskirts of Berlin in the west to the...
- Oberhavel
Oberhavel is a Kreis in the northern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the districts Uckermark, Barnim, the Bundesland Berlin, and the districts Havelland and Ostprignitz-Ruppin.-Geography:The district is located along...
- Oberspreewald-Lausitz
Oberspreewald-Lausitz is a Kreis in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Dahme-Spreewald, Spree-Neiße, the districts Kamenz and Riesa-Großenhain in Saxony, and the district Elbe-Elster....
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- Oder-Spree
Oder-Spree is a Kreis in the eastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are the district Märkisch-Oderland, the district-free city Frankfurt , Poland, the district Spree-Neiße and Dahme-Spreewald, and the Bundesland Berlin.-Geography:The district is named after the two major rivers in the...
- Ostprignitz-Ruppin
Ostprignitz-Ruppin is a Kreis in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are the districts Müritz and Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the districts...
- Potsdam-Mittelmark
Potsdam-Mittelmark is a Kreis in the western part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are the district Havelland, the district free cities Brandenburg and Potsdam, the Bundesland Berlin, the district Teltow-Fläming, and the districts Wittenberg, Anhalt-Bitterfeld and Jerichower Land in...
- Prignitz
Prignitz is a Kreis in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are the districts Ludwigslust and Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin, the district Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt and the district Lüchow-Dannenberg in Lower Saxony.-Geography:The...
- Spree-Neiße
Spree-Neiße is a Kreis in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are the districts Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis and Kamenz in Saxony, the districts Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Dahme-Spreewald and Oder-Spree. The district-free city Cottbus is completely surrounded by...
- 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...
- Uckermark
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and 4 urban districts (
kreisfreie Städte):
- Brandenburg an der Havel
Brandenburg an der Havel is a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Havel river. Population: 74,129 ....
- Cottbus
Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around 125 km southeast of Berlin on the River Spree. In 31 December, 2005, its population was 106,415.- History :...
- Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
- Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and is part of the Metropolitan area of Berlin/Brandenburg. It is situated on the River Havel, some 25 kilometres southwest of the centre of Berlin....
Government
- For earlier rulers, see List of rulers of Brandenburg
- 1947 - 1949: Karl Steinhoff
Karl Steinhoff was a Minister-President of the German state of Brandenburg, then part of East Germany, and later served as East Germany's Minister of the Interior....
(SEDThe Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a Communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
, formerly SPDThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. The party governed at the federal level in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union until conceding defeat in the federal election of September 2009...
)
- 1949 - 1952: Rudolf Jahn
Rudolf Jahn was a German politician and Minister-President of Brandenburg . He was born in Leipzig....
(SED)
- 1990 - 2002: Manfred Stolpe
Manfred Stolpe was Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Housing of the Federal Republic of Germany from 2002 until 2005. From 1990 until 2002 he was Premier of the State of Brandenburg.-Biography:...
(SPD)
- since 2002: Matthias Platzeck
Matthias Platzeck is a German politician. He has been Minister-President of Brandenburg since 2002 and party chairman of the SPD from November 2005 to April 2006.-Private life:...
(SPD)
September 2009 state election
External links