Treuenbrietzen

Treuenbrietzen is a town in the Bundesland of Brandenburg, Germany.

Treuenbrietzen
Saint Mary Church
Coat of arms
Location of Treuenbrietzen within Potsdam-Mittelmark district
Treuenbrietzen
Treuenbrietzen
Coordinates: 52°05′50″N 12°52′16″E
CountryGermany
StateBrandenburg
DistrictPotsdam-Mittelmark
Subdivisions16 Ortsteile
Government
 • MayorMichael Knape (Treuenbrietzener Bürgervereins)
Area
 • Total211.33 km2 (81.59 sq mi)
Elevation
59 m (194 ft)
Population
 (2019-12-31)[1]
 • Total7,459
 • Density35/km2 (91/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
14929
Dialling codes033748
Vehicle registrationPM
WebsiteTreuenbrietzen

History
Timber framed houses

The town has existed since the Middle Ages and the first written evidence about it is from 1217. From 1348 to 1350 the town remained loyal to the Wittelsbach Louis V the legitimate Margrave of Brandenburg since 1323 against the revolt of the False Waldemar. This event was the origin of the town's name "true" or "faithful" Brietzen. During the Reformation, Martin Luther came in 1537 to preach in the town, but his way to the church was blocked. He preached instead under a basswood, or lime tree, which is called to this day the Lutherlinde.

During the Industrial Revolution, several textile factories were founded in the town.

After the opening of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1936, a sub-camp was opened in the town, where slave labourers were forced to work in the local weapons plants. Dr. Kroeber & Sohn GmbH (formerly Gehre Dampfmesser GmbH)[2] was a local firm that made steam-, gas- and fluid-gauges, small internal combustion engines, and the Kroeber M4 light aircraft engine. They made BRAMO/BMW Flugwerk aircraft engine parts for the Luftwaffe. Treuenbrietzener Metallwarenfabrik GmbH had two factories that produced cartridges: Werk Sebaldushof ("Werk A") north of the town and Werk Selterhof ("Werk S") south of the town. It had three more plants in the towns of Roederhof (a hamlet of Belzig), Metgethen, and Salzwedel.

With the approach of the Red Army, on April 23, 1945, the Wehrmacht executed 127 Italian POWs, who were interned in the camp.[3] Between April 24 and May 1, 1945, the region was the scene of the Battle of Halbe between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army.

The town was first occupied by the 5th Guards Mechanised Corps on April 21, 1945 but German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS troops managed to return for a short time, finally retreating on April 23. Subsequently Red Army soldiers murdered an estimated 1000 civilian inhabitants of the town during the last days of April and early days of May in a nearby forest. In addition many women were raped.[4] Relatives registered some 251 deaths with the municipal register office, while eyewitnesses, ordered to bury the victims at the local cemetery, stopped counting after they had buried 721 dead,[5] today 125 known graves exist.[6]

The town suffered considerable damage during the war, although the historic town centre remained intact. Since 1945, the town's economy has been concentrated on cattle farming. In 2005, it had 8,548 residents. The mayor of Treuenbrietzen is Michael Knape, of the Treuenbrietzener Bürgerverein (Treuenbrietzen Civic Association).

Church in Pechüle

Demography
  • Development of population since 1875 within the current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population development in Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of Nazi Germany; Red Background: Time of communist East Germany)
  • 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 2014-2030 (red line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)
Treuenbrietzen: Population development
within the current boundaries (2017)[7]
YearPop.±% p.a.
1875 9,422—    
1890 8,939−0.35%
1910 9,226+0.16%
1925 9,815+0.41%
1933 10,118+0.38%
1939 12,239+3.22%
1946 13,985+1.92%
1950 13,554−0.78%
1964 11,114−1.41%
1971 10,961−0.20%
1981 9,749−1.16%
1985 9,626−0.32%
1989 9,371−0.67%
1990 9,251−1.28%
1991 9,139−1.21%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1992 9,093−0.50%
1993 9,116+0.25%
1994 9,272+1.71%
1995 9,240−0.35%
1996 9,155−0.92%
1997 9,116−0.43%
1998 9,066−0.55%
1999 9,006−0.66%
2000 8,908−1.09%
2001 8,760−1.66%
2002 8,734−0.30%
2003 8,706−0.32%
2004 8,590−1.33%
2005 8,475−1.34%
2006 8,207−3.16%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2007 8,108−1.21%
2008 8,001−1.32%
2009 7,911−1.12%
2010 7,776−1.71%
2011 7,569−2.66%
2012 7,487−1.08%
2013 7,406−1.08%
2014 7,430+0.32%
2015 7,379−0.69%
2016 7,460+1.10%
2017 7,475+0.20%
2018 7,405−0.94%
2019 7,459+0.73%

Famous residents

See also

Notes
  1. "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden 31. Dezember 2019". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). July 2020.
  2. Stanztech Treuenbrietzen Blechformteile: History http://en.kohl-gruppe-ag.de/history-797.html
  3. Die Tageszeitung Ein verschüttetes Verbrechen
  4. welt.de Das Massaker der Roten Armee in Treuenbrietzen
  5. berliner-zeitung Das Massaker von Treuenbrietzen Archived 2010-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Claus-Dieter Steyer, , Der Tagesspiegel online June 21, 2006 , viewed November 11, 2006 at "Stadt ohne Männer" (City without men) Archived 2012-05-27 at Archive.today
  7. Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
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