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Frankfurt (Oder)

Coordinates: 52°20′31″N 14°33′06″E / 52.341944°N 14.551667°E / 52.341944; 14.551667
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This article is about the town in Brandenburg. For the city in Hesse, see Frankfurt. For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation).

Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt an der Oder
Frankfort an de Oder
Town
Clockwise from top: St Mary's Church, Church of Peace, skyline with St Mary's, Oder Tower and city hall, view of the Oder from City Bridge, St Gertrude's Church, view of the city from Słubice
Flag of Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfort an de Oder
Flag
Coat of arms of Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfort an de Oder
Coat of arms
Location of Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt an der Oder
Frankfort an de Oder
Map
Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfort an de Oder is located in Germany
Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfort an de Oder
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt an der Oder
Frankfort an de Oder
Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfort an de Oder is located in Brandenburg
Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfort an de Oder
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt an der Oder
Frankfort an de Oder
Coordinates: 52°20′31″N 14°33′06″E / 52.341944°N 14.551667°E / 52.341944; 14.551667
CountryGermany
StateBrandenburg
DistrictUrban district
Government
 • Lord mayor (2018–26) René Wilke[1] (Left)
Area
 • Total
147.61 km2 (56.99 sq mi)
Highest elevation
135 m (443 ft)
Lowest elevation
19 m (62 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total
58,230
 • Density390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
15201–15236
Dialling codes0335
Vehicle registrationFF
Websitewww.frankfurt-oder.de

Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (German: [ˈfʁaŋkfʊʁt ʔan deːɐ̯ ˈʔoːdɐ]; Central Marchian: Frankfort an de Oder; lit. Frankfurt on the Oder) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inhabitants, it is the largest German city on the Oder River, and one of the easternmost cities in Germany. Frankfurt sits on the western bank of the Oder, opposite the Polish town of Słubice, which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945, and called Dammvorstadt until then. The city is located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of Berlin, in the south of the historical region Lubusz Land. Within Frankfurt's city limits lies the recreational area Lake Helenesee.

The name of the city makes reference to the Franks, and means Ford of the Franks, and there appears a Gallic rooster in the coats of arms of Frankfurt and Słubice. The official name Frankfurt (Oder) and the older Frankfurt an der Oder are used to distinguish it from the larger city of Frankfurt am Main.

The city's recorded history began in the 13th century as a West Slavic settlement. During its history, it was successively part of the Kingdom of Poland, the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the Bohemian Crown, Prussia and Germany. After World War II, the eastern part of Frankfurt became part of Poland under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement and was renamed to Słubice, while the western part of Frankfurt became a border city of the German Democratic Republic in 1949.

During the communist era, Frankfurt reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants at the end of the 1980s. Following German reunification, the population decreased significantly, but has stabilized in recent years at about 58,000 inhabitants. As of 2020, the city plays an important role in German–Polish relations and European integration. Frankfurt is home to the European University Viadrina, which has a campus in Słubice, the Collegium Polonicum.

History

Middle Ages

The Church of Peace, the city's oldest church, was founded under Polish rule and completed under German rule

Prior to 1249, a West Slavic settlement named Zliwitz along with the Lubusz Land was part of the Kingdom of Poland. The Piast duke Henry the Bearded granted Zliwitz staple rights in 1225.[3] In 1226, construction of the St. Nicholas Church (today's Friedenskirche) began. In 1249, the settlement became part of the Margraviate of Brandenburg.

The town of Frankfurt received its charter in 1253 at the Brandendamm. The early settlers lived on the western banks of the Oder; later the town was extended to the eastern bank. After a war broke out over control of the region in 1319, the town came under the control of the Duchy of Pomerania. In 1319, Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania, granted new privileges to the town.[4] The town fell again to Brandenburg in 1324. In the Late Middle Ages, the town dominated the river trade between Wrocław and Szczecin. From 1373 to 1415, along with Brandenburg, it was part of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. In 1430, Frankfurt joined the Hanseatic League. In 1432, the Czech Hussites captured the town.[5]

Modern era

Frankfurt in the 16th century

In April 1631, during the Thirty Years' War, Frankfurt was the site of the Battle of Frankfurt an der Oder between the Swedish Empire and the Holy Roman Empire.[6] After a two-day siege, Swedish forces, supported by Scottish auxiliaries,[7] stormed the town and destroyed many buildings, e.g. the Georgen Hospital.[6] The result was a Swedish victory.[6][7] By the end of the Thirty Years' War, the town's population had decreased from 12,000 inhabitants to 2,366 inhabitants.[8]

Battle of Frankfurt an der Oder

In the 16th century the oldest church of the town (today's Friedenskirche) was secularized and was even used as a granary, and from the 17th century it served as the church of the French Huguenots.[9]

The city was briefly occupied by the Russian Imperial Army during the Seven Years' War, in August 1759, in the prelude to the battle of Kunersdorf.[10]

With the dissolution of the Margraviate of Brandenburg during the Napoleonic Wars, Frankfurt became part of the Province of Brandenburg in 1815. In the 19th century, Frankfurt played an important role in trade. Centrally positioned in the Kingdom of Prussia between Berlin and Posen (Poznań), on the river Oder with its heavy traffic, the town housed the second-largest annual trade fair (Messe) of the German Reich, surpassed only by that in Leipzig. One of the main escape routes for insurgents of the unsuccessful Polish November Uprising from partitioned Poland to the Great Emigration led through the city.[11] In 1842, the Berlin–Frankfurt (Oder) railway was opened.[12]

World War II and recent history

The Einsatzgruppe VI was formed in the town before it entered several Polish cities, including Poznań, Kalisz and Leszno, to commit various crimes against Poles during the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II.[13] During World War II the Germans brought numerous forced laborers, both men and women, from Poland and the Soviet Union to the town.[14] In early 1945, death marches of prisoners of various nationalities from the dissolved camps in Żabikowo and Świecko to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp passed through the city.[15][16] There was no fighting for the town in 1945 during World War II even though the town was declared a fortress (Festung) in an attempt to block the Red Army's route to Berlin. The nearly empty town was burned down by the Red Army. The postwar East German–Polish border ran along the Oder, separating the Dammvorstadt on the eastern bank – which became the Polish town of Słubice – from the rest of Frankfurt. While part of communist East Germany, Frankfurt was administered within Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder). It became part of the reconstituted state of Brandenburg with German reunification in 1990.

In the post-communist era, following the collapse of its main employer VEB Halbleiterwerk, Frankfurt has suffered from high unemployment and low economic growth. Its population has fallen significantly from around 87,000 at the time of German reunification in 1990. The only remnant of semiconductor technology industries in Frankfurt by 2003 was the Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics (IHPM) institute.

Today, the towns of Frankfurt and Słubice have friendly relations and run several common projects and facilities. Poland joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, and implemented the Schengen Agreement on 21 December 2007 leading to the removal of permanent border controls.

In March 2008, the Jewish community of Frankfurt celebrated its first Torah dedication since the Holocaust. The procession of the new Torah scroll began from the spot where the town's Frankfurter Synagogue stood prior to World War II, 500 meters from Germany's current border with Poland. Celebrants marched with the scroll into the town's Chabad-Lubavitch centre, where they danced with the Torah, which had been donated by members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community in Berlin.[17]

Demography

View from the Oderturm
  • Development of population since 1875 within the current boundaries (blue line: population; dotted line: comparison to population development of Brandenburg state)
    Development of population since 1875 within the current boundaries (blue line: population; dotted line: comparison to population development of Brandenburg state)
  • Recent population development and projections (population development before Census 2011 (blue line); recent population development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); official projections for 2005–2030 (yellow line); for 2017–2030 (scarlet line); for 2020–2030 (green line)
    Recent population development and projections (population development before Census 2011 (blue line); recent population development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); official projections for 2005–2030 (yellow line); for 2017–2030 (scarlet line); for 2020–2030 (green line)
Frankfurt (Oder): Population development
within the current boundaries (2020)[18]
YearPop.±% p.a.
1875 43,491—    
1890 50,108+0.95%
1910 59,905+0.90%
1925 62,044+0.23%
1933 65,717+0.72%
1939 66,962+0.31%
1946 54,153−2.99%
1950 55,514+0.62%
1964 60,163+0.58%
1971 64,484+1.00%
1981 81,009+2.31%
1985 85,593+1.39%
1989 87,126+0.44%
1990 86,171−1.10%
1991 85,357−0.94%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1992 84,937−0.49%
1993 83,850−1.28%
1994 82,323−1.82%
1995 80,807−1.84%
1996 79,784−1.27%
1997 77,891−2.37%
1998 75,710−2.80%
1999 73,832−2.48%
2000 72,131−2.30%
2001 70,308−2.53%
2002 68,351−2.78%
2003 67,014−1.96%
2004 65,242−2.64%
2005 63,748−2.29%
2006 62,594−1.81%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2007 61,969−1.00%
2008 61,286−1.10%
2009 60,625−1.08%
2010 60,330−0.49%
2011 59,063−2.10%
2012 58,537−0.89%
2013 58,018−0.89%
2014 57,649−0.64%
2015 58,092+0.77%
2016 58,193+0.17%
2017 58,237+0.08%
2018 57,873−0.63%
2019 57,751−0.21%
2020 57,015−1.27%

European university

Viadrina European University, with the tower of the Marienkirche
Main article: Viadrina European University

The Margraviate of Brandenburg's first university was Frankfurt's Alma Mater Viadrina, founded in 1506 by Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg. An early chancellor, Bishop Georg von Blumenthal (1490–1550), was a notable opponent of the Protestant Reformation, as he remained a Catholic. Frankfurt also trained the noted archbishop Albert of Brandenburg around 1510, who also became a vocal opponent of the Reformation. The university was closed in 1811, and its assets divided between two new universities founded under King Frederick William III: Frederick William University of Berlin, presently Humboldt University; and the Silesian Frederick William University in Breslau, presently the University of Wrocław.

The university was refounded in 1991 with a European emphasis as the Viadrina European University, in close cooperation with the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań; they jointly run the Collegium Polonicum in Słubice.

Transport

Main railway station

The Frankfurt (Oder) Bahnhof is a station served by the Berlin-Warszawa-Express and has regular regional connections to Magdeburg and Cottbus. Within the city, there is a network of five tram lines.

Sport

1. FC Frankfurt is the town's local football team.

International relations

Aerial view of Frankfurt with Słubice across the Oder River

Frankfurt (Oder), being located on the border to Poland, plays a special role in connection with German–Polish relations and European integration. The European University Viadrina has one of its buildings in Poland, in the neighbouring town of Słubice. The university also has a number of projects and initiatives dedicated to bringing Poland and Germany together, and offers its students pro bono Polish courses.

Another project that contributes to German–Polish integration in Frankfurt (Oder) is the Fforst House,[19] a German-Polish student project, which has been granted support by the town's administration[20] and by the Viadrina,[21] having been described by the former president of the university, Gesine Schwan, as the place where "Europe begins".[22]

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Frankfurt (Oder) is twinned with:[23]

Notable people

Public service & commerce

Hermann von Wissmann
René Wilke, 2016

The arts

Heinrich von Kleist

Military

Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf

Science

A monument in Berlin to Adolf Bardeleben

Sport

Klaus Köste, 1963

Films set in Frankfurt

In recent years, Frankfurt has been the setting for several notable German films:

  • Halbe Treppe (Grill Point, 2002)
  • Lichter (Distant Lights, 2003)
  • Die Kinder sind tot (The Children Are Dead, a documentary about a 1999 murder-by-neglect in Frankfurt, 2004)
  • No Exit (2004, documentary about Neo-Nazis)
  • Kombat Sechzehn (Combat Sixteen, 2005)
  • The Gothic town hall
    The Gothic town hall
  • The town archives and the C.P.E. Bach Concert Hall
    The town archives and the C.P.E. Bach Concert Hall
  • St Gertraud's Church
    St Gertraud's Church
  • Neo-Gothic post office
    Neo-Gothic post office
  • The Oder bridge linking Frankfurt with Słubice
    The Oder bridge linking Frankfurt with Słubice
  • View of northern Frankfurt river front
    View of northern Frankfurt river front
  • Brick Gothic St. Mary's Church
    Brick Gothic St. Mary's Church
  • Große Scharrnstraße, rebuilt in the late 1980s
    Große Scharrnstraße, rebuilt in the late 1980s
  • The Paulinenhof settlement, built in the 1920s for railway employees
    The Paulinenhof settlement, built in the 1920s for railway employees
  • The Flutstein, Oderpromenade.
    The Flutstein, Oderpromenade.
  • Nicolaus Copernicus monument
    Nicolaus Copernicus monument
  • Kleist Memorial
    Kleist Memorial
  • Red Army monument
    Red Army monument

See also

References

  1. ^ Ergebnis der Oberbürgermeisterwahl in Frankfurt (Oder), accessed 30 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerungsentwicklung und Bevölkerungsstandim Land Brandenburg Dezember 2022" (PDF). Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). June 2023.
  3. ^ Märkische Oderzeitung/Frankfurter Stadtbote, 7. Juli 2006, p. 15.
  4. ^ Rymar, Edward (1979). "Rywalizacja o ziemię lubuską i kasztelanię międzyrzecką w latach 1319–1326, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem stosunków pomorsko-śląskch". Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka (in Polish). XXXIV (4). Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk: 481.
  5. ^ Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom II (in Polish). Warszawa. 1881. p. 402.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ a b c Bröckling (1998), p.57
  7. ^ a b Mackillop (2003), p.64
  8. ^ Christopher Clark: Preußen, p. 58
  9. ^ "Friedenskirche Frankfurt (Oder)". Seenland Oder-Spree (in German). Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  10. ^ Anisimov, Evgeniǐ Viktorovich (1995) Empress Elizabeth: Her Reign and Her Russia, 1741–1761 Academic International Press, p. 132. ISBN 0875691404
  11. ^ Umiński, Janusz (1998). "Losy internowanych na Pomorzu żołnierzy powstania listopadowego". Jantarowe Szlaki (in Polish). No. 4 (250). p. 16.
  12. ^ "Chronology of the Berlin-Frankfurter (O) Railway" (in German). EPILOGmedia. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  13. ^ Wardzyńska, Maria (2009). Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion (in Polish). Warszawa: IPN. p. 60.
  14. ^ "Frankfurt (Oder)" (in German). Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Ewakuacja piesza". Muzeum Martyrologiczne w Żabikowie (in Polish). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Świecko (Lager Schwetig): Odnaleziono szczątki 21 osób". Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (in Polish). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  17. ^ "German Border Town Gets First Torah Since World War II". Chabad.org News. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  18. ^ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
  19. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Idealistic students transform tower block into a community | DW | 22 May 2010". DW.COM. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  20. ^ "Ad-hoc-news.de". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  21. ^ Euv-frankfurt-o.de
  22. ^ Berlinonline.de
  23. ^ "Partnerstädte". frankfurt-oder.de (in German). Frankfurt an der Oder. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  24. ^ Justus Hashagen (1911). "Puttkammer, Robert von" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.).
  25. ^ "Kleist, Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 845–846.
  26. ^ "Werner, Anton Alexander von" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 523.
  27. ^ "Albinus, Bernhard Siegfried" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 511.

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Frankfurt (Oder) (category)
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Frankfort-on-Oder".
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