Forst (Lausitz) (Lower Sorbian: Baršć) is a town in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It lies east of Cottbus, on the river Lausitzer Neiße which is also the German-Polish border, the Oder-Neisse line. It is the capital of the Spree-Neiße district. It is known for its rose garden and textile museum. The town's population is 18,651. In Forst, there is a railway bridge across the Neiße belonging to the line Cottbus–Żary which is serviced by regional trains and a EuroCity train between Hamburg and Kraków (2011). There is also a road bridge across the river north of Forst.

Forst (Lausitz) Baršć
Town
Watertower in Forst
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Forst (Lausitz) within Spree-Neiße district
Forst (Lausitz) Show map of Germany Forst (Lausitz) Show map of Brandenburg
Coordinates: 51°44′N 14°38′E
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Spree-Neiße
Government
• Mayor (2018–26)	Simone Taubenek[1]
Area
• Total	109.91 km2 (42.44 sq mi)
Elevation	72 m (236 ft)
Population  (2020-12-31)[2]
• Total	17,691
• Density	160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	03141–03149
Dialling codes	03562
Vehicle registration	SPN
Website	www.forst-lausitz.de

Overview

Part of the region of Lower Lusatia, Forst was awarded to the Kingdom of Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna. The town was administered as a part of the Province of Brandenburg from 1815 to 1947. After World War II it became part of the German Democratic Republic, from 1952 to 1990 within Bezirk Cottbus.

Forst has experienced severe problems as a result of the 1990 German reunification, most notably from extreme unemployment. In the past, the town was known for textile manufacturing, but all of the textile plants and factories have closed down.

History

A short distance to the south of the old Sorbian village of Altforst, the town probably originated around 1150 at a river crossing point on the important west–east route (known as the Salzstraße / Salt Road) connecting Halle and Głogów. By 1265 it was developing into a permanent trading settlement round the Church of St Nicholas. The commercial importance of Forst increased with the development of a north–south route connecting to Guben, downstream along the Neisse River. In the fourteenth century the council was able to take on responsibility for the lower courts locally. In 1352 of Ileburg took over the overlordship of Forst from Frederick III of Meißen.

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 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)

Notable people

• Hugo Baum (1867–1950), botanist
• Georg Thomas (1890–1946), general of infantry
• Bruno Kastner (1890–1932), film and stage actor
• Max Seydewitz (1892–1987), politician (SPD, SED)
• Brigitte Frank, née Herbst (1895–1959), wife of Hans Frank
• Erich Neumann (1892–1948), politician (NSDAP)
• Werner Heyde (1902–1964), psychiatrist, involved in the T 4 program
• Georg Bose (1921–2011), German officer during World War II
• Günter Nooke (born 1959), politician (CDU)
• Dietmar Woidke (born 1961), politician (SPD)
• René Rydlewicz (born 1973), footballer
• Ronny Scholz (born 1978), cyclist

See also

• Bohrau

References

External links

• Media related to Forst (Lausitz) at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website of Forst (Lausitz) (in German)
• Forst's Rose Garden (in German)
• "Forst" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
• "Forst" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.

На других языках

[de] Forst (Lausitz)

[ru] Форст (Лужица)