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.
 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 | 86.438/km2 (223.87/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):
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
Brandenburg is divided into fourteen (rural) counties (Landkreise),
and four urban districts (kreisfreie Städte),