Strausberg (German: [ˈʃtʁaʊ̯sˌbɛʁk] ) is a town in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, located 30 km (19 mi) east of Berlin. With a population of about 27,000 it is the largest town in the district of Märkisch-Oderland.

Strausberg
Strausberg with Straussee
St. Maries church
Town hall
Lindenplatz
Coat of arms of Strausberg
Locator map in Märkisch-Oderland
AltlandsbergAlt TuchebandBad FreienwaldeBeiersdorf-FreudenbergBleyen-GenschmarBliesdorfBuckowFalkenbergFalkenhagenFichtenhöheFredersdorf-VogelsdorfGarzau-GarzinGolzowGusow-PlatkowHeckelberg-BrunowHöhenlandHoppegartenKüstriner VorlandLebusLetschinLietzenLindendorfMärkische HöheMünchebergNeuenhagen bei BerlinNeuhardenbergNeulewinNeutrebbinOberbarnimOderauePetershagen-EggersdorfPodelzigPrötzelRehfeldeReichenow-MöglinReitweinRüdersdorfSeelowStrausbergTreplinVierlindenWaldsieversdorfWriezenZechinZeschdorfBrandenburg
Strausberg is located in Germany
Strausberg
Strausberg
Strausberg is located in Brandenburg
Strausberg
Strausberg
Coordinates: 52°35′00″N 13°53′00″E / 52.58333°N 13.88333°E / 52.58333; 13.88333
CountryGermany
StateBrandenburg
DistrictMärkisch-Oderland
Government
 • Mayor (2018–26) Elke Stadeler[1] (Ind.)
Area
 • Total
67.86 km2 (26.20 sq mi)
Elevation
94 m (308 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total
27,344
 • Density400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
15344
Dialling codes03341
Vehicle registrationMOL, FRW, SEE, SRB
Websitewww.stadt-strausberg.de

History

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Strausberg was founded circa 1240, and in 1333 its first town hall was built. From 1373 to 1415, it was part of the Bohemian Crown. Today, a historic defensive wall borders the old town. In the 19th century, industrialization took place and the town developed a local labour movement, including union structures and a local branch of both the Social Democratic and the Communist Party of Germany.[3]

In World War II Strausberg housed a switching centre for teleprinter links encrypted by the Lorenz cipher from Hitler and the High Command to various Army Group commanders (see Fish (cryptography)). During the war, men and women from the German-occupied Netherlands, Poland, Italy and Soviet Union were brought to the town to perform forced labour since 1941, and a women's subcamp of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was established in 1944.[4] In early 1945, a death march of prisoners of various nationalities from the dissolved camp in Żabikowo to Sachsenhausen passed through the town.[5]

After 1945, the town became part of East Germany and the seat of its Ministry of National Defence. Strausberg was the administrative seat of the Strausberg district, until a 1993 merger with Bad Freienwalde and Seelow formed "Märkisch-Oderland", with Seelow becoming the new administrative seat of the district. It is where the German Army Command is located.

Geography

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Strausberger Forest and the lake

Strausberg covers an area of 68 km2. There are over 1,500 businesses and 100 km of footpath. It is known as "Die grüne Stadt am See" (the green town by the lake). Its biggest lake is Straussee, located between the town and the biggest forest, the Strausberger Forest. The forest and water protection nurtures a unique environment.

Location

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Strausberg is 30 km east of Berlin (from the district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf) and 30 km to the west of Kostrzyn, at the Polish border. It is part of Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region and a middle centre (Mittelzentrum) of it. Its bordering municipalities are, listed in a clockwise sense starting from north, Altlandsberg, Oberbarnim, Buckow, Garzau-Garzin, Rehfelde, Rüdersdorf and Petershagen-Eggersdorf.

Subdivision

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The town is divided into nine boroughs: Fasanenpark, Gartenstadt, Hegermühle, Neue Mühle, Postbruch, Schillerhöhe (with the Spitzmühle), Strausberg Nord, Strausberg Stadt and Vorstadt. The municipality has three hamlets (Ortsteile):

Demography

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After an increase of population since World War II, Strausberg has slowed its "growth", remaining at almost 26,000 inhabitants in the last census, with a slight decrease in the early years of the 21st century. Forecasts, however, anticipate a considerable decline within the next two decades. For further details, see sources of the following graphics.

Strausberg: Population development
within the current boundaries (2020)[7]
YearPop.±% p.a.
1875 5,880—    
1890 7,042+1.21%
1910 8,568+0.99%
1925 9,686+0.82%
1939 12,140+1.63%
1950 11,040−0.86%
1964 18,168+3.62%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1971 19,905+1.31%
1981 24,917+2.27%
1985 27,531+2.53%
1990 28,977+1.03%
1995 27,312−1.18%
2000 26,221−0.81%
2005 26,533+0.24%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2010 26,206−0.25%
2015 26,213+0.01%
2016 26,387+0.66%
2017 26,522+0.51%
2018 26,587+0.25%
2019 26,853+1.00%
2020 26,939+0.32%

Transport

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Tram 22 at southern terminus "Vorstadt"

The town is served by Strausberg railway station, situated 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the south of the town, which is on the Berlin S-Bahn Line 5 and Deutsche Bahn's Berlin Lichtenberg - Kostrzyn service. There are three other stops on the S5 line within the town, these being Strausberg Hegermühle, Strausberg Stadt and Strausberg Nord.

 
Aerodrome

Strausberg is also served by the Strausberg Railway (Strausberger Eisenbahn), a light rail line with nine stops, which connects the main railway station to the centre of town. Besides the main railway station, the other 8 stops are: Landhausstraße, Schlagmühle, Stadtwald, Hegermühle, Wolfstal, Käthe-Kollwitz-Straße, Elisabethstraße and Lustgarten, the northern terminus. The Strausberg Railway also operates the Straussee Ferry (Strausseefähre), an unusual electrically operated passenger cable ferry across Straussee.

The town has also a small aerodrome ("Flugplatz Strausberg", ICAO: EDAY),[8] opened in 1927, with a runway of 1,200 m × 28 m, and situated 2 kilometres in the east of town centre.

Sport

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The local football representative is the FC Strausberg, competing in the fifth tier of German football. Home games of FCS are played at the "Energiearena" stadium.

Twin towns – sister cities

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Strausberg is twinned with:[9]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ Landkreis Märkisch-Oderland Wahl der Bürgermeisterin / des Bürgermeisters, accessed 1 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerungsentwicklung und Bevölkerungsstandim Land Brandenburg Dezember 2022" (PDF). Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). June 2023.
  3. ^ Horst Klein: Zur Geschichte der Ortsgruppe der KPD Strausberg 1920 bis 1946 (Thesen), in: Jahrbuch für Forschungen zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, No. I/2002; and Horst Klein: 110 Jahre organisierte Arbeiterbewegung - 1887–1997 Sozialdemokraten in Strausberg (Thesen), in: Jahrbuch für Forschungen zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, No. II/2003.
  4. ^ Megargee, Geoffrey P. (2009). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume I. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 1343–1344. ISBN 978-0-253-35328-3.
  5. ^ "Ewakuacja piesza". Muzeum Martyrologiczne w Żabikowie (in Polish). Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c (in German) Infos about inhabitants as of 31-12-2007 Archived 2010-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
  8. ^ (in German) Infos on strausberger aerodrome's official site
  9. ^ "Partnerstädte & Patenschaften". stadt-strausberg.de (in German). Strausberg. Retrieved 2021-04-05.

Bibliography

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