Golßen

Golßen
Market square and town hall Market square and town hall
Coat of arms of Golßen Coat of arms
Golßen
Location of Golßen within Dahme-Spreewald district 250px
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Dahme-Spreewald
Municipal assoc.	Unterspreewald
Government
• Mayor	Lars Kolan ((SPD))
Area
• Total	63.29 km2 (24.44 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	2,532
• Density	40/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	15938
Dialling codes	035452
Vehicle registration	LDS
Website	www.amt-golssener-land.de

Golßen (Lower Sorbian: Gólišyn) is a town in the district of Dahme-Spreewald, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Amt ("municipal federation") Unterspreewald.

Geography

It is situated in the northwest of the Lower Lusatia region, close to the border with the Brandenburgian Mittelmark core territory. The municipal area stretches from the eastern (Lower) Fläming Heath down to the Glogau-Baruth Urstromtal (glacial valley) traversed by the Dahme River. It also comprises the villages of Mahlsdorf and Zützen.

Golßen station is a stop on the Berlin–Dresden railway line. The area around the town is known for the cultivation of Spreewald gherkins.

History

File:Schloss Golßen Parkseite.jpg

Golßen Castle, 2013 condition

The settlement arose in the course of the German Ostsiedlung eastward migration during the 11th century, possibly at the site of an earlier Slavic village of fortress. Golsyn in the March of Lusatia was first mentioned in a 1276 deed issued by the Wettin margraves. With the former march, Golßen was purchased by the Luxembourg emperor Charles IV in 1367 and incorporated into the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. The Bohemian kings temporarily put the estates around Golßen Castle in pawn to several holders, such as Margrave William I of Meissen (in 1395).

During the Thirty Years' War, the Lusatias again passed to the Wettin electors of Saxony by the 1635 Peace of Prague. Golßen Castle was built about 1723, it passed to the Counts of Solms-Baruth in the 19th century. Surrounded by extended gardens, parts of the buildings were refurbished in a Neoclassical style by Eduard Knoblauch in 1852. The neighbouring estates of Zützen were held by the Kleist noble family. A Baroque palace in Zützen, erected according to plans designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, burnt down completey in the late days of World War II.

After the Napoleonic Wars, Golßen was incorporated into the Prussian province of Brandenburg in 1816.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Golßen.pdf

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)

Golßen:
Population development within the current boundaries

Year Pop. 1875 2994 1890 3243 1925 2998 1933 2893 1939 2840 1946 4263 1950 4175 1964 3400 1971 3349 1981 3115

Year Pop. 1985 3112 1989 3103 1990 3125 1991 3092 1992 3056 1993 3053 1994 3015 1995 2995 1996 3003 1997 2956

Year Pop. 1998 3005 1999 3025 2000 2994 2001 2938 2002 2923 2003 2868 2004 2852 2005 2817 2006 2746 2007 2730

Year Pop. 2008 2661 2009 2627 2010 2616 2011 2554 2012 2532

Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.

Politics

Seats in the municipal assembly (Stadtverordnetenversammlung) as of 2014 local elections:

• Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD): 9 (±0)
• Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 4 (-1)
• The Left: 2 (±0)
• Independent: 1 (+1)