Oder-Spree is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the eastern part of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Neighboring are (from north clockwise) the district

Märkisch-Oderland Märkisch-Oderland is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the eastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring this district are (from the north clockwise) the district of Barnim, the country of Poland, the district-free city of Frankfurt (Oder), the d ...

, the district-free city

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, the districts

Spree-Neiße Spree-Neiße (, ; Polish language, Polish: ''Powiat Sprewa-Nysa,'' ) is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the south clockwise) the districts Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis an ...

and

Dahme-Spreewald Dahme-Spreewald (, ) 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 of Berlin. History Th ...

, and the ''Bundesland''

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Geography

The district is named after the two major rivers in the district - the Spree river forms a large bend within the district; the

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

river constitutes the eastern border.

History

The district was created in 1993 by merging the districts Eisenhüttenstadt, Beeskow and Fürstenwalde, and the district-free city Eisenhüttenstadt.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Landkreis Oder-Spree.pdf, Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state) File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Landkreis Oder-Spree.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 (, ) 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, was the 2011 Europea ...

in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2014-2030 (red line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows symbols for the three former districts which make up the district. In the top left quarter is the coat of arms of the Bishops of Lebus, who had their seat in Fürstenwalde. The second quarter shows the checkered bar of the

Cistercian Order The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

as the symbol of the Abbey of Neuzelle, who until 1817 owned most of the territory which later became the district Eisenhüttenstadt. The two quarters in the bottom symbolize the former district Beeskow. The three knives in the left are the symbol of the Lords of Strehla, the deer antler the symbol of the Lords of Biberstein, who in 1317 succeeded the Lords of Strehla as the Lords of Beeskow and Storkow.

Towns and municipalities

The capital of the district is

Beeskow Beeskow (; , ;) is a town in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, and capital of the Oder-Spree district. It is situated on the river Spree (river), Spree, 30 km southwest of Frankfurt an der Oder. History In 1518 the town was purchased by the Di ...

, but Fürstenwalde is the biggest town, with a population of 31,000 people.

Geography

History

Demography

Coat of arms

Towns and municipalities

See also

References

External links