Doberlug-Kirchhain

Doberlug-Kirchhain (Lower Sorbian: Dobrjoług-Góstkow) is a German town in the district of Elbe-Elster, Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg.

Doberlug-Kirchhain
Town
Coat of arms
Location of Doberlug-Kirchhain within Elbe-Elster district
Doberlug-Kirchhain Doberlug-Kirchhain
Coordinates: 51°37′N 13°34′E
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Elbe-Elster
Subdivisions	10 Ortsteile
Government
• Mayor (2017–25)	Bodo Broszinski (FDP)
Area
• Total	148.93 km2 (57.50 sq mi)
Elevation	97 m (318 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	9,032
• Density	61/km2 (160/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	03253
Dialling codes	035322
Vehicle registration	EE, FI, LIB
Website	www.doberlug-kirchhain.de

History

937. The town of Kirchhain was built by Margrave Gero. A document written in 1005 mentions the town Doberlug (Dobraluh) for the first time. In 1165 the Cistercian Dobrilugk Abbey was founded by Margrave Dietrich of Landsberg.

1235. Kirchhain received market-rights. In 1431 the Hussites destroyed the town of Doberlug and the abbey was devastated. In 1637 and 1643 the Swedes destroyed Kirchhain.

From 1815 to 1947, Doberlug and Kirchhain were part of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg.

1848. The jurisdictions of Doberlug and Kirchhain were unified, but the actual merger of the two towns did not take place until over one hundred years later, in 1950.

During World War II, Kirchhain was taken by the Red Army on 23 April 1945.

From 1952 to 1990, Doberlug-Kirchhain was part of the Bezirk Cottbus of East Germany.

On August 28, 1992, the Amt Doberlug-Kirchhain was created to streamline the administration of the town together with the surrounding 8 small municipalities. Nexdorf and Frankena later joined as well. The municipalities incorporated into the town were Frankena (2000), Dübrichen, Hennersdorf, Nexdorf, Prießen and Werenzhain (2001), and Buchhain (2002). The remaining three municipalities Arenzhain, Trebbus and Lugau were incorporated on October 26, 2003, thus ending the history of the Amt.

Demography

• 
  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)
• 
  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)

Doberlug-Kirchhain: Population development
within the current boundaries (2020)

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1875 9,024 —     1890 10,082 +0.74% 1910 11,320 +0.58% 1925 11,386 +0.04% 1933 12,007 +0.67% 1939 12,209 +0.28% 1946 16,328 +4.24% 1950 16,198 −0.20% 1964 13,457 −1.32% 1971 13,395 −0.07% 1981 12,560 −0.64% 1985 12,527 −0.07% 1989 12,086 −0.89% 1990 11,996 −0.74% 1991 11,752 −2.03%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1992 11,628 −1.06% 1993 11,477 −1.30% 1994 11,259 −1.90% 1995 11,209 −0.44% 1996 11,135 −0.66% 1997 11,095 −0.36% 1998 11,130 +0.32% 1999 11,013 −1.05% 2000 10,936 −0.70% 2001 10,705 −2.11% 2002 10,494 −1.97% 2003 10,323 −1.63% 2004 10,137 −1.80% 2005 9,890 −2.44% 2006 9,764 −1.27%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2007 9,530 −2.40% 2008 9,342 −1.97% 2009 9,225 −1.25% 2010 9,083 −1.54% 2011 8,982 −1.11% 2012 8,875 −1.19% 2013 8,759 −1.31% 2014 8,625 −1.53% 2015 8,746 +1.40% 2016 9,179 +4.95% 2017 9,033 −1.59% 2018 9,062 +0.32% 2019 8,920 −1.57% 2020 8,686 −2.62%

Climate

Climate data for Doberlug-Kirchhain (1991–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	3.4 (38.1)	5.0 (41.0)	9.2 (48.6)	15.3 (59.5)	19.7 (67.5)	23.1 (73.6)	25.3 (77.5)	25.1 (77.2)	20.1 (68.2)	14.3 (57.7)	8.1 (46.6)	4.4 (39.9)	14.4 (57.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)	0.6 (33.1)	1.5 (34.7)	4.6 (40.3)	9.5 (49.1)	13.9 (57.0)	17.3 (63.1)	19.4 (66.9)	19.0 (66.2)	14.5 (58.1)	9.6 (49.3)	4.9 (40.8)	1.8 (35.2)	9.7 (49.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−2.4 (27.7)	−2.0 (28.4)	0.3 (32.5)	3.3 (37.9)	7.5 (45.5)	11.0 (51.8)	13.2 (55.8)	12.8 (55.0)	9.2 (48.6)	5.4 (41.7)	1.7 (35.1)	−0.9 (30.4)	4.9 (40.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	45.7 (1.80)	34.0 (1.34)	38.8 (1.53)	27.9 (1.10)	57.2 (2.25)	53.4 (2.10)	69.4 (2.73)	61.2 (2.41)	45.8 (1.80)	39.4 (1.55)	43.3 (1.70)	44.1 (1.74)	561.6 (22.11)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	17.1	13.7	15.1	11.0	13.1	12.9	14.0	12.7	11.8	13.8	15.0	16.4	166.8
Average relative humidity (%)	84.5	80.6	77.0	70.5	70.5	70.0	69.0	69.9	76.6	82.3	87.1	86.2	77.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours	55.2	78.0	124.7	190.8	224.2	218.7	228.4	220.4	163.7	114.1	62.2	48.3	1,741.3
Source: NOAA

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the town shows the town hall with three towers topped with yellow flags. Below is a green ring. On top are two clouds and rays of the sun. The shield is blue, and shaped like a leather sheet, symbolizing the history of the city as a tannery center. The coat of arms was created in 1950 by combining the symbols of the coats of arms of Doberlug and Kirchhain: the green ring and the sun are taken from the arms of Doberlug, while the town hall is from those of Kirchhain.

Twin towns

Doberlug-Kirchhain is twinned with Hemer in North Rhine-Westphalia and Kirchhain in Hesse.

Notable natives and residents

Kirchhain

• Daniel Schade (1601–1662), Musician
• Karl Gustav von Berneck (1803–1871), writer
• Guido Jendritzko (born 1925), sculptor and painter
• Catrin Große (born 1964 in Finsterwalde), painter, graphic designer and sculptor

Doberlug

• Heinrich Clauren (1771–1854), also Carl Gottlieb Samuel Heun, writer
• Otto Fridolin Fritzsche (1812–1896), theologist
• Hermann Wilhelm Vogel (1834–1898), chemist
• Eduard Köllner, (1839–1891), composer of Festhymne zur 100 jährigen Jubelfeier der Unabhängigkeitserklärung der Vereinigten Staaten Nordamerikas (Hymn for the Independence Day 1876)

Photogallery

• 
  The town in the Kreis Elbe-Elster
• 
  Church Gate of Dobrilugk Abbey
• 
  Castle of Doberlug in May 2015

External links

Media related to Doberlug-Kirchhain at Wikimedia Commons