Finsterwalde

Finsterwalde (German pronunciation: [fɪnstɐˈvaldə] ^ⓘ, Lower Sorbian: Grabin, pronounced [ˈɡrabʲin]) is a town in the Elbe-Elster district (German: Landkreis), in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany.

Finsterwalde
Town
Town hall
Coat of arms
Location of Finsterwalde within Elbe-Elster district
Finsterwalde Show map of Germany Finsterwalde Show map of Brandenburg
Coordinates: 51°37′42″N 13°42′37″E
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Elbe-Elster
Subdivisions	3 Stadtteile / 2 Ortsteile
Government
• Mayor (2017–25)	Jörg Gampe[1] (CDU)
Area
• Total	76.91 km2 (29.70 sq mi)
Elevation	108 m (354 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	15,968
• Density	210/km2 (540/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	03238
Dialling codes	03531
Vehicle registration	EE, FI, LIB
Website	www.finsterwalde.de

Overview

It is situated on the Schackebach, a tributary of the Kleine Elster, 28 m. W.S.W of Cottbus by rail. Pop. (2005) 18,840. The town has a Gothic church (1581), a castle, schools, cloth and cigar factories, iron-foundries, flour and saw mills and factories for machine building. Popular are the "four singers from Finsterwalde" and their "singer-song".^{[citation needed]}

History

Finsterwalde was first mentioned in 1288. Up until the beginning of 17th century, a large part of the city's population was still speaking Lower Sorbian.^[3] In 1635, Finsterwalde came into the possession of the Electorate of Saxony and from 1815 it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.^[4] From 1815 to 1947, Finsterwalde was part of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg. From 1952 to 1990, it was part of the Bezirk Cottbus of East Germany.

Demography

• 
  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)
• 
  Recent Population Development and Projections: Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2020-2030 (green line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)

Finsterwalde: Population development
within the current boundaries^[5]

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1875 10,098 —     1890 11,466 +0.85% 1910 17,297 +2.08% 1925 17,474 +0.07% 1933 18,072 +0.42% 1939 20,120 +1.81% 1946 22,613 +1.68% 1950 22,374 −0.27% 1964 23,609 +0.38% 1971 23,976 +0.22% 1981 24,870 +0.37% 1985 24,781 −0.09% 1989 24,427 −0.36% 1990 23,777 −2.66% 1991 23,019 −3.19%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1992 22,985 −0.15% 1993 22,556 −1.87% 1994 22,029 −2.34% 1995 21,744 −1.29% 1996 21,457 −1.32% 1997 21,343 −0.53% 1998 20,908 −2.04% 1999 20,482 −2.04% 2000 20,103 −1.85% 2001 19,704 −1.98% 2002 19,378 −1.65% 2003 19,152 −1.17% 2004 18,985 −0.87% 2005 18,693 −1.54% 2006 18,516 −0.95%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 2007 18,162 −1.91% 2008 17,861 −1.66% 2009 17,517 −1.93% 2010 17,407 −0.63% 2011 16,876 −3.05% 2012 16,680 −1.16% 2013 16,561 −0.71% 2014 16,407 −0.93% 2015 16,548 +0.86% 2016 16,497 −0.31% 2017 16,409 −0.53% 2018 16,220 −1.15% 2019 16,068 −0.94% 2020 15,968 −0.62%

Known persons

Beach volleyball player Stephanie Pohl.

The following well known persons are from Finsterwalde:

• Hansgeorg Bätcher (1914–2003), Oberstleutnant in the Luftwaffe
• Inge Deutschkron, (1922–2022), German-Israeli journalist and author
• Thomas Eisfeld, (born 1993), football player for Arsenal FC
• Catrin G Grosse (born 1964), artist and painter
• Kurt Haehling (1893–1983), Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht
• Detlef Irrgang, (born 1966), football player
• Sonja Kesselschläger, Heptathlon athlete
• Hermann Kotzschmar, (1829–1908), German-American musician, conductor and composer
• Peggy Kuznik, Football player
• Otto Ostrowski, (1883–1963), Mayor of Finsterwalde in the 1920s
• Stephanie Pohl, (born 1978), beach volleyball player
• Hans-Jürgen Riediger (born 1955), football player

Buildings and Monuments

• Finsterwalde Solar Park
• Janusz-Korczak-Gymnasium, formerly Knabenschule by Max Taut (1913)
• In Finsterwalde is located a relief dedicated to Lenin in the park "Bürgerheide"^[6]

Climate

Climate data for Doberlug-Kirchhain [a] (1991–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	3.4 (38.1)	5.0 (41.0)	9.2 (48.6)	15.3 (59.5)	19.7 (67.5)	23.1 (73.6)	25.3 (77.5)	25.1 (77.2)	20.1 (68.2)	14.3 (57.7)	8.1 (46.6)	4.4 (39.9)	14.4 (57.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)	0.6 (33.1)	1.5 (34.7)	4.6 (40.3)	9.5 (49.1)	13.9 (57.0)	17.3 (63.1)	19.4 (66.9)	19.0 (66.2)	14.5 (58.1)	9.6 (49.3)	4.9 (40.8)	1.8 (35.2)	9.7 (49.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−2.4 (27.7)	−2.0 (28.4)	0.3 (32.5)	3.3 (37.9)	7.5 (45.5)	11.0 (51.8)	13.2 (55.8)	12.8 (55.0)	9.2 (48.6)	5.4 (41.7)	1.7 (35.1)	−0.9 (30.4)	4.9 (40.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	45.7 (1.80)	34.0 (1.34)	38.8 (1.53)	27.9 (1.10)	57.2 (2.25)	53.4 (2.10)	69.4 (2.73)	61.2 (2.41)	45.8 (1.80)	39.4 (1.55)	43.3 (1.70)	44.1 (1.74)	561.6 (22.11)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	17.1	13.7	15.1	11.0	13.1	12.9	14.0	12.7	11.8	13.8	15.0	16.4	166.8
Average relative humidity (%)	84.5	80.6	77.0	70.5	70.5	70.0	69.0	69.9	76.6	82.3	87.1	86.2	77.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours	55.2	78.0	124.7	190.8	224.2	218.7	228.4	220.4	163.7	114.1	62.2	48.3	1,741.3
Source: NOAA[7]

Notes

1. Doberlug-Kirchhain is located approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of Finsterwalde.