Luckenwalde

Luckenwalde
Market tower and St. John's Church
Coat of arms
Luckenwalde
Location of Luckenwalde within Teltow-Fläming district
Coordinates: 52°05′N 13°10′E / 52.083°N 13.167°ECoordinates: 52°05′N 13°10′E / 52.083°N 13.167°E
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Teltow-Fläming
Government
• Mayor	Elisabeth Herzog-von der Heide (SPD)
Area
• Total	46.75 km^2 (18.05 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
• Total	20,358
• Density	440/km^2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	14943
Dialling codes	03371
Vehicle registration	TF
Website	www.luckenwalde.de

Luckenwalde (German pronunciation: [lʊkənˈvaldə]; Upper Sorbian: Łukowc) is the capital of the Teltow-Fläming district in the German state of Brandenburg. It is situated on the Nuthe river north of the Fläming Heath, at the eastern rim of the Nuthe-Nieplitz Nature Park, about 50 km (31 mi) south of Berlin. The town area includes the villages of Frankenfelde and Kolzenburg.

Overview

Former hat factory

The former Slavic settlement of Lugkin was conquered by Margrave Conrad Wettin of Meissen in the course of the 1147 Wendish Crusade. Lukenwalde Castle was first mentioned in a 1216 deed as a burgward of the Bishopric of Brandenburg, it was acquired by Zinna Abbey in 1285. Together with Zinna it remained under the rule of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg and its successor, the Prussian Duchy of Magdeburg until it was attached to the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1773.

Originating in the 17th century, Luckenwalde's cloth and wool factories did not spring up till the reign of King Frederick II of Prussia and soon were among the most extensive in Germany. Other traditional industries were cotton printing and a dye works, brewing, and the making of metal and bronze goods. In 1808 Luckenwalde officially received town privileges.

By the turn of the 20th Century Luckenwalde became renowned as a key manufacturer of hats. In 1921 the two biggest hat ateliers, Herrmann and Steinberg, merged and set up their factory on an industrial estate in Luckenwalde. The factory was designed by German architect Erich Mendelsohn in 1923, the factory is considered a milestone of Expressionist architecture. The hat factory fell into disrepair during and after the war period and was restored in 2001, but as of 2013 the building remains empty.^[2]

During World War II, there was a Stalag for prisoners of war (Stalag IIIa). There was also a work camp for civilians. The Nazis forced people to work for their war effort or else the families of people who worked there would perish. Lack of food and hard work killed thousands. Among them were Poles, Italians, French and many more. There were several places in the town and surrounding areas where they worked. Luckenwalde was taken by the Red Army on 22 April 1945.

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 (Blue Line) and Forecasts

Luckenwalde:
Population development within the current boundaries (2013)^[3]

Year Population 1875 14 699 1890 19 173 1910 24 213 1925 25 625 1933 26 784 1939 29 383 1946 31 927 1950 31 668 1964 29 968 1971 29 700

Year Population 1981 27 957 1985 27 487 1989 27 096 1990 26 544 1991 25 688 1992 25 306 1993 24 983 1994 24 675 1995 24 185 1996 23 803

Year Population 1997 23 383 1998 23 052 1999 22 683 2000 22 389 2001 22 111 2002 21 813 2003 21 718 2004 21 570 2005 21 373 2006 21 176

Year Population 2007 20 902 2008 20 726 2009 20 637 2010 20 471 2011 20 230 2012 20 154 2013 20 185

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (Stadtverordnetenversammlung) as of 2014 elections:^[4]

• The Left: 10
• Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD): 9
• Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 6
• Bauernverband (BV): 1
• Free Democratic Party (FDP): 1
• National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD): 1

Born in Luckenwalde

• Hans Freudenthal, (1905-1990), mathematician
• Bernhard Kadenbach, (born 1933), biochemist
• Katherina Reiche, (born 1973), politician (CDU),
• Ilka Bessin, (born 1971), comedian (Cindy aus Marzahn),
• Rudi Dutschke (1940–1979), spokesman of the German 1968 student movement, was raised in Luckenwalde

International relations

Luckenwalde is twinned with:

• Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, France
• Bad Salzuflen, Germany

References

1. "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden 31. Dezember 2015 (Fortgeschriebene amtliche Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 2016.
2. Hat Factory on Architectuul
3. Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
4. "Municipal election 25.05.2014 - STVV Luckenwalde". Stadt Luckenwalde. Retrieved 19 October 2014.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "^{article name needed}". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

External links

Media related to Luckenwalde at Wikimedia Commons