Großräschen

Großräschen
250px
Coat of arms of Großräschen Coat of arms
Großräschen
Location of Großräschen within Oberspreewald-Lausitz district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Oberspreewald-Lausitz
Government
• Mayor	Thomas Zenker (SPD)
Area
• Total	81.29 km2 (31.39 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	8,863
• Density	110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	01983
Dialling codes	035753
Vehicle registration	OSL
Website	www.grossraeschen.de

Großräschen (Sorbian: Rań) is a town in Lower Lusatia, in Germany. Administratively, it is part of the district of Oberspreewald-Lausitz, in the state of Brandenburg.

Geographical situation

Großräschen is situated south of the Niederlausitzer Landrücken, a sandy stretch of land grown with pine forests in the centre of Lusatia. The small river Rainitza used to take its source in meadows north of the town centre. South of the town, Lake Ilse (now an open-cast lignite mine) will be completed around 2020. The town proper comprises the historical core, Kleinräschen, as well as Großräschen. The southernmost quarter, Bückgen, was pulled down due to mining. Outside the town proper, the villages of Freienhufen (historically Dobristroh) with Bulldorf, Dörrwalde, Wormlage, Saalhausen, Woschkow, and Schmogro (Großräschen-Ost).

History

Both Großräschen and Kleinräschen were first mentioned in an official document in 1370. Form of settlement and the name suggest that Kleinräschen is older than Großräschen. The villages developed slowly; the Wendish population depended almost entirely on agriculture. From the middle of the 19th century onwards, heavy industry developed, and the villages grew rapidly. In 1965, they were granted the status of a town, having been incorporated into one community in 1925. The 1980s brought the destruction of Bückgen, whose inhabitants (4000 of them had to leave their homes) were moved into blocks of flats. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the decline of the industries (glass manufacturing, brick production, mining and agriculture used to be presented in the town's coat of arms) caused heavy unemployment.

Demography

• Bevölkerungsentwicklung Großräschen.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)

• Bevölkerungsprognosen Großräschen.pdf

  Recent Population Development (Blue Line) and Forecasts

Großräschen:
Population development since 1875 within the current boundaries

Year Inhab. 1875 2975 1890 4843 1925 14414 1933 15136 1939 15024 1946 16332 1950 16282 1964 16210 1971 17006 1981 14306

Year Inhab. 1985 14023 1989 14285 1990 14476 1991 14342 1992 14308 1993 14672 1994 14576 1995 14296 1996 14066 1997 13785

Year Inhab. 1998 13399 1999 13042 2000 12693 2001 12402 2002 12049 2003 11785 2004 11537 2005 11335 2006 11148 2007 10873

Year Inhab. 2008 10697 2009 10428 2010 10262 2011 9200 2012 9010

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

Sights

• Protestant Church
• Catholic Church with interior decoration by Friedrich Preß
• Medieval village church in Freienhufen
• open-cast mine lookout
• Historic village structures in Kleinräschen, Dörrwalde, Wormlage, Saalhausen (farm type of Senftenberger Vierseitenhof)

• DSC03678-Drozdowski-Grossraeschen-Kurmaerker-V1.jpg

  Kurmärker Großräschen, mit Wettigs Hof (13.03.2007)

• DSC03673-Drozdowski-Grossraeschen-IBA-Geschaeftsstelle-V1.jpg

  IBA-Geschäftsstelle Großräschen (13.03.2007)

Infrastructure

• Rail links to Berlin, Senftenberg, Stralsund (slow trains)
• Federal road B 96
• Motorway A 13/E 66

Partner cities

• Trzebiatów (Treptow), Poland, since 2006

External links

• http://www.grossraeschen.de/ (official)