Bad Freienwalde

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Bad Freienwalde
St Nicolas Church and town hall
St Nicolas Church and town hall
Coat of arms of Bad Freienwalde
Coat of arms
Location of Bad Freienwalde within Märkisch-Oderland district
Bad Freienwalde is located in Germany
Bad Freienwalde
Bad Freienwalde
Coordinates: 52°47′08″N 14°01′57″E / 52.78556°N 14.03250°E / 52.78556; 14.03250Coordinates: 52°47′08″N 14°01′57″E / 52.78556°N 14.03250°E / 52.78556; 14.03250
CountryGermany
StateBrandenburg
DistrictMärkisch-Oderland
Subdivisions7 Ortsteile
Government
 • Mayor (2017–25) Ralf Lehmann[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total131.73 km2 (50.86 sq mi)
Highest elevation
158 m (518 ft)
Lowest elevation
10 m (30 ft)
Population
 (2020-12-31)[2]
 • Total12,286
 • Density93/km2 (240/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
16259
Dialling codes03344
Vehicle registrationMOL, FRW, SEE, SRB
Websitebad-freienwalde.de

Bad Freienwalde is a spa town in the Märkisch-Oderland district in Brandenburg, Germany.

Geography[]

The town is situated on the Alte Oder, an old branch of the Oder River at the northwestern rim of the Oderbruch basin and the steep rise of the Barnim Plateau. It is located 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Eberswalde, and 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Berlin, near the border with Poland.

Bad Freienwalde has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church as well as manufacturers of furniture and machinery. The neighbouring forests and its medicinal springs make it a favorite summer resort of Berlin inhabitants. A new tower commands a fine panoramic view over the Oder valley.

The municipal area comprises the following villages: Altranft, Altglietzen, Bralitz, Hohensaaten, Hohenwutzen, Neuenhagen and Schiffmühle.

History[]

Bad Freienwalde Town hall
Freienwalde Castle

The settlement of Vrienwalde in the Margraviate of Brandenburg was first mentioned in a 1316 deed and appeared as a town in 1364. From 1618, the Freienwalde manor was directly held by the Brandenburg prince-electors (Kurfürsten).

A mineral spring was discovered in 1683. The alchemist Johann Kunckel brought it to the attention of the "Great Elector" Frederick William of Brandenburg, who, gout-ridden, arrived in Freienwalde the next year. Recorded by the physician Bernhardus Albinus in 1685, the Kurfürstenquelle became the foundation of Freienwalde's rise as a spa town. Frederick William's son King Frederick I of Prussia had a first maison de plaisance erected by the architect Andreas Schlüter.

The development was further promoted, when in 1799 the small Neoclassical Freienwalde Castle was built according to plans by David Gilly as a summer residence of Princess Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, the widow of King Frederick William II of Prussia. Its park was redesigned by Peter Joseph Lenné in 1822. The industrialist and politician Walther Rathenau acquired the palace in 1909, it was nationalised after his assassination in 1922. Freienwalde achieved the official status of spa town (Bad) in 1925.

Notable people[]

Elisa Radziwill
  • Elisabeth Radziwill, (1803−1834), beloved of Prince Wilhelm I of Prussia died at Freienwalde
  • Edith Andreae (1883–1952) salonière and sister of Walter Rathenau.
  • Alfred Blaschko (1858–1922), dermatologist
  • Hilde Jennings (1906-unknown), actress
  • Hans Keilson (1909–2011), Dutch psychotherapist, novelist
  • Kurt Kretschmann (1914-2007) nature conservationist
  • Erwin Wickert (1915-2008), German diplomat
  • Ferdinand Friedrich Zimmermann (1898-1967), journalist, publicist and Sturmbannführer
  • Volkmar Sigusch (born 1940), sexologist and physician
  • , children's book authors

Demography[]

  • Development of population since 1875 within the current boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to population development of Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of Nazi rule; Red Background: Time of Communist rule)

  • 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)

Bad Freienwalde (Oder): Population development
within the current boundaries (2020)[3]
YearPop.±% p.a.
1875 15,003—    
1890 17,076+0.87%
1910 19,016+0.54%
1925 18,825−0.07%
1939 19,850+0.38%
1950 20,867+0.46%
1964 19,077−0.64%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1971 18,769−0.23%
1981 17,455−0.72%
1985 17,023−0.62%
1990 16,659−0.43%
1995 15,624−1.27%
2000 14,808−1.07%
2005 13,739−1.49%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2010 12,788−1.42%
2015 12,406−0.60%
2016 12,316−0.73%
2017 12,327+0.09%
2018 12,365+0.31%
2019 12,304−0.49%
2020 12,286−0.15%

International relations[]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Bad Freienwalde is twinned with:

References[]

  1. ^ Landkreis Märkisch-Oderland Wahl der Bürgermeisterin / des Bürgermeisters, accessed 1 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden 31. Dezember 2020". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). June 2021.
  3. ^ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons

External links[]

Media related to Bad Freienwalde at Wikimedia Commons

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