Cottbus

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For other uses, see Cottbus (disambiguation).
Cottbus
Chóśebuz
Town
280px
139px 139px
139px 139px
139px 139px
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From top: View of Cottbus at sunset,
Cottbus State Theater – Statne źiwadło Chóśebuz
Old Market Square – Stare wiki
St Nicholas' Church – Cerkwja swěteho Mikławša
bilingual Cottbus street signage
Prince Pückler Park Branitz
Branitz Castle – Grod Rogeńc
Old Market Square at night
Flag of Cottbus
Flag		 Coat of arms of Cottbus
Coat of arms
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Location of Cottbus
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Country Germany
State Brandenburg
District Urban district
Government
 • Lord mayor (2022–30) Tobias Schick[1] (SPD)
Area
 • Total 164.28 km2 (63.43 sq mi)
Elevation 70 m (230 ft)
Population (2013-12-31)[2]
 • Total 99,595
 • Density 610/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+01:00)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+02:00)
Postal codes 03042-03055
Dialling codes 0355
Vehicle registration CB
Website www.cottbus.de

Cottbus (de) or Chóśebuz (dsb) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital of Potsdam. With around 98,000 inhabitants, it is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian settlement area (Serbski sedleński rum) of Lower Lusatia, and is the second-largest city on the River Spree after Berlin, from which it is situated around 125 km (78 mi) upstream. The city is located on the shores of Cottbus Eastern Lake (Chóśebuski pódzajtšny jazor), which will be Germany's largest artificial lake by surface area when flooding is completed.

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. Cottbus is the largest officially bilingual city in Germany, and the 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 Sorbian Broadcasting (Serbski rozgłos/Bramborske Serbske Radijo), the Lower Sorbian Gymnasium, and the Wendish Museum (Serbski muzej). The use of the Lower Sorbian language, however, is more widespread in the surrounding villages than in the city itself. Cottbus 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, and this former gord is considered the nucleus of the city. On it rises the massive 13th century Castle Tower (grodojski torm) with its blue clock.

Cottbus is the seat of the Brandenburg University of Technology (German: Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus–Senftenberg, Lower Sorbian: Bramborska techniska uniwersita Chóśebuz–Zły Komorow). Due to this, the city has the official names Universitätsstadt Cottbus/Uniwersitne město Chóśebuz ('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 (Statne źiwadło Chóśebuz) 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.

Spelling

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 Kottbusser Tor ("Cottbus Gate"), but 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 Standing Committee for Geographical Names (de) (German: Ständiger Ausschuss für geographische Namen) stress their urgent recommendation that geographical names should respect the national spelling standards.[clarification needed] A citizen of the city may be identified as either a "Cottbuser" or a "Cottbusser".

Names in different languages:

History

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.[3] 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.

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Historical affiliations

March of Lusatia 965–1002
Duchy of Poland 1002–1025
Kingdom of Poland 1025–1031
Duchy of Poland 1032

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March of Lusatia 1032–1367

Bohemian Crown 1367–1445
Margraviate of Brandenburg 1445–1618
Brandenburg-Prussia 1618–1701
 Kingdom of Prussia 1701–1807
Kingdom of Saxony 1807–1815
 Kingdom of Prussia 1815–1871
 German Empire 1871–1918
 Weimar Republic 1918–1933
 Nazi Germany 1933–1945
 Allied-occupied Germany 1945–1949
 GDR 1949–1990
 Federal Republic Germany 1990–date

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). In 1514 Jan Rak founded the Universitas Serborum, a Sorbian gymnasium, in the city. In 1635 Lower Lusatia was ceded by Bohemia to Saxony, thereby making Cottbus an enclave of Saxony. 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 Regierungsbezirk Frankfurt), 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.[4]

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.[5]

In interwar Germany, the town was the site of a concentration camp for unwanted Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.[6]

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.[7] Polish actor Władysław Hańcza was imprisoned in a forced labour camp in the city in 1944–1945.[8] 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.

  • Cottbus 07-2017 img26 Klosterkirche.jpg

    Gothic Franciscan church and later Sorbian Protestant Church

  • Bramborski Serbski Casnik.jpg

    First issue of the Bramborski Serbski Casnik Sorbian newspaper, 1848

Boroughs

File:Ortsteile von Cottbus.svg
400px
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

Demography

  • 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)

  • 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))

Cottbus: Population development
within the current boundaries (2020)[9]
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1875 35,201 —    
1890 46,671 +1.90%
1910 65,438 +1.70%
1925 68,228 +0.28%
1933 72,286 +0.72%
1939 75,969 +0.83%
1946 73,010 −0.57%
1950 73,695 +0.23%
1964 84,952 +1.02%
1971 94,606 +1.55%
1981 125,326 +2.85%
1985 133,232 +1.54%
1989 137,366 +0.77%
1990 134,781 −1.88%
1991 131,625 −2.34%
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1992 131,343 −0.21%
1993 130,756 −0.45%
1994 128,601 −1.65%
1995 126,343 −1.76%
1996 124,389 −1.55%
1997 122,579 −1.46%
1998 119,629 −2.41%
1999 115,970 −3.06%
2000 113,618 −2.03%
2001 111,125 −2.19%
2002 109,144 −1.78%
2003 107,549 −1.46%
2004 106,415 −1.05%
2005 105,309 −1.04%
2006 103,837 −1.40%
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
2007 102,811 −0.99%
2008 101,785 −1.00%
2009 101,671 −0.11%
2010 102,091 +0.41%
2011 99,974 −2.07%
2012 99,913 −0.06%
2013 99,595 −0.32%
2014 99,491 −0.10%
2015 99,687 +0.20%
2016 100,416 +0.73%
2017 101,036 +0.62%
2018 100,219 −0.81%
2019 99,678 −0.54%
2020 98,693 −0.99%
2021 98,347 −0.35%

Climate

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 35 °C (95 °F) in summer to −15 °C (5 °F) in winter. Precipitation is frequent, although usually light in accumulation. Snowfall is a regular occurrence with 36 days of snow cover annually,[10] but Cottbus remains mild enough that it usually thaws quickly. Most of the year is gloomy, with a notable exception in late spring.

Climate data for Cottbus (1991–2020 normals, extremes since 1900)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.6
(61.9)		 20.6
(69.1)		 25.4
(77.7)		 31.2
(88.2)		 33.3
(91.9)		 39.2
(102.6)		 38.9
(102)		 38.5
(101.3)		 34.5
(94.1)		 29.2
(84.6)		 20.2
(68.4)		 17.9
(64.2)		 39.2
(102.6)
Average high °C (°F) 3.5
(38.3)		 5.3
(41.5)		 9.4
(48.9)		 15.7
(60.3)		 20.3
(68.5)		 23.6
(74.5)		 25.6
(78.1)		 25.4
(77.7)		 20.3
(68.5)		 14.4
(57.9)		 8.2
(46.8)		 4.4
(39.9)		 14.7
(58.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.8
(33.4)		 1.7
(35.1)		 4.8
(40.6)		 10.0
(50)		 14.5
(58.1)		 17.9
(64.2)		 19.8
(67.6)		 19.3
(66.7)		 14.6
(58.3)		 9.8
(49.6)		 5.1
(41.2)		 1.9
(35.4)		 10.0
(50)
Average low °C (°F) −2.1
(28.2)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 0.4
(32.7)		 3.9
(39)		 8.2
(46.8)		 11.8
(53.2)		 13.8
(56.8)		 13.4
(56.1)		 9.4
(48.9)		 5.5
(41.9)		 1.9
(35.4)		 −0.7
(30.7)		 5.3
(41.5)
Record low °C (°F) −26.6
(−15.9)		 −29.5
(−21.1)		 −23.0
(−9.4)		 −14.2
(6.4)		 −3.5
(25.7)		 −1.9
(28.6)		 4.3
(39.7)		 3.2
(37.8)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 −10.2
(13.6)		 −14.4
(6.1)		 −25.8
(−14.4)		 −29.5
(−21.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 41.5
(1.634)		 34.1
(1.343)		 40.9
(1.61)		 30.6
(1.205)		 56.6
(2.228)		 53.1
(2.091)		 74.8
(2.945)		 63.0
(2.48)		 46.3
(1.823)		 40.5
(1.594)		 42.9
(1.689)		 42.0
(1.654)		 566.0
(22.283)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 17.5 14.5 15.0 11.6 13.1 12.3 13.6 12.9 11.8 13.7 14.6 16.4 167.0
Average relative humidity (%) 83.4 79.7 75.0 66.5 66.4 66.2 67.0 68.8 76.2 81.1 85.1 84.7 75.0
Mean monthly sunshine hours 54.0 77.1 127.1 192.4 227.3 228.0 237.2 227.4 169.0 118.9 62.7 49.1 1,770.3
Source #1: NOAA[10]
Source #2: Infoclimat[11]

Culture and education

The Lower Sorbian Gymnasium Cottbus
The Brandenburg University of Technology Library

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.[12]

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.

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.

Economy

Transportation

File:Cottbus Hbf - Chóśebuz głdw, Station Sign.jpeg
Bilingual sign at Cottbus main station – German: Cottbus Hauptbahnhof (Hbf), Lower Sorbian: Chóśebuz głowne dwórnišćo (gł.dw.)

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).

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 generation

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 Cottbus-Nord opencast mine (de) being converted into an artificial lake with 19 km2 (7.3 sq mi) surface area called Cottbuser Ostsee (Cottbus eastern lake).

Twin towns – sister cities

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See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Cottbus is twinned with:[13]

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Notable people

File:Carl Blechen - Self-Portrait - WGA02239.jpg
Carl Blechen - Self-Portrait

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ergebnis der Oberbürgermeisterwahl in Cottbus, accessed 13 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[permanent dead link]
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Udo Lauer, Fürst Pücklers Traumpark, Ullstein Verlag, 1996, Berlin
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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