Brandenburg

Brandenburg (Low Sorbian: Bramborska, Low German: Brannenborg) is a state (Bundesland) in Germany. It has been a state since 1990. It is 29,480 km² in area. It has about 2.6 million inhabitants.

Brandenburg
State of Germany
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Brandenburg in Germany
Country	Germany
Capital	Potsdam
Government
• Minister President	Dietmar Woidke (SPD)
• Governing parties	SPD / Linke
Area
• Total	29,480 km2 (11,380 sq mi)
Population
• Total	2,548,200
• Density	86/km2 (220/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Website	brandenburg.de

Until 1945 it was the biggest province in Prussia, with 38,278 km² and 3 million inhabitants. From 1949 to 1952 it was a state in the German Democratic Republic. In 1952 it became divided into three Bezirke (Potsdam, Frankfurt and Cottbus). The capital of Brandenburg is Potsdam.

Berlin is in the middle of Brandenburg. But it is not part of Brandenburg. It is a city state.

History

• 1373 Karl IV bought Brandenburg for his sons from the Wittelsbacher
• 1539 Protestant Reformation
• 1618 United with Prussia
• 1815 Brandenburg became a province in Prussia
• 1945 Brandenburg lost 32% to Poland
• 1949 State in East Germany
• 1952 Divided into three Bezirke (Districts)
• 1990 State of the reunited Germany

Administration

Brandenburg is divided into fourteen Kreise (districts):

• Prignitz
• Ostprignitz-Ruppin
• Oberhavel
• Uckermark
• Havelland
• Barnim
• Märkisch-Oderland
• Potsdam-Mittelmark
• Teltow-Fläming
• Oder-Spree
• Dahme-Spreewald
• Elbe-Elster
• Oberspreewald-Lausitz
• Spree-Neiße

Also Brandenburg has four Kreisfreie Städte (district-free city):

• Brandenburg
• Cottbus
• Frankfurt an der Oder
• Potsdam

List of Minister-Presidents

• 1945 - 1949: Karl Steinhoff
• 1949 - 1952: Rudi Jahn
• 1990 - 2002: Manfred Stolpe (SPD)
• 2002 - 2013: Matthias Platzeck (SPD)
• since 2013: Dietmar Woidke (SPD)

Cities and counties

The capital, Potsdam

Brandenburg is divided into fourteen (rural) counties (Landkreise),

Barnim Dahme-Spreewald Elbe-Elster Havelland Märkisch-Oderland Oberhavel Oberspreewald-Lausitz

Oder-Spree Ostprignitz-Ruppin Potsdam-Mittelmark Prignitz Spree-Neiße Teltow-Fläming Uckermark

and four urban districts (kreisfreie Städte),

1. Brandenburg an der Havel
2. Cottbus
3. Frankfurt (Oder)
4. Potsdam