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41-605: The Town of Calau is situated in the middle of Lower Lusatia , about 27 km west of Cottbus at the eastern edge of the Lower Lusatian Ridge Nature Park as well as at the southern edge of the famous Spree Forest . The area around Calau is strongly characterized by former lignite mining sites, which are valuable retreat areas for animals and plants nowadays. Many places are left to nature after recultivation, The Heinz Sielmann Foundation adopted numerous areas, others are managed near-natural and sustainably by

82-577: A small part of Lusatia east of the Oder–Neisse line was incorporated into Poland , Żary has been touted as the capital of Polish Lusatia. The area of Lower Lusatia roughly corresponds with the eastern March of Lusatia or Saxon Eastern March between the Saale and Bóbr rivers, which about 965 was severed from the vast Marca Geronis , conquered by the Saxon count Gero in the course of his campaigns against

123-720: Is a historical region in Central Europe , stretching from the southeast of the German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland . Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the south, Lower Lusatia is a settlement area of the West Slavic Sorbs whose endangered Lower Sorbian language is related to Upper Sorbian and Polish . This sparsely inhabited area within the North European Plain ( Northern Lowland )

164-638: Is characterised by extended pine forests, heathlands and meadows. In the north it is confined by the middle Spree River with Lake Schwielochsee and its eastern continuation across the Oder at Fürstenberg to Chlebowo . In the glacial valley between Lübben and Cottbus , the Spree River branches out into the Spreewald ("Spree Woods") riparian forest . Other rivers include the Berste and Oelse tributaries as well as

205-736: Is drained by rivers that flow northwards into the North Sea or the Baltic and tributaries to the Rhine river that flows West. The Rhine, Ems , Weser , Elbe and Havel are the most important rivers which drain the North German Lowlands into the North Sea and created woods in their flood plains and folds, e.g. the Spreewald ("Spree Forest"). Only a small area of the North German Plain falls within

246-647: Is one of the major geographical regions of Germany . It is the German part of the North European Plain . The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the north, Germany's Central Uplands ( die Mittelgebirge ) to the south, by the Netherlands to the west and Poland to the east. In the west, the southern boundary of the North German Plain is formed by the Lower Saxon Hills : specifically

287-582: The Grenzwall (literally "border dike", although it is in fact a morainic ridge), the eastern continuation of the Fläming Heath . In the Middle Ages this area had dense forests, so it represented a major obstacle to civilian and military traffic. Today it is roughly congruent of the border between Brandenburg and the state of Saxony . In the course of much of the 19th and the entire 20th century, Lower Lusatia

328-491: The Altes Land near Hamburg , which is characterised by relatively mild temperatures year round due to the proximity of the North Sea and lower Elbe river, providing excellent conditions for fruit production. Azonal vegetation complexes of moors, riparian forests, fens and water bodies originally stretched along the rivers Ems , Weser , Elbe , Havel and Spree . Distinctive salt marshes , tideflats and tidal reed beds in

369-846: The Deutsche Telekom radiates a variety of VHF -and TV-programmes of the rbb for Brandenburg . Its radio mast is a reinforced concrete tower of 190 m height, the so-called "Langer Calauer", in the southwest of town. It was built in 1982. There are no Bundesstraßen going through Calau, the motorway junction Calau is seven km to the northwest at the A ;13 . Calau is situated at the railroad lines Cottbus – Leipzig and Lübbenau – Senftenberg . Bibliography Lower Lusatia Lower Lusatia ( German : Niederlausitz ; Lower Sorbian : Dolna Łužyca [ˈdɔlna ˈwuʒɨtsa] ; Upper Sorbian : Delnja Łužica [ˈdɛlnʲa ˈwuʒitsa] ; Polish : Łużyce Dolne ; Czech : Dolní Lužice )

410-757: The Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg . In 1324, the northern part passed to the House of Wittelsbach . From 1364, entire Lower Lusatia was ruled by the Duchy of Jawor-Świdnica, and after the death of Duke Bolko II the Small it passed to the Kingdom of Bohemia (Czechia). In 1367 Elector Otto V sold it to Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg who incorporated Lower Lusatia into the Bohemian Crown . Charles' father King John of Bohemia had already acquired

451-558: The Gross-Rosen concentration camp , the prisoners of which included Jewish women and Polish, French, Soviet, Croatian and Czech men. During the war, the Poles postulated that after the defeat of Germany, the Sorbs should be allowed free national development either within the borders of Poland or Czechoslovakia , or as an independent Sorbian state in alliance with Poland. With the implementation of

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492-775: The Muzeum Pogranicza Śląsko-Łużyckiego ("Museum of Silesian-Lusatian Borderland") in Żary . Żary is the origin place of kiełbasa żarska , a local type of kiełbasa , whereas the Gubin area is the place of cultivation of the gubinka plum , both traditional foods officially protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland . 52°N 14°E  /  52°N 14°E  / 52; 14 North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland ( German : Norddeutsches Tiefland )

533-579: The Oder–Neisse line by the 1945 Potsdam Conference , the lands east of the Neisse river became again part of Poland, and the remaining German population was expelled by the Soviet-installed Communist authorities in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement , whereas the western part became part of also Communist East Germany . The Lower Lusatian bull is first documented in 1363. In 1378, upon

574-543: The Polabian Slavs from 939 onwards. Odo I became the first margrave ; his successor Gero II from 1002 onwards had to face several attacks by Polish duke Bolesław I Chrobry , which did not end until the 1018 Treaty of Bautzen , which ceded large parts of eastern Lusatia to Poland. Emperor Conrad II reconquered the territories in 1031. In 1136 Conrad the Great of the House of Wettin , margrave of Meissen , also received

615-568: The Schlaube and the Oder–Spree Canal opened in 1891. In the east, the Bóbr River from Łagoda via Krzystkowice down to the historic town of Żary forms the border with the lands of Lower Silesia . In the west the course of the upper Dahme River down to Golßen separates it from the former Electoral Saxon lands of Saxe-Wittenberg . Between Lower and Upper Lusatia is a hill region called

656-576: The Sorbs were quite a large minority in 1843 with about 30.8 percent of the overall population. In following years the number of Sorbs decreased rapidly, and in 1900 only 3.5 percent of the population were Sorbs . Werner Suchner (independent) was elected in 2009 with 55,3 % of the vote. The municipal assembly (Stadtverordnetenversammlung) consists of 18 "Stadtverordneten" plus the "Buergermeister" (town mayor). (Stand: Kommunalwahl am 28. September 2008) The transmitter station Calau, which belongs to

697-528: The estuaries existed permanently in the tidal zone of the North Sea coast. The natural vegetation of the North German Plain is thought to have been forest formed mainly by the dominant species European Beech (Fagetalia). According to Germany's Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, the BfN , the North German Plain consists of the natural regions listed below. Where possible, their names have been derived from authoritative English-language source(s), as indicated by

738-600: The 18th century and Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often traveled the route. Numerous Polish dignitaries also traveled through Lower Lusatia on several occasions, and some Polish nobles owned estates in Lusatia. A distinct remnant of the region's ties to Poland are the 18th-century mileposts decorated with the coat of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth located in various towns in

779-555: The Börde areas (Hildesheim Börde, Magdeburg Börde, with their fertile, loess soils). High-level bog peat can be found in the poorest soils, e.g. in the Teufelsmoor . In the loess areas of the lowland are found the oldest settlement locations in Germany ( Linear Pottery culture ). The northeastern part of the plain (Young Drift) is geomorphologically distinct and contains a multitude of lakes (e.g.

820-529: The Fulda Gap option was seen as the most likely invasion route because of easier and closer access to tactical and strategic goals important for an invasion of Western Europe. Of the two North German plain invasion options, the southern route of the attack, which had the better strategic opportunities, would have been led by the Soviet Third Shock Army . The plain's geography, which makes it suitable for

861-636: The Germans established and operated the Stalag III-B, Oflag III-C and Oflag 8 and prisoner-of-war camps for Polish, French , Belgian, Serbian, British, Australian, New Zealander, Soviet, American, Dutch and Italian POWs with several forced labour subcamps in the region, several Nazi prisons with multiple forced labour subcamps, including in Luckau and a prison solely for women in Cottbus , and several subcamps of

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902-644: The March of Lusatia. In the early 13th century, Lower Lusatia was either entirely or partly, reintegrated with Poland under Henry the Bearded . Later on, it was once again lost to the Wettin dynasty, who ruled it until in 1303 it was acquired by the Ascanian margraves of Brandenburg . For centuries, from as early as the Middle Ages, trade flourished, and several important trade routes ran through Lower Lusatia, connecting German states in

943-631: The Mueritz lake in the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau ) which are vestiges of the last ice age. The retreating glaciers left this landscape behind around 16,000 to 13,000 years ago. In comparison, the dry plains of northwestern Germany (Lower Saxony, western Schleswig-Holstein, and the Bochum area of North Rhine Westphalia) are more heavily weathered and levelled ( Old Drift ) as the last large scale glaciations here occurred at least 130,000 years ago. The region

984-559: The adjacent territory to the south around Bautzen and Görlitz , which became known as Upper Lusatia . The former Lordship of Cottbus was acquired by Brandenburg in 1455 and remained an exclave within the Bohemian kingdom. Both Lusatias formed separate Bohemian crown lands under the rule of the Luxembourg , Jagiellon and—from 1526— Habsburg dynasties. In the course of the Reformation

1025-507: The catchment area of the Oder and Neiße rivers which drain into the Baltic. The North Sea coast and the adjacent coastal areas of the facing East and North Frisian Islands are characterised by a maritime climate . South of the coast, a broad band of maritime and sub-maritime climate stretches from the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein to the western edges of the Central Uplands . To

1066-468: The death of Emperor Charles IV, it appeared in gules on a field argent (red on silver), similar to the coat of arms of Luckau, in which the bull has gold horns and hooves, and turns his head to look at the viewer. After over 600 years it is still used today as Lower Lusatia's coat of arms. Main museums dedicated to the history of the region include the Sorbian museum in Cottbus ( Serbski muzej Chóśebuz ) and

1107-710: The hope of attracting tourism, and the area is now referred to as the Lusatian Lake District ( Lausitzer Seenland ). Today the area comprises the Brandenburg districts of Oberspreewald-Lausitz and Spree-Neiße with the unitary authority of Cottbus , as well as parts of Elbe-Elster , Dahme-Spreewald , and Oder-Spree . Important towns beside Cottbus and the historic capitals Lübben and Luckau include Calau , Doberlug-Kirchhain , Finsterwalde , Forst , Guben / Gubin , Lauchhammer , Lübbenau , Senftenberg , Spremberg , Vetschau , and Żary . Since 1945, when

1148-683: The ice age which formed them) – e.g., on the Fläming Heath (200 m (660 ft) above sea level) and the Helpt Hills 179 m (587 ft)). Following the ice ages, rain-fed, raised bogs originated in western and northern Lower Saxony during warm periods of high precipitation (as influenced by Medieval Warm Period). These bogs were formerly widespread but much of this terrain has now been drained or otherwise superseded. The coastal areas consist of Holocene lake and river marshes and lagoons connected to Pleistocene Old and Young Drift terrain in various stages of formation and weathering. After or during

1189-755: The main escape routes for insurgents of the unsuccessful Polish November Uprising from partitioned Poland to the Great Emigration led through Lübben and Luckau . In the interbellum, the Poles and Sorbs in Germany closely cooperated as part of the Association of National Minorities in Germany , established at the initiative of the Union of Poles in Germany in 1924. There were still notable Polish communities in Lower Lusatia, such as Klettwitz (Upper Sorbian: Klěśišća , Polish: Kletwice ). During World War II ,

1230-630: The references. During the Cold War , in the event of war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact , NATO military strategists identified the North German plain as an area that could have been used for two of three major invasion routes into Western Europe by Warsaw Pact forces. The third route was the Fulda Gap further south. The North German plain routes were the best attack options for an attacking army. However,

1271-504: The region. Polish-Sorbian contacts increased in that period. With the Age of Enlightenment , the Sorbian national revival began and resistance to Germanization emerged. As the Kingdom of Saxony had sided with Napoleon it had to cede Lower Lusatia to Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna , whereafter the territory became part of the Province of Brandenburg and the Province of Saxony . One of

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1312-487: The retreat of the glaciers, wind-borne sand often formed dunes, which were later fixed by vegetation. Human intervention caused the emergence of open heath such as the Lüneburg Heath , and measures such as deforestation and the so-called Plaggenhieb (removal of the topsoil for use as fertilizer elsewhere) caused a wide impoverishment of the soil ( Podsol ). The most fertile soils are the young marshes ( Auen-Vegen ) and

1353-978: The ridge of the Teutoburg Forest , the Wiehen Hills , the Weser Hills and the Lower Saxon Börde, which partly separate it from that area of the Plain known as the Westphalian Lowland . Elements of the Rhenish Massif also act a part of the southern boundary of the plain: the Eifel , Bergisches Land and the Sauerland . In the east the North German Plain spreads out beyond the Harz Mountains and Kyffhäuser further to

1394-441: The south as far as the Central Saxon hill country and the foothills of the Ore Mountains . It is known that the North German Plain was formed during the Pleistocene era as a result of the various glacial advances of terrestrial Scandinavian ice sheets as well as by periglacial geomorphologic processes. The terrain may be considered as part of the Old or Young Drift ( Alt- or Jungmoräne ), depending on whether or not it

1435-451: The south east and east, the climate becomes increasingly subcontinental: characterised by temperature differences between summer and winter which progressively increase away from the tempering effect of the ocean. Locally, a drier continental climate can be found in the rain shadow of the Harz and some smaller areas of upland like the Drawehn and the Fläming . Special microclimates occur in bogs and heathlands and, for example, in

1476-434: The state forest administration. Foresters offer walking tours through the region. Particularly the "Geologische und Naturlehrpfad Luttchensberg" is a sight to see. The town was first mentioned, as Calowe , in 1279. Its name is of Slavic origin and comes from the old Sorbian and Polish word kał , which means " swamp " or " bog ". The town was at various times ruled by Bohemian, Hungarian, Saxon and Polish monarchs, before it

1517-409: The vast majority of the population turned Protestant . The Bohemian era came to an end when Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg ceded the Lusatias to Elector John George I of Saxony under the 1635 Peace of Prague in return for his support in the Thirty Years' War ; thus the lands returned to the House of Wettin. One of the two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through the region in

1558-429: The west, Poland in the east and Bohemia in the south. In 1319, the southern portion of Lower Lusatia with the towns of Żary and Komorów Zły (now German: Senftenberg , Lower Sorbian: Zły Komorow ) became part of the Duchy of Jawor , the southwesternmost duchy of fragmented Piast -ruled Poland. In the northern part, in 1319, Gubin was unsuccessfully besieged by King John of Bohemia , and eventually fell to

1599-425: Was annexed by Prussia in 1815. It was located on an important trade route, called the "Salt Road", which was used to transport salt from Halle to Lusatia and further east to Poland. From 1815 to 1947, Calau was part of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg . From 1952 to 1990, it was part of the Bezirk Cottbus of East Germany . There are only a few people with Sorbian roots living in Calau today, although

1640-515: Was formed by the ice sheets of the last glacial period, the Weichselian Ice Age . The surface relief varies from level to undulating. The lowest points are low moorlands and old marshland on the edge of the ridge of dry land in the west of Schleswig-Holstein (the Wilster Marsh is 3.5 m (11 ft) below sea level) and in the northwest of Lower Saxony (Freepsum, 2.3 m (7.5 ft) below sea level). The highest points may be referred to as Vistula and Hall glaciation terminal moraines (depending on

1681-436: Was shaped by the lignite (brown coal) industry and extensive open-pit mining , by which more than 100 of the region's villages—many of them within the Sorbian settlement area—were damaged or destroyed, especially by order of East German authorities. While this process is still going on, most notably around Jänschwalde Power Station , run by EPH , some now exhausted open-pit mines are being converted into artificial lakes, in

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