Brandenburg Province

Prussian State Core

From the very beginning, Brandenburg was an integral part of the Prussian state. As early as 1618, the Brandenburg Hohenzollerns inherited the Prussian duchy , as a result of which a personal union of Brandenburg-Prussia was formed and the electors of Brandenburg simultaneously became the dukes of Prussia.

After the Brandenburg Elector Frederick III proclaimed himself King of Prussia in 1701, thereby turning the Duchy of Prussia into a kingdom , the name Prussia gradually spread to all the domains of the Hohenzollern, both within and outside the Holy Roman Empire , although formally related only to the possessions of the Prussian king outside the Holy Roman Empire. However, other possessions of the Prussian king, belonging to the Holy Roman Empire, until its collapse in 1806 were not formally territories of the Kingdom of Prussia.

Reorganization of Prussian provinces

In 1815, at the end of the Congress of Vienna after the liberation wars, the territory of Prussia was significantly increased. In order to better organize the territory of the state in Prussia, an administrative reform was carried out, implying a complete reorganization of the provincial division and the establishment of the post of chief president in the provinces.

The province of Brandenburg within its new frontier became one of the ten newly organized provinces and included the Elector of Brandenburg with Neumark east of Oder , but without Altmark west of Elba (which was incorporated into the province of Saxony ). In addition, the Lower Lusatia was also included in the new province of Brandenburg. The government residence was first located in Potsdam , then in 1827-1843 - in Berlin, in 1843-1918 - again in Potsdam, then in Charlottenburg , which in 1920 became a Berlin district .

On the territory of the province in 1815/1816, three administrative districts were created:

• Administrative district of Frankfurt , center - Frankfurt an der Oder
• Administrative District Potsdam , Center - Potsdam
• Administrative District of Berlin , Center - Berlin

However, already in 1821, the district of Berlin was abolished and annexed to the district of Potsdam. In 1880, Berlin formally withdrew from the province of Brandenburg, receiving the right to self-government, although the city did not regain the official status of the province.

In 1920, the territories of Potsdam district adjacent to Berlin were incorporated into the city limits of the new Greater Berlin , including the city of Charlottenburg , which housed the government of the province of Brandenburg.

In the Third Reich

After the national socialists came to power and the beginning of the glahihshaltunga policy, the provinces practically lost their significance. From that time on, the functions of the ober-president of Brandenburg were transferred to the gauleiters of the party gaun Brandenburg .

After liquidation in 1938 of the province of Posen-West Prussia , the districts of Schwerin-on-Warta , Mezeritz and partly Bomst were included in the province of Brandenburg, and Brandenburg respectively transferred the Pomerania provinces of Friedeberg and Arnswalde . From March 21, 1939, the province officially began to bear the historical name of the Brandenburg brand ( German Provinz Mark Brandenburg ).

After World War II

In accordance with the decisions of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, the eastern part of Brandenburg (most of the district of Frankfurt) through the Oder-Neisse line went to Poland and is now part of the Lubusz Voivodeship .

The western part of the former province of Brandenburg (without Berlin) in 1946 formed the land of Brandenburg as part of the Soviet occupation zone , which in 1949 became one of the lands of the German Democratic Republic . However, already in 1952, as a result of the administrative reform in the GDR, all lands were liquidated, and in their place 15 districts were formed. After the reunification of Germany in 1990, the modern state of Brandenburg was re-formed, which, however, is somewhat different in its borders from its predecessor. Neither in the educated in 1946, nor in the Brandenburg reestablished in 1990, the administrative districts were no longer created.

In the device surface of Brandenburg, two rows of hills and two rows of lowlands appeared very clearly. Between the two lowlands - a wide, flat, barely elevated plain, indented by many rivers and canals and covered with swamps and lakes. Vast expanses of pine forests and heather. Sandy soils prevailed; on elevations, the soil is clayey with a slight admixture of black earth. The largest river in the province was the Oder, with its tributaries the Warta , Netz , Stobers, Wels , Finows, Neisse and Bober . In total, there were up to 600 lakes in the province with a total water area of ​​580 square meters. km Brandenburg ranked first among other Prussian provinces in the development of waterways ^[1] .

Important branches of the mining industry in Brandenburg were the extraction of peat , brown coal, lime, gypsum, rock salt and clay. Extensive forests - mostly pine, but also deciduous, delivered a lot of forest material. The main agricultural products of the province were barley and rye, partly wheat, then buckwheat and fodder. Potatoes, sugar beetroot, flax, hemp, madder and blueberry were also cultivated, and also rapeseed, mainly in large estates. Cultivated and tobacco . Cattle breeding was also a significant branch of agriculture. Brandenburg was the main supplier of wool in Prussia, and the best varieties of wool were considered the most excellent in the world. Significantly developed fishing , hunting and beekeeping . Sericulture also reached a known value ^[1] .

Factory activity in the province has received extraordinary development in recent times . In addition to Berlin, the centers of manufacturing were the cities of Potsdam , Spandau , Brandenburg , Rathenov , Oranienburg , Neustadt-Eberswalde , Prenzlau , Luckenwalde , Jüterbog , Frankfurt , Landsberg , Sternberg, Sommerfeld , Cottbus , Luckuku , Ikefu , Ikefu , Ikefu , Ikefu , Imerau , Ikefu , Imerau , Ikefu , I am Zemfeld , Landsberg , Sternberg, Sombergberg , Sommerfeld , Cottbus , Luckenwalde , Luckenwalde , Luckenwald The most significant branches of factory activity in the province were wool, cloth and linen production, the fabrication of silk and semi-silk fabrics and dyeing them. Also in the province there were many factories that produce weaved goods, shawls, printed calico, paper tissue. There were also significant tanneries, tobacco factories, steam mills, engineering plants, bronze factories, iron and iron factories, copper and brass plants, glass and porcelain factories, clay factories, chemical laboratories, soap and candle factories. Distillation was also very significant, especially the potato one ^[1] .

Statistics

In 1880, the city of Berlin was separated from the province of Brandenburg into an independent administrative unit, although it was not elevated to the rank of an independent province. Thus, the territory of Brandenburg without Berlin amounted to 39,838 km² in 1881 (together with Berlin - 39,893 km²). The population of Brandenburg (without Berlin) in 1885 was 2.342.411 people, most of whom were Germans with the exception of about 45 thousand Vendians in Lower Lusatia . The vast majority of the population (almost 2.3 million people) provinces belonged to Protestants. There were also about 58 thousand Catholics and 12 thousand Jews ^[1] .

The territory and population of the province of Brandenburg in 1900: ^[2]

In 1920, the territory of Berlin was significantly expanded at the expense of the surrounding areas. To the old Berlin’s population of 1.9 million people, about 1.9 million more people were added, including 1.2 million people from 7 formerly independent cities, such as, for example, Charlottenburg , Spandau , Schöneberg and Köpenick . Thus, Greater Berlin covered an area of ​​878 km².

Territory and population of the province of Brandenburg in 1925: ^[3]

Religious composition of the population in 1925: 92.1% - Protestants; 5.3% - Catholics; 0.1% - other Christian denominations; 0.3% are Jews; 2.1% - other confessions ^[3] .

The area and population of the province and its individual administrative districts as of May 17, 1939 within the borders of January 1, 1941 and the number of districts as of January 1, 1941: ^[4]

Urban and rural population

According to the census of 1925 ^[3] and as of May 17, 1939 ^{[4], the} distribution of the population by various types of settlements, depending on their size by the total number of inhabitants:

The largest cities in the province of Brandenburg were (according to 1925): ^[3]

• Frankfurt an der Oder (Frankfurt County) - 70.884 people.
• Potsdam ( Potsdam district) - 64.203 people.
• Brandenburg (Potsdam district) - 59.297 people.
• Cottbus (district of Frankfurt) - 50,432 people.
• Landsberg (Frankfurt County) - 43,303 people
• Guben (district of Frankfurt) - 40,636 people
• Forst (district of Frankfurt) - 35.962 people.

The post of chief president was introduced in Prussia in accordance with the decree of April 30, 1815, on improving the organization of provincial administration ( German: Verordnung wegen verbesserter Einrichtung der Provinzial-Behörden ).

• Pestalozziverein der Provinz Brandenburg (Hrsg.): Die Provinz Brandenburg in Wort und Bild , Berlin W 9, Verlag von Julius Klinkhardt, 1900; (Reprint: Weltbild Verlag GmbH, Augsburg 1999, ISBN 3-86047-209-7 )
• Fabian Scheffczyk: Der Provinzialverband der preußischen Provinz Brandenburg 1933-1945. Regionale Leistungs- und Lenkungsverwaltung im Nationalsozialismus , Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2008, ISBN 3-16-149761-9

• Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte: Preußische Provinz Brandenburg (him.)
• Territoriale Veränderungen in Deutschland: Provinz Mark Brandenburg (him.)
• Provinz Brandenburg (Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) (him)