Bezirk Cottbus

District of Cottbus Bezirk Cottbus (German)
District (Bezirk) of East Germany
1952–1990
Coat of arms
Location of Bezirk Cottbus within the German Democratic Republic
Capital	Cottbus
Area
• 1989	8,262 km2 (3,190 sq mi)
Population
• 1989	884,700
Government
SED First Secretary
• 1952–1953	Franz Bruk
• 1953–1969	Albert Stief
• 1969–1989	Werner Walde
• 1989–1990	Wolfgang Thiel
Chairman of the Council of the Bezirk
• 1952–1959	Werner Manneberg
• 1959–1962	Heinz Krüger
• 1962	Rudolf Müller (acting)
• 1962–1971	Hans Schmidt
• 1971–1989	Irma Uschkamp
• 1989–1990	Peter Siegesmund
• 1990	Karl-Heinz Kretschmer (as Regierungsbevollmächtigter)
History
• Established	1952
• Disestablished	1990
Preceded by Succeeded by Brandenburg (1945-1952) Saxony-Anhalt (1945–1952) Saxony (1945–1952) Brandenburg Saxony-Anhalt Saxony
Today part of	Germany

Bezirk Cottbus was a district (Bezirk) of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The administrative seat and main town was Cottbus.

History

The district was established, along with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, de facto replacing the East German States (Länder) which had been established in the post-war period; these in turn had replaced the Nazi Gaue (and the pre-war States and Prussian Provinces which had been de facto but not de jure superseded by the Gaue). Most of Bezirk Cottbus had been part of Brandenburg, with smaller parts taken from Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt

On 3 October 1990 the Bezirke were disestablished due to the reunification of Germany. Most of the Kreise of Bezirk Cottbus returned to the reconstituted states which they had belonged to before 1952: most went to Brandenburg, while the districts of Hoyerswerda and Weißwasser returned to Saxony and Jessen returned to Saxony-Anhalt; Bad Liebenwerda and Herzberg, which had been part of Saxony-Anhalt before 1952 became part of Brandenburg.

Geography

Position

Bezirk Cottbus, mainly located in Brandenburg and partly in Saxony (Hoyerswerda), bordered the Bezirke of Frankfurt, Potsdam, Halle, Leipzig and Dresden. It also bordered Poland.

Subdivision

The Kreise of Bezirk Cottbus c. 1957

The Bezirk was divided into 15 Kreise: 1 urban district (Stadtkreis) and 14 rural districts (Landkreise):

• Urban district: Cottbus.
• Rural districts: Bad Liebenwerda  [ de ]; Calau  [ de ]; Cottbus-Land  [ de ]; Finsterwalde  [ de ]; Forst  [ de ]; Guben  [ de ]; Herzberg  [ de ]; Hoyerswerda  [ de ]; Jessen  [ de ]; Luckau  [ de ]; Lübben  [ de ]; Senftenberg  [ de ]; Spremberg  [ de ]; Weißwasser  [ de ].

External links

Media related to Cottbus District (GDR) at Wikimedia Commons