Lübben (Spreewald) ( dsb, Lubin (Błota)) is a town of 14,000 people, capital of the

Dahme-Spreewald Dahme-Spreewald ( dsb, Wokrejs Damna-Błota) is a district in Brandenburg, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Oder-Spree, Spree-Neiße, Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Elbe-Elster and Teltow-Fläming, and by the city o ...

district in the Lower Lusatia region of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Administrative structure

Districts of the town are: * Lübben Stadt (Lower Sorbian: ''Lubin město'') * Hartmannsdorf (''Hartmanojce'') * Lubolz (''Lubolc'') ** Groß Lubolz (''Wjelike Lubolce'') ** Klein Lubolz (''Małe Lubolce'') * Neuendorf (''Nowa Wjas'') * Radensdorf (''Radom''; ''Radowašojce'') * Steinkirchen (''Kamjena'') * Treppendorf (''Ranchow'')

History

The castle of ''Lubin'' in the

March of Lusatia The March or Margraviate of Lusatia (german: Mark(grafschaft) Lausitz) was as an eastern border march of the Holy Roman Empire in the lands settled by Polabian Slavs. It arose in 965 in the course of the partition of the vast '' Marca Geronis''. ...

was first mentioned in an 1150 register of Nienburg Abbey and had received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

according to Magdeburg law by 1220. From 1301 the town in the centre of the

Spreewald The Spree Forest (German: ''Spreewald'', ; Lower Sorbian: ''Błota'', i.e. 'the Swamps') is a large inland delta of the river Spree, and a historical cultural landscape located in the region of (Lower) Lusatia, in the state of Brandenburg, Germ ...

floodplain was in the possession of the monks of

Dobrilugk Abbey Dobrilugk Abbey (Kloster Dobrilugk) was a Cistercian monastery in Lower Lusatia in the territory of the present town of Doberlug-Kirchhain, Brandenburg, Germany. History The abbey was legally founded on 1 May 1165 by charter of Margrave Dietr ...

, who sold it to Duke Rudolph I of

Saxe-Wittenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg () was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. The Ascanian dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity unt ...

in 1329. After several conflicts with the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

margraves of

the March of Lusatia was finally acquired by Emperor

Charles IV of Luxembourg Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

in 1367 who incorporated Lübben into the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

. In the 15th century Lübben became the seat of the Bohemian ''

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' administrator and the provincial diet ''(

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non ...

)'' of Lower Lusatia. In 1526 the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

inherited the Bohemian kingdom including Lusatia, which in 1623 Ferdinand II of Habsburg had to give in pawn to Elector John George I of Saxony. The Saxon Electorate finally acquired Lübben by signing the 1635 Peace of Prague. After the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

it again fell to the Prussian

province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg (german: Provinz Brandenburg) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg ...

by the final act of the 1815

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, a prisoner of war camp, Oflag III-C, was located in Lubben and hosted French officers. Lübben was taken by Soviet troops of the 3rd Guards Army on 27 April 1945.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Lübben.pdf, 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) File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Lübben.pdf, Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the

Census in Germany A national census in Germany (german: Volkszählung) was held every five years from 1875 to 1910. After the World Wars, only a few full population censuses have been held, the last in 1987. The most recent census, though not a national census, w ...

in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2020-2030 (green line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly ''(Stadtverordnetenversammlung)'' as of 2008 elections: * Christian Democratic Union: 7 *

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been ...

: 5 * The Left: 5 * PRO Lübben (Independent): 4 * Free Democratic Party: 1 Lübben is twinned with Wolsztyn in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and Neunkirchen, Saarland in Germany. Luebben Gut Neuhaus

Places of interest

biosphere reserve * Lübben Castle, on medieval foundations, rebuilt in the 17th century under the rule of Duke Christian I of Saxe-Merseburg * Neuhaus Manor in Steinkirchen, built in 1801, former residence of author Christoph Ernst von Houwald from 1822 on * Romanesque St Pancras

fieldstone church A fieldstone church (german: Feldsteinkirche) is a type of church, built using fieldstone of glacial erratics and glacial rubble. Such cathedrals and monasteries occur mostly in areas where the ice ages have deposited such rock material on the on ...

in Steinkirchen built in the early 13th century, one of the oldest preserved churches in Lower Lusatia * Paul Gerhardt Church from the 16th century, where

Paul Gerhardt Paul Gerhardt (12 March 1607 – 27 May 1676) was a German theologian, Lutheran minister and hymnodist. Biography Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. His father died in ...

preached from 1669 on * Roman Catholic Trinity Church, built in 1862

Notable people

Born in Lübben

Hans Peter Bull Hans Peter Bull (born 17 October 1936) is a German constitutional lawyer and jurist. He served between 1978 and 1985 as West Germany's first Federal Commissioner for Data Protection. It was widely believed that he was appointed at the eleven ...

(born 1936), German constitutional lawyer and jurist *

Karin Büttner-Janz Karin Büttner-Janz ( Janz, born 17 February 1952) is a German medical doctor who won world and Olympic gold medals in artistic gymnastics for East Germany. From 1990 to 2012, she was chief physician of clinics in Berlin, Germany. She has a ...

(born 1952 in Hartmannsdorf), German Olympic medal winner in artistic gymnastics and habilitated doctor * Henry Eugene Fritz (1875–1956), American painter * Hans Walter Gruhle (1880–1958), German psychiatrist * Louis Klopsch (1852–1910), American author and editor of the ''

Christian Herald The ''Christian Herald'' was an American weekly newspaper reporting on topics relevant to Evangelical Christianity, with an emphasis on engaging with humanitarian causes at home and abroad. It was inspired by the London-based newspaper which ceas ...

'' *

Sylvio Kroll Sylvio Kroll (born 29 April 1965 in Lübben) is a German former gymnast who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics and in the 1992 Summer Olympics. In October 1986, he was awarded a Star of People's Friendship The Star of People's Friendship ...

(born 1965), German Olympic medal winner in artistic gymnastics * Kornelia Kunisch (born 1959), German handball player, 1980 olympic bronze medal with the East German team *

Christian Lillinger Christian Lillinger (born 21 April 1984) is a German drummer, composer and percussionist. He was born in Lübben, grew up in the German village of Kuschkow, and has been living in Berlin since 2003 working as a musician and composer. Christian h ...

(born 1984), German musician and composer * Karl Otto von Manteuffel (1806-1879), German politician, prussian agriculture minister * Otto Theodor von Manteuffel (1805–1882), German politician, Minister-President of Prussia * Rudolf Marloth (1855–1931), South African botanist, pharmacist and analytical chemist * Ella Mensch (1859–1935), German writer, journalist, teacher, feminist and editor * Richard Constantin Noschke (1867–1945), diary of his World War I Alexandra Palace internment sufferings in Imperial War Museum, London. *

Thorsten Rund Thorsten Rund (born 25 February 1976 in Lübben) is a German former professional road and track cyclist. He competed in the points race at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also rode in the 2003 Vuelta a España, finishing 142nd overall. Major resul ...

(born 1976), German cyclist * Carl Siegemund Schönebeck (1758–1806), German composer and cellist * Lavinia Schulz (1896–1924), German dancer and actress *

Ingo Spelly Ingo Spelly (born 6 November 1966 in Lübben, Brandenburg) is an East German-German sprint canoer who competed from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won three medals with one gold (C-2 1000 ...

(born 1966), East German-German sprint canoer, Olympic champion

Related to Lübben

(1607–1676), German hymn writer, 1668 till his death archdeacon of Lübben * Renate Holm (1931–2022), German-Austrian film actress and operatic soprano, school in Lübben * Christoph Ernst von Houwald (1778–1845), German dramatist and author, died at Neuhaus * Götz von Houwald (1913–2001), German diplomat, historian and ethnographer, completed his secondary education in Lübben * Albert Naumann (1875–1952), German fencer, died in Lübben * Jens Riewa (born 1963), German television presenter and broadcast news analyst for the Tagesschau, grew up in Lübben *

Immanuel Johann Gerhard Scheller Immanuel Johann Gerhard Scheller (22 March 1735, in Ihlow – 5 July 1803, in Brieg) was a German classical philologist and lexicographer. From 1757 he studied theology and classical philology at the University of Leipzig, and following gradua ...

(1735–1803), German classical philologist and lexicographer, teacher in Lübben *

Daniel Ziebig Daniel Ziebig (born 21 January 1983) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a left-back. Career Born in Elsterwerda, East Germany, Ziebig began his career with Dynamo Dresden, making his debut in 2001, wh ...

(born 1983), German footballer, used to live in Lübben * We Butter the Bread with Butter, German deathcore band formed in 2007

References

External links

Lübben (Spreewald)
– official website
Old postcards of Lübben
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lubben Spreewald Localities in Dahme-Spreewald