Cottbus at a glance

Cottbus, the green city on the Spree river, has long been well-known for its parks and has more recently established itself as a university town. Nowadays Cottbus is also a centre for trade fairs and congresses in Lower Lusatia. This bilingual town's history has been shaped by both Germans and Sorbs. Situated between Berlin and Dresden, close to the Spreewald (river Spree forest), Cottbus is an easy destination to reach for tourists. Its culture, art and nature offer many opportunities for adventure, sightseeing and recreation.

The city of Cottbus won the Gold Medal at the national "Entente Florale" competition "Our city is flourishing" in 2001.

Cottbus – a city of culture an arts and a centre of health

Fürst-Pückler-Park und Schloss Branitz
Staatstheater Cottbus
Centre of top class sports
Excellent and plentiful leisure-time activities
Carl-Thiem-Klinikum (clinical centre)
Sana-Herzzentrum (cardiac centre

Short review

federal state: Brandenburg
situated: between the metropolitan areas of Berlin and Dresden
51 degrees North latitude, 14 degrees East longitude, 75 metres above sea level
population: approx. 99.000
total area: 164 km²

Travel connection

By car:	BAB 13 Berlin - Dresden BAB 15 Berlin - Cottbus - Forst - Breslau
Railway connections:	Cottbus - Görlitz Cottbus - Leipzig Cottbus - Dresden Cottbus - Hannover Cottbus - Berlin Cottbus - Forst (Lausitz) Cottbus - Emden Cottbus - Frankfurt/Oder
Airports:	Berlin - Schönefeld, Berlin - Tegel, Dresden

Cottbus' history in brief:

12th century: First documented reference to the city
13th century: First planned settlement
16th century: Development of the town's textiles industry
18th century: Foundation of a French town colony
19th century: First wool spinning factory
19th and 20th century: Industrialisation and brown coal mining made Cottbus into an industrial town.
Following the establishment of the GDR (German Democratic Republic), Cottbus becomes district capital and plays a vital role in providing the country's energy.
1976: Cottbus reaches the magic number of 100,000 inhabitants and becomes a city.
In 1990, the fall of communism prompted a deep structural change.

Cottbus today:

Cottbus is developing into the centre for services, science and administration in southern Brandenburg.
Cottbus is now the 2nd biggest city in Brandenburg, the so-called high level centre of southern Brandenburg and the region's centre of development.
The only Technical University in Brandenburg is located in Cottbus.
Cottbus is the location for the Lausitz University of Applied Sciences).
Cottbus has become a financial centre for Brandenburg.
Cottbus has also become the trade fair and congress centre of the region.
Cottbus is now a member of "Euroregion Spree-Neiße-Bober".
In 1995, Cottbus was the first city to organise the Federal Gardening Exhibition in the new Länder. That led to the realisation of city development "Cottbus 2000".
The Football Club "Energie Cottbus" is in the German Football League.