Luckau

This article is about the place in Brandenburg. For the place in Lower Saxony, see Luckau (Wendland).
Luckau

Coat of arms
Luckau

Coordinates: 51°51′00″N 13°43′00″E / 51.85000°N 13.71667°E / 51.85000; 13.71667Coordinates: 51°51′00″N 13°43′00″E / 51.85000°N 13.71667°E / 51.85000; 13.71667
Country Germany
State Brandenburg
District Dahme-Spreewald
Government
 • Mayor Gerald Lehmann (Ind.)
Area
 • Total 206.38 km2 (79.68 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
 • Total 9,533
 • Density 46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 15926
Dialling codes 03544
Vehicle registration LDS
Website www.luckau.de

Luckau (Lower Sorbian: Łuków) is a city in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany. Known for its beauty, it has been dubbed "the Pearl of Lower Lusatia".

Origin of the name

The name appears to be a locative form of a Sorbian root meaning marsh, moor, or wet meadow, in reference to the surrounding countryside.

History

Church of St. Nicholas in Luckau

The oldest preserved document mentioning the city of Luckau (using the Slavic form Lukow) dates from the year 1276. A prosperous city, it became one of the capitals of Lower Lusatia in 1492.

By the terms of the Peace of Prague in 1635 during the Thirty Years' War the Margravate of Lower Lusatia was conveyed to the Elector of Saxony, which territory up until that time had been a Bohemian fiefdom.

During the Thirty Years' War the Swedish fortified the city as a principal base. It suffered severe damage as a result of the ensuing conflicts.

On 4 June 1813 during the Napoleonic "War of Liberation", the advance of the French army was halted by the victory of the Russo-Prussian forces of the Sixth Coalition and an armistice was declared in the Truce of Pläswitz. This was briefly interrupted on 6 June by a skirmish at the battle of Luckau.

While conducting an inspection of his troops, Napoleon stayed overnight in Luckau from 20 to 21 July 1813. He requistioned quarters in the top storey of the house belonging to the richest man in the city, a merchant named Vogt. Because it was very cold during that July night, Napoleon had a copper warming pan brought to his bed. This warming pan may still be seen in the Museum of Lower Lusatia in Luckau.

As a result of a decree of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Lower Lusatia was ceded to Prussia, the Margravate was dissolved, and the region of Lower Lusatia, and thus also the city of Luckau, were annexed to the Province of Brandenburg.

From 1816 to 1993 Luckau held the status of Kreisstadt or "county seat"; it has now been included in the rural district of Dahme-Spreewald, of which the capital is Lübben. Luckau has been a well-known peat-bath spa (Moorbad) since the beginning of the 20th century.

Demography

Luckau:
Population development within the current boundaries (2013)[2]
Year Population
1875 11 475
1890 11 369
1910 10 947
1925 11 083
1933 11 117
1939 11 022
1946 15 343
1950 14 672
1964 13 011
1971 12 746
Year Population
1981 12 318
1985 11 926
1989 11 514
1990 11 389
1991 11 116
1992 11 138
1993 10 970
1994 10 924
1995 10 751
1996 10 920
Year Population
1997 10 964
1998 10 883
1999 11 089
2000 11 104
2001 10 919
2002 10 736
2003 10 604
2004 10 556
2005 10 642
2006 10 477
Year Population
2007 10 452
2008 10 334
2009 10 231
2010 10 130
2011 9 818
2012 9 738
2013 9 610

Sightseeing

Organ of St. Nicholas Church

The gothic, twin-towered hall church was built during the period from 1375 until 1437. During a fire in the church in 1644 most of the mediaeval furnishings were lost. The restoration of the interior was carried out under the direction of the architects Petzsch and Bärgt in a rich baroque style. The organ, which is exceptionally beautiful, was installed by the Leipzig organ manufacturing company Donath during the years from 1672 to 1674. It presents a richly panelled baroque appearance. Around the year 2002 renovation measures were undertaken at the church.

Chapel of St. George with the Hausmann Tower

The chapel and its grounds, which were built during the 14th century, have been used only for secular purposes since the Reformation.

The Red Tower, remnant of the city fortifications

Large portions of the old city wall from the 13th and 14th centuries have been preserved. Particularly remarkable is the Red Tower (Roter Turm).

House on the Marketplace

The beautiful marketplace is bordered by numerous baroque dwelling houses. Some of these structures were richly adorned with decorative stucco by Italian baroque master-builders.

Town Hall

The town hall (Rathaus) was built during the 17th century, and later remodeled in neoclassical style.

Transportation

Luckau is located at the nexus of federal motorway (Autobahn) A87 (Torgau-Frankfurt/Oder), A96 (Berlin-Zittau) and A102 (direction of Brandenburg an der Havel by way of Jüterbog).

There is a railway station of the German Railway Corporation ("DB") on the Berlin-Dresden line. The name of the station is "Luckau-Uckro".

Located approximately 10 kilometers to the east of Luckau is exit "Duben" on Autobahn A13. The church of the nearby village of Duben has also been designated as an "Autobahn church."

Districts of the city

Until it was deactivated by the Bundeswehr there was a military airfield with paved runways, a fuel depot and a munitions bunker in Alteno. There were also remotely controlled automatic PAR-8 radio beacons along the main landing approach in the vicinity of Alteno "A" at 1000m and at Groß Radden "AO" at 4000m. During the latter period of the German Democratic Republic it served as an auxiliary and training field for fighter squadron JG-1 in Holzdorf bei Jessen/Elster. The call designation of the field was "Arno". At present the grounds are used for racing by the Luckau motorcycle club.

Sister city

References

  1. ↑ "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden 31. Dezember 2015 (Fortgeschriebene amtliche Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 2016.
  2. ↑ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons
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