History of Cottbus
The history of Cottbus describes the development of the city of Cottbus in Niederlausitz from its beginnings to the present. The city was the center of the Cottbus rule and, since 1815, of the Cottbus district .
Surname
There are more than 130 different spellings of the name of the city in the written evidence, the oldest known name is Chotibuz (1156), Chodebuz (1199), one of the most unusual is Kukubuzl . Further examples are Chotibus , Cothebuz , Kotwos , Kohebuz , Godebutz or Godabuss and finally Cottbus and Kottbus .
The city of Kotwitz is mentioned on maps from the period up to 1600, and the spelling "Kotwitz od. Cotbus" also occurs.
In Lower Sorbian the city is now called Chóśebuz ; officially it is called "Cottbus / Chóśebuz".
Prehistory and early history
The first traces of human settlement in the area of Cottbus old town are almost 2000 years old. In today's urban area, these traces of settlement are much older. Already around 4,200 years ago, in the Bronze Age , people of the Lusatian culture lived here , who buried their dead in urns in numerous archaeologically examined burial fields. In the area of today's districts Ströbitz , Schmellwitz , Sielow and Dissenchen they built mud huts and farmed cattle . During the Iron Age , the Cottbus region was used by members of the Billendorfer culture . Germanic settlers lived here in the 3rd and 4th centuries .
Early and high medieval history
8th to 11th centuries
The Slavic tribe of the Lusitzi settled in the area of Cottbus from the 7th century onwards . In the 8th century they built a castle wall on a valley sand island on the west bank of the Spree on the later Schlossberg . Archaeological excavations revealed four phases of construction, three Slavic and one early German. In the 8th century they built a settlement in front of the castle to the east of today's upper church . In the late Slavic period, in the 11th and 12th centuries, this outer bailey settlement developed into an early urban settlement. The settlers living in this market town were active in metalworking , pottery , leather and woodworking, and engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding.
12th and 13th centuries
On November 30, 1156, Heinricus castellanus de Chotibuz was mentioned as a royal burgrave in a document from Margrave Konrad von Meißen as a witness. This was the first documentary mention of Cottbus. In 1199, Thymo von Codebuz was named as a witness in a document for the Dobrilug monastery. Its origin was main Franconian , from the Aschaffenburg to Klingenberg area, the cancer coat of arms and the von Kottwitz / Codebus aristocratic family is proven there. A market and a church in Cottbus were mentioned for this period.
In 1213 Cottbus Castle was given to Margrave Albrecht II of Brandenburg as a Bohemian fief.
Late medieval history
14th and 15th centuries
Around 1300 a German keep was built next to the Slavic castle wall. Due to financial difficulties, the Wettins had to sell Niederlausitz in 1304 . Until 1370 there were frequent changes of ownership of the area.
From 1349 to 1389, Johann II of Cottbus was Lord of Cottbus. He took a first place among the Lusatian nobles. As a margravial and imperial civil servant, he was often on the move between Salzwedel and Perleberg , Soldin and Landsberg , Frankfurt (Oder) and Berlin , Tangermünde and Niederlausitz .
On March 16, 1357, Margrave Ludwig von Brandenburg , known as "the Roman", gave Cottbus a road privilege. This was confirmed in 1371 by Emperor Charles IV . It named a trade route from Bohemia via Cottbus, Fehrow and Peitz to Frankfurt (Oder) . The plague in Cottbus is reported for the first time in 1380 . Up until the 17th century this epidemic occurred again and again and claimed thousands of deaths.
From 1387 to 1431, Johann III. from Cottbus the city. He was a rowdy knight and, among other things, involved in the Biberstein feud (1387-1388) over possession of the Beeskow / Storkow rule and in the Priebus feud (1398-1399). In 1401 he went into battle with 800 riders against the Bautzener Land . In addition to the brawling, he kept the well-being of his city Cottbus in view and expanded the economic basis of its prosperity, which of course also brought him an advantage. On May 11, 1405, Johann III. from Cottbus namely the cloth makers of the city the so-called clothes maker privilege; on November 29, 1406 the linen weaver privilege followed. In both cases, the processing of the raw materials and the organization of the craft business were specified in detail.
Later he almost sank to the level of robber knights . When his sons Luther (also Lothar) and Reinhard robbed Cologne merchants in 1420 , the end of the Lords of Cottbus was approaching, as should emerge after a long legal dispute. Before that, the state of Cottbus was drawn into the warlike entanglements during the Hussite Wars . In October 1429 Hussite armies under the leadership of Andreas Prokop besieged the city of Bautzen . The lords of Cottbus had helped the people of Bautzen, as they did in 1427, the Görlitzers and in 1428 the Löbauers . Since the conquest of Bautzen did not succeed, the Hussites moved to Niederlausitz. Cottbus was besieged on October 20, 1429, but the strong fortifications withstood the onslaught.
After the death of Johann III. in 1431, his two sons Reinhard and Luther took over the inheritance (half of each of Cottbus and Peitz). In July 1441 they were sentenced to pay damages to the Cologne merchants who attacked them in 1420. Since the merchants wanted to enforce the compensation by force, Reinhard and Luther placed themselves under the protection of Elector Friedrich II of Brandenburg from the House of Hohenzollern . The rule of the Lords of Cottbus was over.
Modern times
Under Brandenburg rule (1445–1571)
On July 18, 1445 Reinhard sold his share of the rule to the Brandenburg elector . On July 20, the citizens swore the oath of allegiance . From that time on, Cottbus belonged to the Brandenburg and later Prussian domains. In the subsequent historical development, the city was only Saxon during the Napoleonic Wars from 1807 to 1813 . When Luther died on June 4, 1455, the second part of the rule also came to Brandenburg, which had secured a right of first refusal. On October 29, 1461, Zdenko von Sternberg besieged Cottbus and Elector Friedrich II hurried up with troops. Two weeks later, on November 11th, there was a battle. It ended with a defeat for Zdenko von Sternberg, but both sides suffered heavy losses.
In September 1468, the entire city was set on fire by lightning and destroyed to the ground. As soon as the city was rebuilt, a great fire destroyed the city in 1479. In 1478 Duke Hans von Sagan besieged Cottbus for seven days. He could not conquer the city with its defensive walls and citizens, but the surrounding country was devastated. In 1484 there was a great plague of locusts , as a result of which there was a famine . In 1496 the plague entered the city again. Around 2000 people fell victim to this epidemic.
In 1499 Joachim I became Elector of Brandenburg. During his reign he gave Cottbus special care. In December 1501, delegates from the city obtained a number of rights from Elector Joachim I. The old inheritance law was confirmed and two wool markets were set annually for the cloth makers. In addition, beer compulsory was introduced, which means that only Cottbus beer could be served within a mile of the city . The craftsmen were also given miles. No craftsmen were allowed to reside outside the city and only those belonging to the guild within the city .
In 1522, Johannes Briesmann's attempt to introduce the Lutheran faith failed . After the death of Joachim I, the rule of Cottbus came into the possession of Margrave Johann V. He also made advantageous decisions for Cottbus. In 1537, Margrave Johann V pushed through the Reformation . In 1540 he issued a police ordinance for Cottbus that lasted for centuries. It regulated public life, but also intervened in private life. In 1544 the heavy artillery had to be handed over from Cottbus Castle to the Küstrin Fortress . In 1552 the plague raged again in Cottbus and claimed victims in 1783. Margrave Johann V died on January 13, 1571 at the age of 57. His lands including Cottbus fell back to Kurbrandenburg . Elector Johann Georg ruled there .
Until the end of the Thirty Years War (1571–1648)
At the beginning of September 1600, a major fire destroyed the entire city. In addition to the residential buildings, the churches, the town hall, the school, the castle and the hospital also burned down. Only nine small houses survived the disaster. The elector made lumber available and granted tax exemptions for five years. He also returned the church silver borrowed in 1543. In the course of the reconstruction of the city, the mint tower was given a new roof with a weather vane and cancer in 1603.
On June 14, 1620, the harbingers of the Thirty Years' War , which had been raging since 1618, reached Cottbus. On this day soldiers billeted for the first time. In the period that followed, mercenaries and refugees roamed the city several times. On August 3, 1626 Wallenstein moved through Cottbus with his entourage. He came with 40,000 men and stayed at Cottbus Castle. The troops camped in the surrounding villages for two days and caused great damage. From October 26th to 28th, 1627 Colonel Fahrenbach marched through Cottbus with several thousand infantry and cavalry men. The damage to the city amounted to more than 4,000 thalers.
In February and March of 1631 the imperial Colonel Goetze attacked Cottbus. The city was initially able to evade occupation. Since June 26, 1631, the Swedish Colonel Bock was in Cottbus. On June 29th, Colonel Goetze approached again with around 2,500 men, pulled through the ford on the Sanzeberg and stormed the city at the Luckauer Turm. Only hours later, the city wall between Luckauer and Spremberger Tor was overcome and the city was captured. Cruel killing, desecration and looting began. This lasted until the afternoon of the next day. Colonel Goetze asked for a contribution of 16,000 thalers . Since the sum could not be raised, five hostages were abducted. At the end of September of the same year, Colonel Goetze moved into Cottbus again. Between the years 1632 and 1635 Croatian riders , Weimar riders, Saxon troops and regiments came again , who sucked the last money and food reserves from the city. The plague broke out again. The city population decreased to 700 inhabitants, of which 150 citizens (people with citizenship ) and 550 residents (people without citizenship). Before the war it was 3500 inhabitants.
From the Great Elector to the Old Fritz (1640–1786)
Elector Georg Wilhelm died in Königsberg on December 1, 1640 . His successor was his son Friedrich Wilhelm , who later became the Great Elector, who ruled until 1688. He was responsible for the reconstruction of Brandenburg after the Thirty Years' War ended in 1648 . The consequences of the war, which manifested themselves in poverty and destruction, remained noticeable in Cottbus for decades. In the middle of March 1671 there was an accident in the city. A major fire developed, which started at the town mill and after a short time had spread across the whole town. Four people died and hundreds of houses were destroyed in the accident. As a result of this fire, the Great Elector ordered that the roofs could no longer be thatched and that the walls were to be built from bricks.
On October 4, 1701, the Huguenots founded a French colony in Cottbus . With the planting of the first mulberry trees in 1718, silkworm breeding found its way into Cottbus. Soon the ramparts were filled with the silkworm's forage plant. The results remained modest, however, and breeding was discontinued in the middle of the 19th century. The soldier king Friedrich Wilhelm I reorganized the city administration in 1719. The number of councilors was set at eight, including three mayors , a syndic , a chamberlain , a city judge and two senators .
In 1726, the first targeted construction outside the curtain walls began. In 1735 the Neustädter Tor was rebuilt in order to ensure more convenient traffic with the Neustadt. In November 1748 the front of the town hall collapsed towards the market. This made it necessary to build this building from scratch. In 1754 the medieval gate tower of the Sandower Tor was demolished and replaced by a simple gate. Since the Thirty Years' War, walls, ramparts, moats and gates had lost their military function and only served as customs borders .
The Seven Years War raged from 1756 to 1763 . This was also noticeable in Cottbus. Even if there was no direct fighting, there were passages and billets. On August 5, 1758, the Austrian General Laudon entered with 10,000 men and stayed for nine days. The city had to pay a tribute of 6000 thalers. When a further 9,000 thalers could no longer be paid, the mayors and treasurers were kidnapped as hostages. In 1759 Austrian and Russian troops came again and hostages were taken again. In 1760 General Lacy's corps had to be supplied with 22,000 men. The war brought the city 82,000 thalers in debt, which was repaid by increasing the beer tax.
Until the introduction of the revised town order (1766–1832)
In 1766 there was street lighting in Cottbus for the first time. 131 street lamps were placed on wooden stakes. In 1773 the tower of the Spremberger Tor received a new hood. On June 16, 1785, the construction of the Sachsendorf colony began . At the beginning of 1796 there was a big fire in the village in Ströbitz. 70 farmsteads burned down. On April 5, 1796, the printer Johann Gottlieb Kühn published the first Cottbus newspaper. The title was "New Cottbusische Stadt- und Amtsnachrichten". It was banned by the Prussian government shortly after the apparition.
In September 1800, Carl Friedrich Claudius began producing oilcloths . In addition to his successful work in the factory , he constructed an oilcloth balloon with airframe. On November 5, 1811, he ascended with this device, the so-called Claudiante , in Berlin and flew as far as the vicinity of Stettin . After the battle of Jena and Auerstedt , which Prussia lost , there were hostile billeting again in Cottbus from November 2nd, 1806. 7,000 Bavarians behaved extremely violently and caused damage of 44,000 thalers by December of that year. On September 12, 1807, Cottbus (including the rule Cottbus and Peitz) was subordinated to the Kingdom of Saxony and Niederlausitz was annexed.
The Cottbus economy suffered severe damage as a result of the continental blockade. There was unemployment, misery and food prices rose. On April 6, 1808, the brandy revolt broke out in Cottbus for this reason . Cottbus journeyman craftsmen deposed the city administration, lowered prices to a bearable level and knocked the heads of brandy off the bubbles. In their opinion, the grain burning was to blame for the price increases. On April 9th, the military restored the old order.
Napoleon's failed Russian campaign was also noticeable in Cottbus. In February 1813 many beaten soldiers marched through the city in a miserable condition. Encouraged by Napoleon's defeat, Marshal Blücher took Cottbus back into Prussian possession on March 27, 1813. On May 12th, Major came to Cottbus from Lützow . In his entourage were 400 men who were trained by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn at the gates of the city. On May 29th General von Bülow followed with his corps and camped in Cottbus. On June 15th, all Prussian coats of arms were removed by the French in Cottbus and the Saxon coats of arms were put up again. By order of the government in Potsdam , Cottbus became Prussian again on September 19, 1813. Only on May 25, 1815, according to the provisions of the Congress of Vienna , did Cottbus legally come back to Prussia, as did all of Lower Lusatia and the north and east of Upper Lusatia .
In the years 1816–1820, many new businesses were founded in Cottbus. These include, for example, a woolen yarn spinning mill and a Baumkuchen bakery . In the course of the administrative structure, Cottbus received a regional court in October 1824 . In 1825 the renovation of the Spremberg Tower was completed. The medieval gate tower was provided with a square base and a crenellated crown. On March 17, 1831, the revised town order was introduced. The city constitution, drawn up by the district administrator , the mayor and representatives of the city council, received government approval on December 14, 1831. From February 12 to 15, 1832, the elections for the first city parliament took place.
Younger story
The age of industrialization (1833-1914)
In October 1835, the cloth maker Heinrich Kittel received a factory license. He combined spinning , weaving , fulling and finishing under one line. The old machines were still powered by a horse peg. However, in the early 1940s, steam engines and the jacquard loom became predominant. It was the beginning of the large enterprises in the Cottbus textile industry .
In August 1844 the Cottbus-Schwielochsee Railway was approved. However, the horse-drawn railway did not open until 1846. There was a packing yard on Berliner Strasse that also served as a customs post. In 1879 the route was discontinued.
In 1846 work began on the Branitz Park . In 1848 the March Revolution had also reached Cottbus. On April 18, residents of the city protested against poor city government, high taxes, high prices and low wages. The masses went to the town hall with black, red and gold flags . Stones flew there, windows were broken, apartments broken into and looted. On that day, the state armory was stormed and prisoners freed.
In November 1848, the canvas factory G. L. Schmogrow was founded. This also created a high-performance large-scale operation in the traditional linen weaving mill. The first postage stamp was issued in Cottbus on November 15, 1850, and the first post box was set up a year later . In 1852 the Chamber of Commerce was established. A royal banking agency followed in 1853.
In mid-August 1857 there was a fire in the royal house and the castle tower. The spontaneous combustion of stored wool caused a fire in the spinning mill. In 1858 a telegraph company was established. Industry, the military and administration particularly welcomed this technical innovation. The Heinrich Jaeger cloth factory was founded on August 1st, 1860 . In the second half of the 19th century the Cottbus textile industry flourished. Numerous large companies emerged. These include, for example: 1861 Rudolph Kehrl & Sommerfeld, 1863 E. Tietze jun., 1865 Wilhelm Handreke, 1866 Heinrich Hübner, 1868 Hasselbach & Westerkamp, 1875 Hermann Löw, 1879 Duch & Hamann, 1880 Ludwig Polscher, 1882 Wilhelm Eschenhagen & Gebrüder Fritsch, 1884 Grovermann & Hoppe, 1888 Jürß & Elgler, 1889 Herrmann Hellwig, 1890 Max Meyer & Co. and 1891 Wilhelm Westerkamp. In 1860 there were 1,899 workers in the textile industry, in 1890 there were already 5,862. In 1860 42,000 pieces of cloth were produced, in 1890 there were around 150,000 pieces.
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One year later, in 1861, Theodor Kühn founded the carpet industry . The city gas works was also put into operation in that year, followed by the Cottbus fire brigade in 1863 . The foundation stone for the new Friedrich Wilhelms Gymnasium was laid in the spring of 1865. The connection to the railway network was of the utmost importance for the development of the city. With the construction of the routes to Berlin in 1866, Görlitz in 1867, Grossenhain in 1870, Falkenberg / Elster and Guben in 1871, Sorau in 1872 and Frankfurt (Oder) in 1876, goods could be shipped quickly and inexpensively in all directions, which in 1872 also saw the era of post coaches in Cottbus ended. With the construction of the railway, the city grew and the first incorporations came in 1871/72 (including the three Brunschwig settlements ). The train station, located far from the city gates, has been structurally connected since the end of 1866. Numerous new streets with magnificent residential and commercial buildings were built.
In November 1877 there was the first telephone in Cottbus, in 1886 the first connections were laid in the city. Telephone traffic with Berlin , Görlitz , Forst , Guben and Spremberg began three years later . Since November 9, 1886, Cottbus formed its own urban district. The city was thus eliminated from the surrounding district . The first car crossed the city of Cottbus in May 1893, and the first trade fair took place in March 1894 . This was an exhibition for trade and food . From February 24 to April 21, 1896 there was a textile workers' strike . Almost 6,000 workers stopped working. They achieved that there were no layoffs and no wage cuts. In return, there were voluntary wage increases and a uniform introduction of the eleven-hour day.
Several charitable foundations were set up in Cottbus at the turn of the century. In 1897 , Auguste Löber used her inheritance to set up the Auguste Foundation , which looked after needy, single women and girls. The cloth manufacturer Wilhelm Riedel , who came from Cottbus, set up various foundations between 1896 and 1907 that looked after poor widows, orphans and old people.
At the beginning of December 1898, the water pipes were put into operation. In April of the following year the sewer system went into operation , and in 1903 an electricity company began its work. That was the basis for the first tram to go through the city on July 18, 1903 . The Cottbus City Theater was inaugurated on October 1, 1908, and a modern hospital was opened on June 27, 1914 .
From world war to world war (1914–1945)
On August 1, 1914, the beginning of the First World War was received with jubilation in Cottbus (“ August experience ”). A local newspaper said "the German people are getting up, the storm is breaking out" . Emergency maturity exams took place at the grammar school . A few days later, infantry regiment No. 52 marched to the station to the cheers of thousands of Cottbusers. The city council held a war meeting. City bonds were to be made available for war purposes. In September the townspeople signed war bonds of seven million marks.
Also in September, a camp for 10,000 prisoners was set up on the racetrack in the north of the city. On September 4, 1914, the first transport with 7,000 Russians arrived. In 1915 a prison camp was added to the east of the city. From February 1915 onwards, hardship also hit Cottbus. It was war bread baked, the 20% potato flour was added. The bread card and other grocery cards have also been introduced. In March 1917, the city introduced emergency war money due to a lack of change. Since 1917, aircraft have been part of the general scene on training flights over the city. A military airfield was laid out, barracks and hangars were built, and the Air Force Replacement Unit 12 was set up.
The near collapse of the German Empire was also evident in Cottbus. On November 8, 1918, a demonstration march through the streets. With the formation of a soldiers 'council on November 10th and a workers' council a day later, the November Revolution found its way into Cottbus. At the end of 1918 the Infantry Regiment No. 52 returned to Cottbus. In the four years of the war it lost 332 officers and 9018 NCOs. Around 1000 Cottbus civilians also lost their lives during this time.
After the Kapp Putsch of 1920, there was also a general strike in Cottbus . On March 15, 1920 demonstrators clashed with Reichswehr troops from Major Buchrucker at the Spremberger Tower . The brutal behavior of the troops resulted in four deaths and five injured. It was then decided to form a Red Guard, headed by Albert Förster . Afterwards there were various skirmishes at Branitz , Ströbitz and Willmersdorf .
The age of broadcasting began in Cottbus in April 1920 . For the first time, a music program could be received that was broadcast by the Königs Wusterhausen broadcaster. In August 1923, high inflation also occurred in Cottbus . Due to economic hardship, the tram had to be shut down in January . The gas supply was also impaired. The entrepreneurs issued coupons to remedy the lack of money. Inflation not only ruined the city's finances, it hit every single citizen. In 1925 the municipal swimming pool and the city library were opened. In 1928 the opening of the diesel power plant followed , which was built because the power of the electricity plant could no longer cover the constantly increasing energy demand. In February 1929 the textile industry was locked out. 7,000 workers were affected in Cottbus.
On January 30, 1933, the day of the “ seizure of power ”, a torchlight procession took place through the streets of Cottbus. The National Socialists had already gained a foothold in Cottbus beforehand . In the local elections of 1929 there were already 3,000 votes for the NSDAP in the city . On July 20, 1932, 40,000 people streamed onto the racetrack grounds to hear Adolf Hitler speak. With the Reichstag election in July 1932 , the NSDAP became the strongest party in Cottbus. The persecution of members of the workers' parties and other opponents of the regime began as early as February 1933. They were interned and mistreated in an SA barracks on Ostrower Strasse and Wasserstrasse.
In 1934 the Cottbus gold discovery took place .
During the Nazi era , barracks were built at various locations from 1935 onwards . Housing construction has almost come to a standstill since then. In 1936 the old Prussian prison was converted into a concentration camp , in which mostly women were imprisoned. On March 30, 1936 a total of 296 prisoners were counted, not mentioning the countless anti-fascists who were imprisoned here. A year later there were already 453 prisoners in the camp in today's Bautzener Strasse.
At the beginning of 1937, construction began on the Cottbus section of the Reichsautobahn (RAB) 9 Berlin - Breslau (now Bundesautobahn 15 ). The job creation measure was primarily of strategic importance and was part of the preparations for war. Cottbus was again a garrison town since 1935 . The economy was purposefully converted to the needs of the war economy . During the Reichspogromnacht on November 9, 1938, the National Socialists burned down the Cottbus synagogue . A few days later the deportations of Jewish citizens to concentration camps began. The first transport left the city in mid-November 1938.
On September 1, 1939, the Second World War began with the German invasion of Poland . The Mechanische Werke Cottbus (MWC) was established in 1938 as a branch of the Zittau phenomenon works Gustav Hiller AG , where light towing vehicles were built for the Wehrmacht . The approximately 1000 employees there produced around 150 half-track vehicles per month in the first year of the war. A year later, the aircraft works of Focke-Wulf GmbH relocated parts of their production to Cottbus and assembled the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft at various locations in the city until 1945 . In the autumn of 1940, the Cottbusers experienced the first air raids on the city, for example on October 25th and between November 10th and 20th. In the 1939 put into operation airfield Drewitz a pilot school was Air Force stationed; other airfields were located directly in Cottbus and Neuhausen .
The increased importance for the war industries made the city the target of the first daytime air raid on January 3, 1944. In the months that followed, the sirens continued to wail in the city and warned of renewed air strikes. The first refugee treks reached Cottbus in 1944 and a census in October showed that, in addition to the Cottbus residents, 4828 refugees mostly from Berlin and around 4000 foreign forced laborers lived in the city. On November 12, 1944, the Cottbuser Volkssturm was sworn in . The Volkssturm moved into its quarters on December 17th in the Theaterhaus , where an extensive ammunition store was set up. Life in the city had collapsed, electricity and gas were regularly cut off.
A bombing raid by the United States Army Air Forces destroyed large parts of the city on February 15, 1945. 459 B-17 bombers were approaching the Ruhland hydrogenation plant . Due to the weather conditions, they could not fly to Ruhland and chose Cottbus as an alternative destination. Around 4,000 explosive bombs were thrown on the station grounds, the eastern and southern city districts, the Branitz settlement and several industrial companies. The result of the air attack was 1000 deaths, including 400 children, 2500 wounded, 356 destroyed houses and 3600 damaged apartments, so that over 13,000 Cottbus residents were homeless. On April 22, 1945, the 1st Ukrainian Front of the Red Army under Marshal Ivan Stepanowitsch Konev took the city after three days of fighting with the Wehrmacht . The Vistula Army Group had previously wanted to defend the city at all costs and, together with the Cottbus group, posted numerous units in the city area. This included soldiers of the 342nd , 214th and 275th infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht, as well as some independent units, the Volkssturm and tank troops of the SS . During the fighting, many of the German units were wiped out or withdrawn, only 1,700 soldiers were taken prisoner in Cottbus. 60% of the homes and 60% of the industrial plants suffered damage. Of the 55,000 or so residents before the war began, only about 3,000 were still in the city. The Second World War finally ended with the unconditional surrender on 8/9. May 1945.
From the red star to hammer, circle, wreath of ears (1945–1989)
On May 13, 1945, the first post-war magistrate was appointed. In the first days after the city was taken, there were looting, rape, kidnapping and shooting. Only very gradually did public life get going again. The occupying power monitored all work and activities and there were frequent arbitrariness and abuse. The electricity supply could be resumed on May 20th. A little later gas was delivered again and the water supply started up.
In the first few years after the end of the war, the Cottbus people were busy clearing the streets of war rubble, removing the rubble, starting up industry, transport, and trade and commerce. In addition, thousands of refugees had to be accommodated and medical care guaranteed. By the summer of 1945 the population had grown again to around 35,000.
In order to enforce and secure communist power, the social democrats were forced to unite. The SED emerged from the SPD and KPD . This act was sealed in Cottbus on March 24, 1946. In September and October 1946, municipal, district and state elections were held. The Soviet occupation zone was divided into five countries. On October 12, 1949, a large rally took place in Cottbus. 30,000 people welcomed the founding of the GDR on October 7th .
On July 1, 1950, the city lost its independent status . The new Cottbus district emerged from the districts of Guben , Forst , Cottbus-Stadt and Cottbus-Land . In 1952 this structure was dissolved again and in 1954 Cottbus became independent again. On August 11, 1952, the five states in the GDR were dissolved and 14 districts were created, making Cottbus the district capital. On June 17, 1953 , there was also a popular uprising in Cottbus . When restrictions on living standards were to be introduced, people took to the streets and also made political demands. In the factories, especially in the Reichsbahn repair shop , work was stopped. Soviet tanks and workers' services put down the uprising.
The district Cottbus was from 1957 to the most important coal and energy suppliers of the GDR. But also the construction, textile and furniture industry as well as food production determined the economic structure of the city. New workshops were built on September 29, 1969. These belonged to the Cottbus textile combine . There, polyester yarn was processed into textile surfaces on knitting machines . On April 4, 1972, many companies in Cottbus, as in the whole of the GDR, were nationalized and became public property .
In January 1975 came the crash of an on the Cottbus Air Base stationed NVA - fighter aircraft of JG-1 type MiG-21 over the city. The pilot and five residents died when the MiG crashed into an apartment block. Another resident later succumbed to her injuries.
On September 4, 1976 Cottbus became the 15th major city in the GDR with the birth of 100,000 inhabitants. The new train station was inaugurated on October 5th, 1978, followed by the handover of the district hospital, today's Carl-Thiem-Klinikum , on December 14th, 1982 .
Turn to democracy (since 1989)
Local elections were held on May 7, 1989. This election also resulted in manipulation and fraud in Cottbus. The first Monday demonstration took place in Cottbus on October 30th . After the turnaround and the transition to a parliamentary democracy, the election campaign followed in February and March 1990 and the first, but also the last, democratic election for the People's Chamber . Several high-ranking politicians came to Cottbus, for example Oskar Lafontaine (SPD), Otto Graf Lambsdorff (FDP), Hans-Dietrich Genscher (FDP) and Helmut Kohl (CDU). The election itself took place on March 18th. On July 1, when the economic, monetary and social union of the two German states came into force, the D-Mark replaced the GDR's mark as legal tender.
With the accession of the areas of the GDR including East Berlin to the scope of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990, the reunification of the two German states was completed. The privatization of the economy started a profound structural change in the city and region. Cottbus transformed into a service, science and administration center. In 1992 the Cottbus City Theater received the status of the Brandenburg State Theater.
In the course of the Brandenburg district reform of 1993, the Cottbus district became part of the newly formed Spree-Neisse district . The city itself remained independent. The highlight of several years of development work was the opening of the Federal Garden Show in Cottbus on April 29, 1995 as the first Federal Garden Show in the new federal states, which closed its doors again on October 8 after 2.3 million visitors. In 2001 the city won gold in the national competition “Our city is blooming” . In 2006 the city of Cottbus celebrated the 850th anniversary of the first documentary mention. Since January 1st 2007 the seat of the Finance Court Berlin-Brandenburg is in Cottbus.
Personalities
literature
- Johann Friedrich Beuch: Johann Friedrich Beuch's former councilor and city physicist for Cottbus History and description of the city of Cottbus up to 1740 , Berlin 1785 ( E-Copy )
- Heinrich Gottfried Philipp Gengler : Regests and documents on the constitutional and legal history of German cities in the Middle Ages . Volume 1, Erlangen 1863, pp. 659-661. .
- Karl August Müller: Patriotic images, or history and description of all castles and knight palaces in Silesia and the county of Glatz. Second edition, Glogau 1844, pp. 209–210.
- Siegfried Kohlschmidt: Cottbus. Leafed through the city chronicle . Etro, Bad Soden-Salmünster 1993.
- Steffen Krestin: Chronicle of the history of the city of Cottbus . BVB-Verl.-Ges., Nordhorn 2003. ISBN 3-936092-98-2
- Arielle Kohlschmidt, Siegfried Kohlschmidt, Thomas Kläber : Cottbus 1156–2006. 850 years . CGA-Verl., Cottbus 2005. ISBN 3-937503-12-9
- Andreas Christl, Gundula Christl, Helmut Donner and others (eds.): History of the city of Cottbus . Cottbus, Schiemenz printing works, 1994.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cottbus history 1156 City Museum
- ↑ Cottbus history 1199 City Museum Cottbus
- ↑ In the Sachsenspiegel around 1215 the Lords of Cottbus are described as of Franconian origin. From 1222 to 1448 servants named Codebuz ( Cottbus ) were mentioned in Aschaffenburg . see. History of Cottbus 1215 City Museum
- ↑ Cottbus history 1156 City Museum
- ↑ Cottbus City History 1301 City Museum
- ^ Albert Kotelmann: History of the older acquisitions of the Hohenzollern in Niederlausitz . In: Wilhelm Gallenkamp (Hrsg.): Annual report on the municipal trade school [Berlin] . Gustav Lange, Berlin 1864, p. 11 f . ( Digitized in the Google book search).
- ^ The Neumark - The rule Cottbus and Peitz (after FWA Bratring - Description of the Mark Brandenburg - 1809). Retrieved February 25, 2015 .
- ↑ Baumkuchen Manufaktur: History of Cottbus Baumkuchen . In: Cottbus Baumkuchen Manufaktur . ( baumkuchen-cottbus.de [accessed on September 10, 2017]).
- ↑ Ernst-Otto Roeber, Erna Roeber, Walter Hanig, Otto Last: Willy Jannasch and comrades. The KPD's anti-fascist resistance struggle in Cottbus from 1934 to 1936 . Committee of the Anti-Fascist Resistance Fighters of the German Democratic Republic, District Committee Cottbus-City and -Land, Cottbus 1985, p. 45
- ↑ 1945: "Crash into the Bottomless"
- ↑ Simone Wendler : In January 1975 a MiG 21 raced into a residential building in Cottbus. In: Lausitzer Rundschau . February 25, 2014, accessed April 7, 2018 .
- ↑ "14. January 1975: A MIG falls into a residential building ”. In Jan Eik and Klaus Behling : classified information. The greatest secrets of the GDR . Verlag Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 2008. ISBN 978-3-360-01944-8 . Pp. 145-147
