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The Uckermark
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Uckermark is today the most northeast district of Brandenburg, which is
one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. In the east it
borders to Poland, in the north to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, another German
state. In an area of approximately 3,000 square km (larger than the state
Saarland) live approx. 149,000 people. The capital of the Uckermark is
Prenzlau, other cities are Angermuende, Schwedt/Oder, Lychen and Templin.
In the 6th /7th century slavic Ukranes settled the area.After them the country later was called "Terra Ukera",
from which the designation "Uckermark" was derived. In its
eventful history the Uckermark or parts of it belonged alternating to
Pommerania, Mecklenburg and Brandenburg. Thus 1172 Pommeranian dukes
acquired the Uckermark, however surrendered parts of it 1250 to the
Askanian. After various disputes in
1479, the Uckermark finally became part of the Kurmark Brandenburg |
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| The Uckermark is a forest and
lake-rich landscape between the rivers Havel and lower Oder. It extends on
both sides the Ucker-valley with the Ucker-lakes. The face of the
Uckermark was shaped by large glaciers of the Vistula cold age
(20.000-13.000 years ago). |
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branch of economy was always the agriculture, important cultures today are
grain, oilseeds and sugar beets. In the area around Schwedt/Oder also
tobacco is still cultivated. Since nowadays the agriculture no longer
employs so many people as in earlier times, unemployment is very high, the
young people move away and the villages desert.
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Uckermark however had to fight with population decrease already more
frequently. In the 30 year war it was marching-up area of the battling
parties and got looted and devastated by all sides. Settlers were called
into the country and first colonies of Dutchmen and Swiss were based. With
the edict of Potsdam 1685 Friedrich William “the Great Elector”
invited the Huguenots into his country, they formed the French colonies,
among others, in Bergholz, Schwedt/Oder, Angermuende and Prenzlau. Some
settlers of the second generation went on to Denmark and East Prussia
around 1720. In the 7 year war against Austria the Uckermark was again
one of the battle-fields. In the19th century many families emigrated to
America or Australia. In the first decades of the 20th century Polish harvest workers moved in
with their families and strengthened the catholic parishes, after 2nd
World War many refugees from East- an d West-Prussia, Pommerania and
Silesia found here a new homeland.
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| After
the reunification of the two German states in the 90's it came to a
re-organization of the States of the Federal Republic and their districts.
The former district town Strasburg/Uckermark belongs since 1994 to the
district Uecker/Randow and to the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its
affiliation to the landscape Uckermark is still shown by the name
additive.
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Pictures from the Uckermark |
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