Finsterwalde

Finsterwalde
Town
Town hall
Coat of arms
Location of Finsterwalde within Elbe-Elster district
Finsterwalde Show map of Germany Finsterwalde Show map of Brandenburg
Coordinates: 51°37′42″N 13°42′37″E / 51.628243°N 13.710210°E / 51.628243; 13.710210
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Elbe-Elster
Subdivisions	3 Stadtteile / 2 Ortsteile
Government
• Mayor (2017–25)	Jörg Gampe^[1] (CDU)
Area
• Total	76.91 km² (29.70 sq mi)
Elevation	108 m (354 ft)
Population (2022-12-31)^[2]
• Total	15,968
• Density	210/km² (540/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	03238
Dialling codes	03531
Vehicle registration	EE, FI, LIB
Website	www.finsterwalde.de

Finsterwalde (German pronunciation: [fɪnstɐˈvaldə] ^ⓘ, Lower Sorbian: Grabin, pronounced [ˈɡrabʲin]) is a town in the Elbe-Elster district (German: Landkreis), in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany.

Overview

It is situated on the Schackebach, a tributary of the Kleine Elster, 28 m. W.S.W of Cottbus by rail. Pop. (2005) 18,840. The town has a Gothic church (1581), a castle, schools, cloth and cigar factories, iron-foundries, flour and saw mills and factories for machine building. Popular are the "four singers from Finsterwalde" and their "singer-song".^{[citation needed]}

History

Finsterwalde was first mentioned in 1288. Up until the beginning of 17th century, a large part of the city's population was still speaking Lower Sorbian.^[3] In 1635, Finsterwalde came into the possession of the Electorate of Saxony and from 1815 it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.^[4] From 1815 to 1947, Finsterwalde was part of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg. From 1952 to 1990, it was part of the Bezirk Cottbus of East Germany.

Demography

Development of population since 1875 within the current boundaries (Blue line: population; dotted line: Comparison to population development of Brandenburg state; grey background: Time of Nazi rule; red background: Time of communist rule)
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 2020-2030 (green line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)

Finsterwalde: Population development
within the current boundaries^[5]

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1875	10,098	—
1890	11,466	+0.85%
1910	17,297	+2.08%
1925	17,474	+0.07%
1933	18,072	+0.42%
1939	20,120	+1.81%
1946	22,613	+1.68%
1950	22,374	−0.27%
1964	23,609	+0.38%
1971	23,976	+0.22%
1981	24,870	+0.37%
1985	24,781	−0.09%
1989	24,427	−0.36%
1990	23,777	−2.66%
1991	23,019	−3.19%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1992	22,985	−0.15%
1993	22,556	−1.87%
1994	22,029	−2.34%
1995	21,744	−1.29%
1996	21,457	−1.32%
1997	21,343	−0.53%
1998	20,908	−2.04%
1999	20,482	−2.04%
2000	20,103	−1.85%
2001	19,704	−1.98%
2002	19,378	−1.65%
2003	19,152	−1.17%
2004	18,985	−0.87%
2005	18,693	−1.54%
2006	18,516	−0.95%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2007	18,162	−1.91%
2008	17,861	−1.66%
2009	17,517	−1.93%
2010	17,407	−0.63%
2011	16,876	−3.05%
2012	16,680	−1.16%
2013	16,561	−0.71%
2014	16,407	−0.93%
2015	16,548	+0.86%
2016	16,497	−0.31%
2017	16,409	−0.53%
2018	16,220	−1.15%
2019	16,068	−0.94%
2020	15,968	−0.62%

Known persons

The following well known persons are from Finsterwalde:

Hansgeorg Bätcher (1914–2003), Oberstleutnant in the Luftwaffe
Inge Deutschkron, (1922–2022), German-Israeli journalist and author
Thomas Eisfeld, (born 1993), football player for Arsenal FC
Catrin G Grosse (born 1964), artist and painter
Kurt Haehling (1893–1983), Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht
Detlef Irrgang, (born 1966), football player
Sonja Kesselschläger, Heptathlon athlete
Hermann Kotzschmar, (1829–1908), German-American musician, conductor and composer
Peggy Kuznik, Football player
Otto Ostrowski, (1883–1963), Mayor of Finsterwalde in the 1920s
Stephanie Pohl, (born 1978), beach volleyball player
Hans-Jürgen Riediger (born 1955), football player

Buildings and Monuments

Finsterwalde Solar Park
Janusz-Korczak-Gymnasium, formerly Knabenschule by Max Taut (1913)
In Finsterwalde is located a relief dedicated to Lenin in the park "Bürgerheide"^[6]

References

^ Landkreis Elbe-Elster Wahl der Bürgermeisterin / des Bürgermeisters, retrieved 1 July 2021.
^ "Bevölkerungsentwicklung und Bevölkerungsstandim Land Brandenburg Dezember 2022" (PDF). Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). June 2023.
^ Der Niedersorben Wendisch. Eine Sprach-Zeit-Reise. Bautzen 2003, p. 69
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Finsterwalde". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 393.
^ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
^ https://leninisstillaround.com/2015/07/20/in-front-of-the-playground/ checked 26.1.2020

External links

Media related to Finsterwalde at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Towns and municipalities in Elbe-Elster
Bad Liebenwerda Crinitz Doberlug-Kirchhain Elsterwerda Falkenberg/Elster Fichtwald Finsterwalde Gorden-Staupitz Gröden Großthiemig Heideland Herzberg (Elster) Hirschfeld Hohenbucko Hohenleipisch Kremitzaue Lebusa Lichterfeld-Schacksdorf Massen-Niederlausitz Merzdorf Mühlberg Plessa Röderland Rückersdorf Sallgast Schilda Schlieben Schönborn Schönewalde Schraden Sonnewalde Tröbitz Uebigau-Wahrenbrück		Coat of Arms of Elbe-Elster district