a historical region in the territory of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In the Middle Ages, Brandenburg was one of the principalities established in the process of the conquest of the lands of the Polabian Slavs, largely Liutichi, by the German feudal lords (from the tenth century). German feudal aggression, halted as a result of the Slavic Uprising of 983, was renewed in the middle of the 12th century when Albert the Bear conquered Branibor (later Brandenburg), the center of the Gavolian tribes.
In the 13th century Brandenburg, ruled until 1320 by the German margraves of the Ascanian line who practiced a policy of Germanization, grew rapidly because of new seizures of Slavic lands. The general economic rise of the 13th century encouraged the growth of towns—for example, Cologne on the Spree and Berlin and Frankfurt on the Oder—and the economic and political elevation of Brandenburg. The Golden Bull recognized the Brandenburg margraves as electors in 1356. The Hohenzollern dynasty was established in Brandenburg in 1415, and Berlin became its residence in 1486. The indivisibility of Brandenburg lands was established by law in 1473. The Lutheran Reformation was introduced there in 1539.
The addition to Brandenburg in 1614 of Cleve, Mark, and Ravensburg, and in 1618 of Ducal Prussia (until 1657, a fief of Poland) and the significant extension of Brandenburg’s territory by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 under Frederick William (1640–88) created the basis for the elevation of Brandenburg and the foundation of the Kingdom of Brandenburg-Prussia (1701).
The subsequent history of Brandenburg is merged with the history of Prussia. From 1815 to 1945 Brandenburg was a Prussian province, then Land, with Potsdam as its center (at first in the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany, and from 1949 in the GDR). In 1952, Brandenburg was divided into the districts of Potsdam, Frankfurt, and Cottbus.
a city in the German Democratic Republic, in the district of Potsdam; it is a port on the Havel River, a tributary of the Elbe. It is connected by way of Lake Plauen with the Havel-Elbe Canal and is an important transport center. Population, 92,300 (1969). The city is a center for metallurgy, metallurgical construction, tractor construction, riverboat building, and the chemical, timber, paper, textile, and food industries.