I.

Introduction

Brandenburg, state and historic region in north-eastern Germany, bounded on the north by Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, on the east by Poland, on the south by Saxony, and on the west by Saxony-Anhalt. The state of Berlin forms an enclave at the centre of Brandenburg. The historic region of Brandenburg constituted the nucleus of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701-1871) and of the German Second Empire (1871-1918), with the city of Berlin as the capital.

II.

Physical Geography

Brandenburg occupies an area of 29,476 sq km (11,381 sq mi), with tracts of pines and firs interspersed with sandy plains. Traversed by the rivers Elbe and Oder, much of the land is very fertile. The River Spree is connected to the Oder by canal and flows southward from Berlin to the border with Saxony. The Lower Oder Valley National Park extends into Poland and covers a total area of 165 sq km (64 sq mi), of which 105 sq km (41 sq mi) is in Brandenburg. The park, which was founded in 1995, is a unique wetland with an enormous range of flora and fauna, especially waterfowl. The park’s meadows, marshland and deciduous forests support a variety of rare and migratory species, including beavers, otters, storks, cranes, and eagles.

III.

Population

Brandenburg has a population of 2,575,000 (2004 estimate). The city of Potsdam (population, 2005 estimate, 145,700) is the state capital. Other important cities and towns include Bernau (2005 estimate, 35,000), Brandenburg (2005 estimate, 74,900), Cottbus 2005 estimate, 106,400), Frankfurt an der Oder (2005 estimate, 65,200), Fürstenwalde (2005 estimate, 33,400), Schwedt (2005 estimate, 37,900), and Wittenberge (2005 estimate, 20,100). The state has a relatively low average population density of 87 people per sq km (225 per sq mi).

IV.

Education and Culture

Educational institutions in the state include Brandenburg Technical University (founded 1991), in Cottbus; the University of Potsdam (1991), in Potsdam; and Viadrina University, founded in 1991, in Frankfurt an der Oder. The University of Frankfurt (1506) was located in the city for more than 300 years before it was transferred to Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) in 1811.

Several important landmarks and sites of architectural and cultural interest are located in Brandenburg. A palace complex in the city of Potsdam, including Sans Souci, a Rococo style summer palace built for Frederick II between 1745 and 1747, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990 (the site was extended in 1992 and 1999). St Jacob’s Chapel in Perleberg and the Katharinenkirche in Brandenburg both date from the 14th century, and in Brandenburg there is a Romanesque cathedral (1170) and a medieval castle.

V.

Economy

Forestry and agriculture are two important components of the state’s economy. The region’s chief agricultural crops are rye, wheat, and potatoes. Raw material mining and steel production are the most significant areas of industry. A large petrochemical complex at Schwedt/Oder, in the north-east, processes petroleum piped in from Russia. In the industrial cities of Cottbus, Ludwigsfelde, Potsdam, Teltow, and Wildau, major industries include the production of electricity (generated from local lignite), and the manufacture of machinery, electrical equipment, and textiles.

VI.

History

The earliest known inhabitants of Brandenburg were the Suevi, a Germanic people. During the early Middle Ages a number of Slavic tribes occupied the region. In the 10th century they were conquered and Christianized by the German king Henry I. Henry’s son, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, divided the territory into two margravates, or counties, which were later united as the margravate of Brandenburg. In the centuries that followed, German settlers colonized the area, and the size and influence of the margravate increased, mostly at the expense of Poland and Bohemia. From 1323 to 1411 Brandenburg was ruled by princes of the houses of Wittelsbach and Luxembourg. In 1356 Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV recognized it as one of the seven imperial electorates. In 1415 Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund placed the electorate under the rule of Frederick, burgrave of Nuremberg (1371-1440). Frederick, a prince of the house of Hohenzollern, and his successors quelled the turbulent nobility, established a centralized government, and greatly extended the boundaries of the electorate. The Lutheran Reformation reached Brandenburg about 1540, and the electors of Brandenburg subsequently became leading champions of the Protestant cause. In 1614 Elector John Sigismund ordered the preparation of the Confession of Brandenburg, a declaration of faith, to reconcile the tenets of Lutheranism and Calvinism and to terminate disputes provoked by the Augsburg Confession (1530). In 1618 John Sigismund gained, through marriage, the duchy of Prussia (the southern part of the former fief of the Order of the Teutonic Knights).

Although large sections of the region were devastated during the first two decades of the Thirty Years' War, Brandenburg-Prussia emerged as one of the strongest states in Germany under the rule of Frederick William, known as the Great Elector. In 1701 Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I established Brandenburg-Prussia as the kingdom of Prussia under Frederick William's son, Frederick III, who then became Frederick I of Prussia. Thereafter, the history of Brandenburg until the defeat of Germany in World War II became inseparable from Prussian history. At the Berlin Conference in 1945 part of Brandenburg was given to Poland. The rest was placed in the zone occupied by the Soviet Union, and from 1947, when Prussia was dissolved as a political entity, until 1952 it retained the name Brandenburg as a state (Land) within East Germany. In 1990 East and West Germany united and became the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1995 the governments of Berlin and Brandenburg announced a proposal to merge the two states in order to form a new state with the name Berlin-Brandenburg. However, in a public referendum in 1996, the citizens of Brandenburg rejected the proposed merger and the two states retained their independence as separate entities.