Oranienburg
Schloss Oranienburg
Oranienburg
Location of the town of Oranienburg within Oberhavel district
Coordinates	52°45′16″N 13°14′13″E / 52.75444°N 13.23694°E / 52.75444; 13.23694Coordinates: 52°45′16″N 13°14′13″E / 52.75444°N 13.23694°E / 52.75444; 13.23694
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
District	Oberhavel
Town subdivisions	9 districts
Mayor	Hans-Joachim Laesicke (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	162.37 km2 (62.69 sq mi)
Elevation	34 m  (112 ft)
Population	41,810 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	257 /km2 (667 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	OHV
Postal code	16515
Area code	03301
Website	www.oranienburg.de

Oranienburg is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel.

Geography[link]

Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin.

Division of the town[link]

Oranienburg consists of 9 districts

• Friedrichsthal
• Germendorf
• Lehnitz
• Malz
• Oranienburg
• Sachsenhausen
• Schmachtenhagen
• Wensickendorf
• Zehlendorf

History[link]

The original name of Oranienburg was Bötzow. The town was founded in the 12th century and was first mentioned in 1216. Albert the Bear is believed to have ordered the construction of a castle on the banks of the Havel. Around the castle there was a settlement of traders and craftsmen.

In 1646, Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg married Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau (German: Oranien-Nassau). She was so attracted by the town of Bötzow, that her husband presented the entire region to her. The princess ordered a new castle to be built in the Dutch style and called it Oranienburg or Schloss Oranienburg. In 1653, the town of Bötzow was renamed Oranienburg.

One of the first Nazi concentration camps was built in Oranienburg in 1933. In 1935 it was replaced by the Sachsenhausen concentration camp which continued to operate until the end of the Nazi regime; 100,000 people were killed in Sachsenhausen before the liberation of the camp by the Soviet Red Army in 1945.

Oranienburg was also the center of Nazi Germany's nuclear energy project and according to military historian Antony Beevor, the launching of the Battle for Berlin by Stalin was motivated by his desire to acquire that facility.^[2] It has also been claimed that the preemptive destruction of these facilities by the USAAF Eighth Air Force on March 15, 1945, was done so as to prevent it from falling into Soviet hands.^[3]

International relations[link]

Oranienburg is twinned with:

• Bagnolet (France) -- since 1964
• Hamm (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) -- since 1990
• Mělník (Czech Republic) -- since 1974
• Vught (Netherlands) -- since 2000
• Friedrichsthal (Saarland, Germany) -- since 1991

Public institutions[link]

The Zehlendorf transmission facility, a large facility for broadcasting in longwave, medium wave and FM-range, is located near Oranienburg, at Zehlendorf.

Runge plaque

See also[link]

• Oranienburg railway station
• Stellwerk Fichtengrund

Footnotes[link]

1. ^ "Bevölkerung im Land Brandenburg am am 30. Dezember 2010 nach amtsfreien Gemeinden, Ämtern und Gemeinden. Gebietsstand: 31.12.2010" (in German). Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg. 31 December 2010. http://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de//Publikationen/OTab/2011/OT_A01-04-00_124_201012_BB.pdf. 
2. ^ Antony Beevor Berlin: The Downfall 1945, Penguin Books, 2002, ISBN 0-670-88695-5 Preface xxxiv
3. ^ Richard G. Davis,Bombing the European Axis Powers. A Historical Digest of the Combined Bomber Offensive 1939–1945 Alabama: Air University Press, 2006, page 518

External links[link]

Media related to Oranienburg at Wikimedia Commons

• Official site (German)

v t e Towns and municipalities in Oberhavel Birkenwerder Fürstenberg/Havel Glienicke/Nordbahn Gransee Großwoltersdorf Hennigsdorf Hohen Neuendorf Kremmen Leegebruch Liebenwalde Löwenberger Land Mühlenbecker Land Oberkrämer Oranienburg Schönermark Sonnenberg Stechlin Velten Zehdenick

Matthias Reim
Matthias Reim in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Matthias Reim
Born	(1957-11-26) 26 November 1957 (age 54)
Origin	Korbach, Hessen, Germany
Genres	Schlager, Pop music, Rock music
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, Composer, Arranger, Musician
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Polydor, EMI
Associated acts	Bernhard Brink, Christoph Brüx, Roberto Blanco, Jürgen Drews, Tina York a.o.
Website	http://www.matthiasreim.net

Matthias Reim (born 26 November 1957 in Korbach, Hesse) is a German singer-songwriter. His 1990 single "Verdammt, ich lieb' dich" ("Damn, I love you") was a hit in several European countries, and spent sixteen consecutive weeks at the No.1 spot in the German charts.

Early life[link]

Reim was born on 26 November 1957 in Korbach, Hessen. He grew up in Homberg (Efze). His father was the director of the gymnasium in Homberg. After receiving his Abitur, he began his undergraduate studies in the German and English languages as well as Germanistic and Anglistic literatures in Göttingen. This took 18 terms – this is above average, as he spent its time predominantly in the music studio and not in the lecture-room.

Career[link]

Matthias Reim composes, writes lyrics, mixes and plays songs himself. The music to some songs comes from the German composer and music producer Christoph Brüx (Hamburg), for example Das erste Mal (The first time).^[1] He composed for many other performers such as Bernhard Brink, Roberto Blanco, Jürgen Drews and Tina York. His first own LPs with his bands Fallen Dice and Fair Tax did not bring commercial success.

Reim's first - and largest - hit came out in 1990 – called "Verdammt, Ich lieb' dich" ("Damn, I love you"). The single sold 2.5 million copies world-wide and was at the top of the pops of German charts for 16 weeks - between 18 May and 6 September - since 1971 no other single stood longer without interruption at place 1 but this mark Matthias Reim shares with Boney M. The first album Reim was released soon after.

Until 1999 he published nine further albums with Polydor. His LP Zauberland was also released in an English-language version in Canada – there called Wonderland.

In the year 2000 the first out of (so far) six LPs by Reim were released by his new record company EMI. They are called

• Wolkenreiter (Cloud rider)
• Morgenrot (Morning red)
• Reim
• Unverwundbar (Invulnerable)
• Männer sind Krieger (Men are Warriors)
• Sieben Leben (Seven lives).

[edit] Albums^[2]

• 1990: Reim^[3]
• 1991: Reim 2
• 1993: Sabotage
• 1994: Zauberland
• 1995: Wonderland (Zauberland in Canada)
• 1995: Alles Klar
• 1997: Reim 3
• 1998: Sensationell
• 1999: 10 Jahre intensiv
• 2000: Wolkenreiter
• 2002: Morgenrot
• 2003: Reim
• 2004: Déjà Vu
• 2005: Unverwundbar
• 2006: Die Fan-Edition
• 2007: Männer sind Krieger
• 2010: Sieben Leben
• 2011: Sieben Leben Live 2011

References[link]

1. ^ Swiss hit parade Das erste Mal
2. ^ Matthias Reim: Discography 17.12.2010
3. ^ swisscharts.com: Matthias Reim 17.12.2010

External links[link]

• (de) Matthias Reim's official website
• (en) Biography of Reim on IMDb
• (en) Biography of Reim on allmusic.com