Brandenburg

Last updated

State of Brandenburg
Land Brandenburg (German)
Land Brannenborg (Low German)
Kraj Bramborska (Lower Sorbian)
Brandenburg
Coordinates: 52°21′43″N13°0′29″E / 52.36194°N 13.00806°E / 52.36194; 13.00806
Country Germany
Capital Potsdam
Government
  Body Landtag of Brandenburg
   Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD)
  Governing parties SPD / CDU / Greens
   Bundesrat votes 4 (of 69)
   Bundestag seats 25 (of 736)
Area
  Total29,480.24 km2 (11,382.38 sq mi)
Population
 (2019-09-30) [1]
  Total2,520,198
  Density85/km2 (220/sq mi)
GDP
[2]
  Total€88.800 billion (2022)
  Per capita€34,610 (2022)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
  Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code DE-BB
Vehicle registration formerly: BP (1945–1947), SB (1948–1953) [3]
NUTS Region DE4
HDI (2018)0.923 [4]
very high · 14th of 16
Website brandenburg.de

Brandenburg, [lower-alpha 1] officially the State of Brandenburg, [lower-alpha 2] is a state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square kilometres (11,382 square miles) and a population of 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth-largest German state by area and the tenth-most populous. Potsdam is the state capital and largest city, and other major towns are Cottbus, Brandenburg an der Havel and Frankfurt (Oder).

Contents

Brandenburg surrounds the national capital and city-state of Berlin, and together they form the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, the third-largest metropolitan area in Germany with a total population of about 6.2 million. [5] There was an unsuccessful attempt to unify both states in 1996 and the states cooperate on many matters to this day.

Brandenburg originated in the Northern March in the 900s AD, from areas conquered from the Wends. It later became the Margraviate of Brandenburg, a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 15th century, it came under the rule of the House of Hohenzollern, which later also became the ruling house of the Duchy of Prussia and established Brandenburg-Prussia, the core of the later Kingdom of Prussia. From 1815 to 1947, Brandenburg was a province of Prussia.

Following the abolition of Prussia after World War II, Brandenburg was established as a state by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany, and became a state of the German Democratic Republic in 1949. In 1952, the state was dissolved and broken up into multiple regional districts. Following German reunification, Brandenburg was re-established in 1990 and became one of the five new states of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The origin of the name Brandenburg is believed to be West Slavic brani boru, meaning 'defensive forest'.[ citation needed ]

History

In late medieval and early modern times, Brandenburg was one of seven electoral states of the Holy Roman Empire, and, along with Prussia, formed the original core of the German Empire, the first unified German state. Governed by the Hohenzollern dynasty from 1415, it contained the future German capital Berlin. After 1618 the Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were combined to form Brandenburg-Prussia, which was ruled by the same branch of the House of Hohenzollern. In 1701 the state was elevated as the Kingdom of Prussia. Franconian Nuremberg and Ansbach, Swabian Hohenzollern, the eastern European connections of Berlin, and the status of Brandenburg's ruler as prince-elector 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 7th century, Slavic peoples 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 Huns and Avars. 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 10th century, Henry the Fowler and his successors conquered territory up to the Oder River. Slavic settlements such as Brenna [6] (Brandenburg an der Havel), Budusin [7] (Bautzen), and Chośebuz [8] (Cottbus) came under imperial control through the installation of margraves. Their main function was to defend and protect the eastern marches. In 948 Emperor Otto I established margraves to exert imperial control over the pagan Slavs west of the Oder River. Otto founded the Bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg. The Northern March was founded as a northeastern border territory of the Holy Roman Empire. However, a great uprising of Wends drove imperial forces from the territory of present-day Brandenburg in 983. The region returned to the control of Slavic leaders.

Late Middle Ages

Eisenhardt Castle in Bad Belzig Burg eisenhardt torhaus und burgfried.JPG
Eisenhardt Castle in Bad Belzig

During the 12th century, the German kings and emperors re-established control over the mixed Slav-inhabited lands of present-day Brandenburg, although some Slavs like the Sorbs in Lusatia adapted to Germanization while retaining their distinctiveness. The Roman Catholic Church 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 Havel, which was the first center of the state of Brandenburg, began.

In 1134, in the wake of a German crusade against the Wends, the German magnate, Albert the Bear, was granted the Northern March by the Emperor Lothar III. 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 Brandenburg. 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 (see also Altmark).

In 1320, the Brandenburg Ascanian line came to an end, and from 1323 up until 1415 Brandenburg was under the control of the Wittelsbachs of Bavaria, followed by the Luxembourg Dynasties. Under the Luxembourgs, the Margrave of Brandenburg gained the status of a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. In the period 1373–1415, Brandenburg was a part of the Bohemian Crown. In 1415, the Electorate of Brandenburg was granted by Emperor Sigismund to the House of Hohenzollern, which would rule until the end of World War I. The Hohenzollerns established their capital in Berlin, by then the economic center of Brandenburg.

16th and 17th centuries

Brandenburg's victory over Swedish forces at the Battle of Fehrbellin in 1675 Schlacht bei Fehrbellin2.JPG
Brandenburg's victory over Swedish forces at the Battle of Fehrbellin in 1675

Brandenburg converted to Protestantism in 1539 in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, 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 co-rulership since 1577 and acquiring the Duchy of Prussia in 1618, the Duchy of Cleves (1614) in the Rhineland, and territories in Westphalia. The result was a sprawling, disconnected country known as Brandenburg-Prussia that was in poor shape to defend itself during the Thirty Years' War.

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 William, the so-called "Great Elector", who worked tirelessly to rebuild and consolidate the nation. He moved the royal residence to Potsdam. At the Peace of Westphalia, his envoy Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal negotiated the acquisition of several important territories such as Halberstadt. Under the Treaty of Oliva Christoph Caspar von Blumenthal (son of the above) negotiated the incorporation of the Duchy of Prussia into the Hohenzollern inheritance.

Kingdom of Prussia and German Empire

The Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, is today a World Heritage Site. Potsdam Sanssouci Palace.jpg
The Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, is today a World Heritage Site.
The Province of Brandenburg, as superimposed on modern borders Brandenburg superimposed on modern borders.svg
The Province of Brandenburg, as superimposed on modern borders

When Frederick William died in 1688, he was followed by his son Frederick, 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 Prussia" (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 state is known as the Kingdom of Prussia.

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 Brandenburg, again subdivided into the government region of Frankfurt and Potsdam. In 1881, the City of Berlin was separated from the Province of Brandenburg. [9] 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 39,039 km2 (15,073 sq mi) and a population of 2.6 million (1925). After Germany's defeat in World War II, the Neumark, the part of Brandenburg east of the Oder–Neisse line, even absent any Polish-speaking population in this area, became part of Poland. The entire population of former East Brandenburg was expelled en masse. The remainder of the province became a state in the Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany when Prussia was dissolved in 1947.

East Germany

Glienicke Bridge, which connected East Germany to the American sector of West Berlin, became known for the exchange of captured spies. Glienicke Bridge GB23840.jpg
Glienicke Bridge, which connected East Germany to the American sector of West Berlin, became known for the exchange of captured spies.

After the foundation of East Germany in 1949, Brandenburg formed one of its component states. The State of Brandenburg was completely dissolved in 1952 by the Socialist government of East Germany, doing away with all component states. The East German government then divided Brandenburg among several Bezirke or districts. (See Administrative division of the German Democratic Republic). Most of Brandenburg lay within the Bezirke of Cottbus, Frankfurt, or Potsdam, but parts of the former province passed to the Schwerin, Neubrandenburg and Magdeburg districts (town Havelberg). East Germany relied heavily on lignite (the lowest grade of coal) as an energy source, and lignite strip mines marred areas of south-eastern Brandenburg. The industrial towns surrounding Berlin were important to the East German economy, while rural Brandenburg remained mainly agricultural.

Federal Republic of Germany

The present State of Brandenburg was re-established on 3 October 1990 upon German reunification. [10] The newly elected Landtag of Brandenburg first met on 26 October 1990. [11] As in other former parts of East Germany, the lack of modern infrastructure and exposure to West Germany's competitive market economy brought widespread unemployment and economic difficulty. In the recent years, however, Brandenburg's infrastructure has been modernized and unemployment has slowly declined.

Berlin-Brandenburg fusion attempt

The coat of arms proposed in the interstate treaty DEU Berlin-Brandenburg COA.svg
The coat of arms proposed in the interstate treaty

The legal basis for a combined state of Berlin and Brandenburg is different from other state fusion proposals. Normally, Article 29 of the Basic Law stipulates that states may only merge after a specific federal Act of Parliament is enacted. [12] However, a clause added to the Basic Law in 1994, Article 118a, allows Berlin and Brandenburg to unify without federal approval, requiring a referendum and a ratification by both state parliaments. [13]

In 1996, an attempt of unifying the states of Berlin and Brandenburg was rejected at referendum. [14] Both share a common history, dialect and culture and in 2020, over 225,000 residents of Brandenburg commute to Berlin. The fusion had the near-unanimous support by a broad coalition of both state governments, political parties, media, business associations, trade unions and churches. [15] Though Berlin voted in favor by a small margin, largely based on support in former West Berlin, Brandenburg voters disapproved of the fusion by a large margin. [16] It failed largely due to Brandenburg voters not wanting to take on Berlin's large and growing public debt and fearing losing identity and influence to the capital. [14]

Geography

Brandenburg is bordered by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the north, Poland in the east, the Freistaat Sachsen in the south, Saxony-Anhalt in the west, and Lower Saxony in the northwest.

The Oder river forms a part of the eastern border, the Elbe river a portion of the western border. The main rivers in the state itself are the Spree and the Havel. In the southeast, there is a wetlands region called the Spreewald; it is the northernmost part of Lusatia, where the Sorbs, a Slavic people, still live. These areas are bilingual, i.e., German 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 reunification. 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

Biosphere reserves

The Spreewald, a biosphere reserve by UNESCO Spreewald 4.jpg
The Spreewald, a biosphere reserve by UNESCO

Nature parks

Demographics

Brandenburg has the second lowest population density among the German states, after Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Population density in Berlin-Brandenburg in 2015 Metropolregion Berlin-Brandenburg Einwohnerdichte.svg
Population density in Berlin-Brandenburg in 2015

Development

Development of Brandenburg's population from 1875 within current borders Bevolkerungsentwicklung Land Brandenburg.pdf
Development of Brandenburg's population from 1875 within current borders
Land Brandenburg: Population development
within the current boundaries (2020) [17]
YearPop.±% p.a.
1875 1,444,441    
1890 1,578,138+0.59%
1910 1,879,375+0.88%
1925 2,048,866+0.58%
1939 2,433,881+1.24%
1950 2,746,002+1.10%
1964 2,620,071−0.33%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1971 2,667,096+0.25%
1981 2,667,052−0.00%
1985 2,667,237+0.00%
1990 2,602,404−0.49%
1995 2,542,042−0.47%
2000 2,601,962+0.47%
2005 2,559,483−0.33%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2010 2,503,273−0.44%
2015 2,484,826−0.15%
2016 2,494,648+0.40%
2017 2,504,040+0.38%
2018 2,511,917+0.31%
2019 2,521,893+0.40%
2020 2,531,071+0.36%

Religion

Religion in Brandenburg – 2011
religionpercent
Other
79.8%
Registered EKD Protestants
17.1%
Registered Roman Catholics
3.1%

17.1% of the Brandenburgers are registered members of the local, regional Protestant church (mostly the Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia), while 3.1% are registered with the Roman Catholic Church (mostly the Archdiocese of Berlin, and a minority in the Diocese of Görlitz). [18] The majority (79.8%) [18] of Brandenburgers, whether of Christian or other beliefs, choose not to register with the government as members of these churches, and therefore do not pay the church tax.

Foreign population

Significant foreign born populations [19]
NationalityPopulation (Dec 2020)
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 35,275
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 28,160
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 18,345
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 11,405
Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan 9,585
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 8,715
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 6,425
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 5,120
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 3,760
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 3,075

Politics

Politically, Brandenburg is a stronghold of the Social Democratic Party, which won the largest share of the vote and seats in every state election. All three Minister-Presidents of Brandenburg have come from the Social Democratic Party (unlike any other state except Bremen) and they even won an absolute majority of seats and every single-member constituency in the 1994 state election.

On a federal level, the Social Democratic Party has also been the strongest party in most federal elections, their strongholds being the northwestern part of the state and Potsdam and its surrounding areas. However, the Christian Democratic Union won the most votes in 1990, their 2013 landslide and in 2017. In 2009, The Left won the most votes in a year where, like in 2017, the Social Democratic collapsed. Prominent politicians from Brandenburg include Social Democrats Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who served in the Bundestag for Brandenburg before being elected President of Germany, and likely Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, who sits in the Bundestag for Potsdam.

Like in all other New states of Germany, the populist parties The Left and, more recently, the Alternative for Germany are especially strong in Brandenburg.

Brandenburg has 4 out of 69 votes in the Bundesrat and, as of 2021, 25 seats out of 736 in the Bundestag.

Subdivisions

Brandenburg is divided into 14 rural districts (Landkreise) and four urban districts (kreisfreie Städte), shown with their population in 2011: [20]

Administrative divisions of Brandenburg Brandenburg, administrative divisions - de - colored.svg
Administrative divisions of Brandenburg
DistrictPopulation
Wappen Landkreis Barnim.svg Barnim 176,953
Wappen Landkreis Dahme-Spreewald.svg Dahme-Spreewald 161,556
Wappen des Landkreises Elbe-Elster.svg Elbe-Elster 110,291
DEU Havelland COA.svg Havelland 155,226
DEU Maerkisch-Oderland COA.svg Märkisch-Oderland 189,673
DEU Oberhavel COA.svg Oberhavel 203,508
Wappen des Landkreises Oberspreewald-Lausitz.svg Oberspreewald-Lausitz 120,023
Wappen Landkreis Oder-Spree.svg Oder-Spree 182,798
Wappen des Landkreises Ostprignitz-Ruppin.svg Ostprignitz-Ruppin 102,108
Wappen Landkreis Potsdam-Mittelmark.png Potsdam-Mittelmark 205,678
Wappen des Landkreises Prignitz.svg Prignitz 80,872
Wappen Landkreis Spree-Neisse.png Spree-Neiße 124,662
Wappen des Landkreises Teltow-Flaming.svg Teltow-Fläming 161,546
DEU Landkreis Uckermark COA.svg Uckermark 128,174
DEU Brandenburg an der Havel COA.svg Stadt Brandenburg an der Havel 71,534
Wappen Cottbus.svg Stadt Cottbus 102,129
DEU Frankfurt (Oder) COA.svg Stadt Frankfurt (Oder) 60,002
Coat of arms of Potsdam.svg Stadt Potsdam 158,902

Government

The Brandenburg parliament building (Landtag) in Potsdam Potsdam Stadtschloss 07-2017.jpg
The Brandenburg parliament building (Landtag) in Potsdam
Dietmar Woidke, current Minister-President of Brandenburg Dietmar Woidke M-0212 36139 Ausschnitt Color Hoffotografen.jpg
Dietmar Woidke, current Minister-President of Brandenburg

The most recent election took place on 1 September 2019. A coalition government was formed by the Social Democrats, The Greens, and the Christian Democratic Union led by incumbent Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD), replacing the previous coalition between the Social Democrats and The Left. [21] The next ordinary state election will likely occur in autumn 2024. [22]

LandtagBrandenburg19.svg
PartyVotes %+/-Seats+/-Seats %
Social Democratic Party (SPD)331,23826.2Decrease2.svg5.725Decrease2.svg528.4
Alternative for Germany (AfD)297,48423.5Increase2.svg11.323Increase2.svg1226.1
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)196,98815.6Decrease2.svg7.415Decrease2.svg617.0
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)136,36410.8Increase2.svg4.610Increase2.svg411.4
The Left (Linke)135,55810.7Decrease2.svg7.910Decrease2.svg711.4
Brandenburg United Civic Movements/Free Voters (BVB/FW)63,8515.05Increase2.svg2.35Increase2.svg25.7
Free Democratic Party (FDP)51,6604.1Increase2.svg2.60±00
Human Environment Animal Protection 32,9592.6Increase2.svg2.60±00
Pirate Party Germany (Piraten)8,7120.7Decrease2.svg0.80±00
Others10,2920.80±00
Total1,265,106100.088±0
Voter turnout61.3Increase2.svg13.4

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 72.9 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 2.2% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 26,700 euros or 88% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 91% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the third lowest of all states in Germany. [23]

The unemployment rate stood at 5.6% in November 2022 and was higher than the German average but lower than the average of Eastern Germany. [24]

Year [25] 2000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021
Unemployment rate in %17.017.517.518.818.718.217.014.713.012.311.110.710.29.99.48.78.07.06.35.86.35.9

Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg is located in Brandenburg.

Transport

Berlin Schönefeld Airport (IATA code: SXF) was the largest airport in Brandenburg. It was the second largest international airport of the Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region and was located 18 km (11 mi) southeast of central Berlin in Schönefeld. The airport was a base for Condor, easyJet and Ryanair. In 2016, Schönefeld handled 11,652,922 passengers (an increase of 36.7%).

Schönefeld's existing infrastructure and terminals were incorporated into the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), [26] which opened in 2020. [27] Berlin Brandenburg Airport had an initial capacity of 35–40 million passengers a year. Due to increasing air traffic in Berlin and Brandenburg, plans for airport expansions were in the making.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport receives over sixty combined passenger, charter and cargo airlines.

Education and research

Higher education

The University of Potsdam Potsdam Sanssouci 07-2017 img3.jpg
The University of Potsdam

In 2016, around 49,000 students were enrolled in Brandenburg universities and higher education facilities. [28] The largest institution is the University of Potsdam, located southwest of Berlin. [29] In 2019 the state of Brandenburg adopted an Open Access strategy calling on universities to develop transformation strategies to make knowledge from Brandenburg freely accessible to all. [30]

Universities in Brandenburg:

Culture

Music

The Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach (original title: Six Concerts à plusieurs instruments) [31] are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, [32] in 1721 (though probably composed earlier). They are widely regarded as among the finest musical compositions of the Baroque era and are among the composer's best known works.

Cuisine

Spreewald gherkins Spreewaldgurke2.jpg
Spreewald gherkins

A famous speciality food from Brandenburg are the Spreewald gherkins. The wet soil of the Spreewald makes the region ideal for growing cucumbers. Spreewald gherkins are protected by the EU as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). They are one of the biggest exports of Brandenburg. [33]

Notable people

See also

Notes

  1. [ˈbʁandn̩bʊʁk] ; Low German: Brannenborg; Polabian: Branibor; Lower Sorbian: Bramborska [ˈbrambɔrska]
  2. German: Land Brandenburg; Low German: Land Brannenborg; Lower Sorbian: Kraj Bramborska

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulechów</span> Place in Lubusz Voivodeship, Poland

Sulechów is a town located within the Zielona Góra County, in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Sulechów. Established in the Middle Ages, the town features many historical monuments significant to the Polish Lubusz region. From 1975 to 1998 Sulechów was part of Zielona Góra Voivodeship. The town limits cover 6.88 square kilometres (2.66 sq mi). Olga Tokarczuk, the Nobel Prize in Literature winner for 2018 was born in 1962 in Sulechów.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margraviate of Brandenburg</span> Holy Roman Empire principality (1157–1806)

The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe.

The Uckermark is a historical region in northeastern Germany, which currently straddles the Uckermark District of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern-Greifswald District of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its traditional capital is Prenzlau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in Berlin</span> Overview of the transport in Berlin

Berlin has developed a highly complex transportation infrastructure providing very diverse modes of urban mobility. 979 bridges cross 197 kilometers of innercity waterways, 5,334 kilometres (3,314 mi) of roads run through Berlin, of which 73 kilometres (45 mi) are motorways. Long-distance rail lines connect Berlin with all of the major cities of Germany and with many cities in neighboring European countries. Regional rail lines provide access to the surrounding regions of Brandenburg and to the Baltic Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oder</span> River in Central Europe

The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows 742 kilometres (461 mi) through western Poland, later forming 187 kilometres (116 mi) of the border between Poland and Germany as part of the Oder–Neisse line. The river ultimately flows into the Szczecin Lagoon north of Szczecin and then into three branches that empty into the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region</span> Place in Germany

The Berlin/Brandenburg metropolitan region or capital region is one of eleven metropolitan regions of Germany, consisting of the entire territories of the state of Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg. The region covers an area of 30,545 square kilometres (11,793 sq mi) with a total population of about 6.2 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin</span> Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin

John of Brandenburg-Küstrin, was a member of the House of Hohenzollern and a Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin.

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