Königs Wusterhausen: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 42 - 52 Zeesener Gasthof
 This guest house is located in Brandenburg countryside, 1 km from Königs Wustershausen and 2 km from Lake Zeesen. German regional cuisine is served i… MoreEUR 75 - 129 Kavalierhäuser Schloss Königs Wusterhausen
 The Kavalierhäuser Schloss Königs Wusterhausen offers three spacious and elegant guest rooms decorated in warm tones, as well as a multi-award winni… MoreEUR 48 - 76 Hotel Sophienhof
 This hotel is situated in the church square in amongst the beautiful linden trees in the historical town centre. It is opposite the royal ”hunti… MoreEUR 55 - 79 Hotel Brandenburg
 The hotel is located in the middle in the heart of Königs- Wusterhausen and it takes you only 3 walking minutes to the main station of Königs Wuster… MoreEUR 35 - 87 Commundo Tagungshotel Königs Wusterhausen
 Our hotel is romantically situated on the south-east edge of Berlin, only 30 minutes from the centre and surrounded by forests and lakes.
Berlin attr… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Königs Wusterhausen: Guide
Königs Wusterhausen is a city in Dahme-Spreewald district in the States of Germany|state of Brandenburg in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Geography
Geographical location
Königs Wusterhausen – or "KW" (International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA ) as it is often called locally – lies on the Notte Canal and the river Dahme southeast of Berlin. Much farther away to the west lies the state capital Potsdam.
Parts of town
Königs Wusterhausen is the biggest city in the Dahme-Spreewald district. The municipal reforms in 2003 brought about seven amalgamations, since which time the communities of Zeesen, Kablow, Diepensee, Niederlehme, Senzig, Wernsdorf and Zernsdorf have belonged to Königs Wusterhausen, the city's land area has doubled, and its population has grown sixfold.
History
In 1320, in connection with an investiture on 19 September, the place ("hus to wosterhusen") and the castle got their first known documentary mention. By 1400, the two were both a fiefdom held by the noble family of Schlieben. In 1500 the estate of Wendisch Wusterhausen was verified for the first time by the Schenken (a noble title) of Landberg zu Teupitz.
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In 1862, novelist and poet Theodor Fontane visited Königs Wusterhausen for his Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg.
Since 1901, Königs Wusterhausen has been home to the Brandenburg School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (Brandenburgische Schule für Blinde und Sehbehinderte), endowed by the Hamburg merchant Hermann Schmidt.
In 1920 came the launch of Germany's first radio transmitter, and in 1935, Königs Wusterhausen was raised to city. In 1937, Saint Elisabeth's Catholic Church was built and consecrated.
In 1938, the Berlin Autobahn ring road|ringroad – now Bundesautobahn 10 – was dedicated, and now serves cities and towns around Berlin, including Königs Wusterhausen. By now, the Nazism|National Socialists were in power, and in 1944 they built a concentration camp for Jews and Poland|Poles at the railway goods station.
After the Second World War and until 1990, Königs Wusterhausen was in East Germany.
In 1972, the Central tower (Königs Wusterhausen)|Central tower, the most prominent structure at the radio transmission facility at 243 m tall, collapsed. That same year, an Ilyushin Il-62 crashed in Königs Wusterhausen, killing 156 people.
Worship
Christianity
In Königs Wusterhausen, there is a Catholic as well as an Evangelical Church in Germany|Evangelical parish. The oldest church in town is the village Wehrkirche (a church whose architecture contains typically military elements) in Deutsch Wusterhausen, built in the 13th century. In 1998 the Königs Wusterhausen Evangelical church district melded with the one in Berlin-Neukölln to form the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia. The parishes in Königs Wusterhausen, Deutsch Wusterhausen, Zeesen, Schenkendorf (in the City of Mittenwalde), Senzig, Zernsdorf and Niederlehme today make up Region 9.
The Catholic parish belongs to the Deanship of Treptow-Köpenick|Köpenick-Treptow in the Archbishopric of Berlin.
Both communities have very active youth groups, the Evangelical Junge Gemeinde ("Young Community") and the Katholische Jugend ("Catholic Youth").
Jewish life
For some time, there has once again been a Jewish community in the city. It only has 40 members, but positive developments are foreseen.
Politics
City council
Königs Wusterhausen's council consists of 33 city councillors, with the mayor (Bürgermeister) as head.
Left Party (Germany)|PDS 10 seats
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|CDU 7 seats
Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD 8 seats
BB/UFL Free Voters (citizens' coalition) 4 seats
Free Democratic Party (Germany)|FDP/PUD 3 seats
(as of municipal elections on 26 October 2003)
City partnerships
Borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf (Berlin)
Příbram, Czech Republic
Germantown, Tennessee, United States
Culture and sightseeing
Museums
Königs Wusterhausen Transmission and Radio Technology Museum on the Funkerberg
Of the once great number of building works on the Funkerberg ("Transmitter Mountain"), only very little is preserved nowadays, as many transmission towers were dismantled for technical reasons after the Central Tower collapsed and fell on 15 November 1972. Today, only a 210-m-high mast and two small freestanding towers are to be found there. Along with the remaining buildings, this forms a technological monument.
Until 1999 this mast bore the transmitting antenna that served as the reserve antenna for the longwave stations at Zehlendorf bei Oranienburg and Donebach.
In 1994, a 67-m-high precast concrete Cellular network|cellular transmission tower was put up. It is today the only active transmitter on the Funkerberg.
The first attempts at transmissions were in 1908. On 22 December 1920, music and speech were transmitted wirelessly from the Funkerberg for the first time on "Welle 2400" – longwave. It went down in history as the German postal system's Christmas concert. Königs Wusterhausen is thus also said to be the cradle of German radio. The artists in that broadcast were, incidentally, postal employees. The initiative was German radio pioneer Hans Bredow's brainchild (for this and other groundbreaking work, he is considered the "Father of German Radio").
Until 1926, the popular Sonntagskonzerte ("Sunday Concerts") were broadcast. The station's studio was in the beginning a remodelled bathroom at the first broadcasting house on the Funkerberg.
Buildings
Königs Wusterhausen Hunting Lodge and Garden, known as Prussian King Frederick William I of Prussia|Frederick William favourite place to stay.
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Königs Wusterhausen". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
Kreuzkirche ("Cross Church"), begun in 1693, new glazing in 1949 with 3 choir windows and 4 ornamental round panes by Charles Crodel.
Neue Mühle ("New Mill") Canal lock (first documented in 1739), difference in levels: 1.50 m
Watertower (begun 1910, shut down 1965), now a café with beergarden and exhibition areas
210-metre transmission mast (built 1925)
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Railway (Königs Wusterhausen regional rail and S-Bahn station)
Autobahns: Bundesautobahn 10|A 10 (Berliner Ring), Bundesautobahn 13|A 13
Highways: Bundesstraße (Federal highway) 179 (B 179)
Air travel: near Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport (SXF)
Waterways: Königs Wusterhausen inland port.
External links