Cottbus is considered the political and cultural center of the Lower Sorbian-speakingSorbs (in Lower Lusatia also called theWends), while the overall center of all Sorbs (Lower and Upper) isBautzen (Budyšin). Cottbus is the largest bilingual city in Germany. Signage is mostly in German and Lower Sorbian. The city is the seat of several Lower Sorbian institutions like the Lower Sorbian version of theSorbischer Rundfunk (Serbski rozgłos/Bramborske Serbske Radijo), theLower Sorbian Gymnasium, and the Wendish Museum (Serbski muzej). The use of the Lower Sorbian language, however, is more widespread in the surrounding villages than in the city itself.Cottbus Hauptbahnhof (Chóśebuz głowne dwórnišćo) is a major railway junction with extensivesidings/depots.
In the 10th century, theWends constructed the largest Slavic castle of Lower Lusatia, agord, on aSpree island. This former gord is considered the nucleus of the city. On it rises the massive 13th century Castle Tower (grodojski torm) with its blue clock.
Cottbus is the seat of theBrandenburg University of Technology (German:Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus–Senftenberg,Lower Sorbian:Bramborska techniska uniwersita Chóśebuz–Zły Komorow). Due to this, the city has the official namesUniversitätsstadt Cottbus/Uniwersitne město Chóśebuz ('University City Cottbus').Branitz Castle, built in 1770–71, in the southeast of the city, was a residence of thePrince of Pückler-Muskau. The prince, who also createdMuskau Park, designed the extensive Branitz Park on the shores of the Spree, with its two grass pyramids.Cottbus State Theater (Statne źiwadło Chóśebuz) is the only state theater inBrandenburg. TheWendish Quarter is a part of the city supposed to resemble the traditional Sorbian architectural style, constructed of prefabricated concrete slabs inEast Germany between 1984 and 1989.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the spelling of the city's name was disputed. InBerlin, the spelling "Kottbus" was preferred, and it is still used for the capital'sKottbusser Tor ("Cottbus Gate"). Locally the traditional spelling "Cottbus" (which defies standard German-language rules) was preferred, and it is now used in most circumstances. Because the official spelling used locally before thespelling reforms of 1996 had contravened even the standardized spelling rules already in place, theStanding Committee for Geographical Names [de] (German:Ständiger Ausschuss für geographische Namen) stress their urgent recommendation that geographical names should respect the national spelling standards.[clarification needed] A citizen of the city may be identified as either a "Cottbuser" or a "Cottbusser".
The settlement was established in the tenth century, whenSorbs erected acastle on a sandy island in the RiverSpree. It was captured by theMarch of Lusatia in 965, then it passed to Poland underBolesław I the Brave in 1002, and back to the March of Lusatia in 1032. The first recorded mention of the town's name was in 1156. In the 13th centuryGerman settlers came to the town and thereafter lived side by side with the Sorbs.
In theMiddle Ages Cottbus was known forwool, and the town's drapery was exported throughout Brandenburg,Bohemia andSaxony. It was also located on an important trade route, called the "Salt Road", which was used to transport salt fromHalle to Lusatia and further east to Poland.[6] It was part of theMargraviate of Lusatia and laterLower Lusatia, which was held by theHouse of Wettin until it became aBohemian Crown Land in 1367.
In 1445 Cottbus was acquired by theMargraviate of Brandenburg from Bohemia. It was anexclave almost completely surrounded by Bohemian Lower Lusatia (with a short border with theElectorate of Saxony to the south-west). In 1514 Jan Rak founded theUniversitas Serborum, a Sorbian gymnasium, in the city. In 1635 Lower Lusatia was ceded by Bohemia to Saxony, thereby making Cottbus anenclave of Saxony. In 1701Brandenburg-Prussia became theKingdom of Prussia.
In 1807, following theWar of the Fourth Coalition, Cottbus was ceded by Prussia to theKingdom of Saxony by theTreaty of Tilsit, reuniting it with Lower Lusatia. Cottbus was returned to Prussia by theCongress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic wars. Lower Lusatia was also ceded to Prussia and both became part of the PrussianProvince of Brandenburg (andRegierungsbezirk Frankfurt), where they remained until 1947. In the 19th century, theBramborski Serbski Casnik Sorbian newspaper was published in the city, and in 1880, the first Lower Lusatian department of theMaćica Serbska organization was established there.[7]
In 1871 Prussia, and therefore Cottbus, became part of theGerman Empire. According to the Prussian census of 1905, the city of Cottbus had a population of 46,270, of which 97% wereGermans, 2% wereSorbs and 1% werePoles.[8]
In interwar Germany, the town was the site of a concentration camp for unwantedJewish immigrants fromEastern Europe.[9]
DuringWorld War II, a Nazi prison for women was operated in the city with multipleforced labour subcamps located both in the city and other places in the region.[10] Polish actorWładysław Hańcza was imprisoned in a forced labour camp in the city in 1944–1945.[11] In the final weeks of the war, Cottbus was taken by theRed Army on 22 April 1945. In January 1946, Cottbus issued 34 semi-postal postage stamps to help finance rebuilding the city. From 1949 untilGerman reunification in 1990, Cottbus was part of theGerman Democratic Republic (East Germany). From 1952 to 1990, Cottbus was the administrative seat ofBezirk Cottbus.
Gothic Franciscan church and later Sorbian Protestant Church
First issue of theBramborski Serbski Casnik Sorbian newspaper, 1848
Development of population since 1875 within the current boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population development in Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time ofNazi Germany; Red Background: Time of communistEast Germany)
Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to theCensus in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line))
Cottbus: Population development within the current boundaries (2020)[12]
Cottbus has anoceanic climate (KöppenCfb) in spite of being far inland on a relatively high latitude. Summers are very warm for being so far north, while winters are often mild due to prevailing trade winds from theAtlantic Ocean facing little natural obstacles on the way to the area. When wind directions come from elsewhere, hard freezes occasionally take place. As a result, the annual temperature amplitude is quite high for an oceanic climate, ranging from 35 °C (95 °F) in summer to −15 °C (5 °F) in winter. Precipitation is frequent, although usually light in accumulation. Snowfall is a regular occurrence with 36 days of snow cover annually,[13] but Cottbus remains mild enough that it usually thaws quickly. Most of the year is gloomy, with a notable exception in late spring.
Climate data for Cottbus (1991–2020 normals, extremes since 1900)
Cottbus is the cultural centre of theLower Sorbian minority. Many signs in the town are bilingual, and there is a Lower Sorbian-mediumGymnasium and aSorbian Quarter, but Sorbian is rarely spoken on the streets.
Next to Cottbus is the famousBranitz Park, created by PrinceHermann von Pückler-Muskau after 1845. Schloss Branitz (Branitz Castle) was rebuilt by Gottfried Semper in a late Baroque style between 1846 and 1852, and the gardens Prince Hermann laid feature two pyramids. One of these, the Seepyramide, is in the middle of an artificial lake and serves as hismausoleum.[15]
Two airports serve the city:Cottbus-Drewitz Airport (approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-east of Cottbus), andCottbus-Neuhausen Airport (approximately 10 km (6.2 miles) south-east of Cottbus).
The current mayor is Tobias Schick of theSocial Democratic Party (SPD) since 2022. The most recent mayoral election was held on 11 September 2022, with a runoff held on 9 October, and the results were as follows:
"Upper Sorbian Grammar".Baltoslav.[...] Lower Sorbian, is spoken in the neighbouring south-eastern part of Brandenburg federal state around the city of Chóśebuz (Cottbus in German).
^"Reviewed Work: The Slavic Literary Languages".Harvard Ukrainian Studies.6 (4). 1982.JSTOR41036009.a translation of the New Testament in 1709, based on the dialect of Chośebuz (Cottbus), determined the Chośebuz base of standard Lower Lusatian.
^Pieradzka, Krystyna (1949). "Związki handlowe Łużyc ze Śląskiem w dawnych wiekach".Sobótka (in Polish).IV (4). Wrocław: 90.
^Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom I (in Polish). Warszawa. 1880. p. 598.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
