Seelow () is a German town, seat of the

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 ...

, a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

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 ...

. As of 2013 its population was of 5,464.

Geography

It is situated in the extreme east of

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 ...

, 70 km (40 miles) east of

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 ...

, 16 km (10 miles) west of the border with

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 ...

History

The village appears in the records held in 1252 by Archbishop Wilbrand of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. At that time, listed as ''Villa Zelou'', it was included in the property of the formerly Polish Bishopric of Lebus (

Lubusz Land Lubusz Land (; ) is a historical region and cultural landscape in Poland and Germany on both sides of the Oder river. Originally the settlement area of the Lechites, the swampy area was located east of Margraviate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and ...

), contested between the Magdeburg archbishops and the Ascanian margraves of

. Seelow suffered damaging town fires in 1630, 1788 and again in 1809. From 1816 Seelow was included for administrative purposes in the , a subdivision of the Frankfurt Region within the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...

. In 1863 the district council office was relocated to Seelow and in 1950 "Lebus district" was renamed "Seelow district"; following frontier changes agreed with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1945, the town of

Lebus Lebus () is a historic town in the Märkisch-Oderland District of Brandenburg, Germany. It is the administrative seat of ''Amt'' ("collective municipality") Amt Lebus, Lebus. The town, located on the west bank of the Oder river at the border with ...

itself had lost to

much of the agricultural area that had traditionally supported it. Between 1952 and 1993, Seelow was the administrative centre for the within the larger Frankfurt territory. Seelow was the location of one of the last major

pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...

s in Europe during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

- the Battle of the Seelow Heights. In this battle, from 16 to 19 April 1945, Soviet troops under

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Zhukov opened the way to

. By the time the slaughter was over the town was largely destroyed, primarily through a major air attack which took place on 17 April 1945, and which was followed by extensive burning and plunder.

Cultural references

Because of its importance in the Second World War, Seelow is today featured in many video games, books and films. Seelow is a playable map in the popular video game Call of Duty: World at War. The Battle of the Seelow Heights is featured extensively in

Men of War ''Men of War'' is a real-time tactics video game franchise, based mainly in World War II. Main series ''Soldiers: Heroes of World War II'' ''Soldiers: Heroes of World War II'' is the original game of the ''Men of War'' series, and uses an ea ...

. The planet Тзаэло (Tzaelow) in the

Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987 ...

universe is a likely reference to the town of Seelow, particularly the way that the battle is fought.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Seelow.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 Seelow.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 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)

Twin towns – sister cities

Seelow is twinned with: *

Moers Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; Dutch language, Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German List of cities and towns in Germany, city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel (distric ...

, Germany (1990) *

Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (translated literally as Kostrzyn upon the Oder; ; ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, on the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia Lubus ...

, Poland (1998) *

Międzychód Międzychód (, ) is a town in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, the administrative seat of Międzychód County. It is located on the southern shore of the Warta river, about west of Poznań. Population is 10,844 (2010). History The town w ...

, Poland (1998) *

Nangis Nangis () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. Nangis station has rail connections to Provins, Longueville and Paris. Coa ...

, France (1998)

References

External links

{{Authority control Localities in Märkisch-Oderland