Lebus
Encyclopedia
Lebus is a town
in the southeast of the Märkisch-Oderland
District in Brandenburg
, Germany
. It had a population of 3,375 as of 2005. It was the center of the historical region known as Lubusz Land
.
, 10 km north of Frankfurt (Oder)
. It is the seat of Amt Lebus
.
and Semnoni
are believed to have lived in the area before the Common Era
. After approximately 1,000 years, the Slavic
Leubuzzi, the easternmost tribe of the pagan Liutizi, settled the area during the 8th and 9th centuries in the Migration Period
. The land on both sides of the Oder became known as Terra Lebusana ("land of the Leubuzzi" in Latin
, Polish
: Ziemia Lubuska).
The region was conquered and brought under Polish control by 966 under the rule of Duke Mieszko I
. A castellan
's castle was built to control it, which became a battleground for neighboring rulers over the following centuries. This Lubusz Land
, which provides the name for the present-day Lubusz Voivodeship
in Poland, was especially influenced by the Piast dukes
in Silesia
. The existence of a settlement known as Lubusz at a ford of the Oder near the castle was first documented in 1109.
The Bishopric of Lubusz
was founded in 1124-25 during the reign of Boleslaus III to counter and convert the Liutizi. It served as an important center for Catholic
missionaries preaching in and developing the Oder region. In 1163 Emperor Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
granted the Lubusz Land on both sides of the Oder as a fief to the Silesian Piasts. German colonization
of the region proceeded throughout the 13th century and the settlement became predominantly known as Lebus. Duke Henry I of Silesia granted it German town law
in 1226. The Ascanian
Margraviate of Brandenburg
acquired the region ca. 1250.
During the Middle Ages
, Lebus served as an important stop on trade routes from the Baltic Sea
to Italy
and from Poznań
to Flanders
. After the destruction of the town's cathedral by troops of Emperor Charles IV
in 1373, the seat of the bishopric was moved from Lebus to Fürstenwalde. The populace became Lutheran
during the Protestant Reformation
, and the bishopric was secularized in 1555 following the death of the last Catholic bishop, Georg von Blumenthal
. After the 16th century fires and political changes weakened the fortifications; the castle was decisively damaged by a lightning strike in 1713. Lebus gradually became a backwater locality.
In 1701 Lebus became part of the Kingdom of Prussia
. In 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars
, it was administered within the new Prussian Province of Brandenburg
.
During World War II
, Lebus, including its medieval center, was almost completely destroyed, and its land east of the Oder joined Poland in 1945 according to the Potsdam Agreement
. The parish church of Lebus was restored in 1954.
(as of the communal vote from 26 October 2003)
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the southeast of the Märkisch-Oderland
Märkisch-Oderland
Märkisch-Oderland is a Landkreis in the eastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are the district Barnim, the country Poland, the district-free city Frankfurt , the district Oder-Spree and the Bundesland Berlin...
District in Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It had a population of 3,375 as of 2005. It was the center of the historical region known as Lubusz Land
Lubusz Land
Lubusz Land is a historical region and cultural landscape in Poland and Germany, on both sides of the Oder river.Originally the settlement area of the West Slavic Leubuzzi, a Veleti tribe, the swampy area was located east of Mark Brandenburg and west of Greater Poland, south of Pomerania and north...
.
Location
Lebus is located on the Oder River on the German border with PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, 10 km north of Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
. It is the seat of Amt Lebus
Amt (subnational entity)
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only found in Germany, but formerly also common in northern European countries. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to a U.S...
.
History
Settlement in the vicinity of Lebus has been traced as far back as 3,000 years. The ridges provided natural defense and led to fortifications being constructed upon them. The Germanic LombardsLombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
and Semnoni
Semnoni
thumb|350px|The Semnones are located near the centre of the map. The orange area shows one view of the extent of the [[Suebi]]an tribes in the first century AD.The Semnones were a Germanic tribe which was settled between the Elbe and the Oder in the 1st century when they were described by Tacitus...
are believed to have lived in the area before the Common Era
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
. After approximately 1,000 years, the Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
Leubuzzi, the easternmost tribe of the pagan Liutizi, settled the area during the 8th and 9th centuries in the Migration Period
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
. The land on both sides of the Oder became known as Terra Lebusana ("land of the Leubuzzi" in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Ziemia Lubuska).
The region was conquered and brought under Polish control by 966 under the rule of Duke Mieszko I
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
. A castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
's castle was built to control it, which became a battleground for neighboring rulers over the following centuries. This Lubusz Land
Lubusz Land
Lubusz Land is a historical region and cultural landscape in Poland and Germany, on both sides of the Oder river.Originally the settlement area of the West Slavic Leubuzzi, a Veleti tribe, the swampy area was located east of Mark Brandenburg and west of Greater Poland, south of Pomerania and north...
, which provides the name for the present-day Lubusz Voivodeship
Lubusz Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Lubusz Voivodeship is divided into 14 counties : 2 city counties and 12 land counties. These are further divided into 83 gminas....
in Poland, was especially influenced by the Piast dukes
Silesian Piasts
The Silesian Piasts were the oldest line of the Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile, son of Bolesław III Wrymouth, Duke of Poland...
in Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
. The existence of a settlement known as Lubusz at a ford of the Oder near the castle was first documented in 1109.
The Bishopric of Lubusz
Bishopric of Lebus
The Bishopric of Lebus was a Roman Catholic diocese and later an ecclesiastical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed from 1125 until 1598...
was founded in 1124-25 during the reign of Boleslaus III to counter and convert the Liutizi. It served as an important center for Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
missionaries preaching in and developing the Oder region. In 1163 Emperor Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
granted the Lubusz Land on both sides of the Oder as a fief to the Silesian Piasts. German colonization
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
of the region proceeded throughout the 13th century and the settlement became predominantly known as Lebus. Duke Henry I of Silesia granted it German town law
German town law
German town law or German municipal concerns concerns town privileges used by many cities, towns, and villages throughout Central and Eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.- Town law in Germany :...
in 1226. The Ascanian
Ascanian
The House of Ascania was a dynasty of German rulers. It was also known as the House of Anhalt, after Anhalt, its longest-held possession.The Ascanians are named after Ascania Castle, which is located near and named after Aschersleben...
Margraviate of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
acquired the region ca. 1250.
During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Lebus served as an important stop on trade routes from the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and from Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
to Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. After the destruction of the town's cathedral by troops of Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
in 1373, the seat of the bishopric was moved from Lebus to Fürstenwalde. The populace became Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
during the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, and the bishopric was secularized in 1555 following the death of the last Catholic bishop, Georg von Blumenthal
Georg von Blumenthal
Georg von Blumenthal was a German Prince-Bishop of Ratzeburg and Prince-Bishop of Lebus. He also served as a Privy Councillor of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Chancellor of the University of Frankfurt , commonly called the Viadrina.Bishop von Blumenthal negotiated the second marriage of ...
. After the 16th century fires and political changes weakened the fortifications; the castle was decisively damaged by a lightning strike in 1713. Lebus gradually became a backwater locality.
In 1701 Lebus became part of the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
. In 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, it was administered within the new Prussian Province of Brandenburg
Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:The first people who are known to have inhabited Brandenburg were the Suevi. They were succeeded by the Slavonians, whom Henry II conquered and converted to Christianity in...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Lebus, including its medieval center, was almost completely destroyed, and its land east of the Oder joined Poland in 1945 according to the Potsdam Agreement
Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement was the Allied plan of tripartite military occupation and reconstruction of Germany—referring to the German Reich with its pre-war 1937 borders including the former eastern territories—and the entire European Theatre of War territory...
. The parish church of Lebus was restored in 1954.
Town council
The town council of Lebus has 16 representatives.- CDU 3 seats
- SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
5 seats
- Pro Lebus 6 seats
- Schill-ParteiLaw and Order Offensive PartyThe Law and Order Offensive Party , short form Offensive D was a minor political party in Germany. It was founded in July 2000 by Hamburg judge Ronald Schill. It wished to call itself PRO but was forbidden from doing so after a judicial complaint by the Pro Deutsche Mitte party...
1 seat - PDSLeft Party (Germany)The Party of Democratic Socialism was a democratic socialist political party active in Germany from 1989 to 2007. It was the legal successor to the Socialist Unity Party , which ruled the German Democratic Republic until 1990. From 1990 through to 2005, the PDS had been seen as the left-wing...
1 seat
(as of the communal vote from 26 October 2003)