{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox German location |type = Stadt |image_coa = Wappen Finsterwalde.svg |image_photo = Finsterwalde May2015 img2 Rathaus.jpg |image_caption = Town hall |coordinates = {{coord|51.628243| 13.710210|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |image_plan = Finsterwalde in EE.png |state = Brandenburg |district = Elbe-Elster |elevation = 108 |area = 77.21 |postal_code = 03238 |area_code = 03531 |licence = EE, FI, LIB |Gemeindeschlüssel = 12 0 62 140 |divisions = 3 Stadtteile / 2 Ortsteile |website = [https://www.finsterwalde.de/ www.finsterwalde.de] |mayor = Jörg Gampe<ref>[https://wahlen.brandenburg.de/wahlen/de/kommunalwahlen/bm-wahlen/ergebnisse/~12062000 Landkreis Elbe-Elster Wahl der Bürgermeisterin / des Bürgermeisters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181443/https://wahlen.brandenburg.de/wahlen/de/kommunalwahlen/bm-wahlen/ergebnisse/~12062000 |date=9 July 2021 }}, retrieved 1 July 2021.</ref> |leader_term = 2017–25 |party = CDU }}
'''Finsterwalde''' ({{IPA|de|fɪnstɐˈvaldə|-|De-Finsterwalde.ogg}}, {{langx|dsb|Grabin}}, {{IPA|dsb|ˈɡrabʲin|pron}}) is a town in the Elbe-Elster district (German: Landkreis), in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany.
==Overview== It is situated on the Schackebach, a tributary of the Kleine Elster, 28 m. W.S.W of Cottbus by rail. Pop. (2005) 18,840. The town has a Gothic church (1581), a castle, schools, cloth and cigar factories, iron-foundries, flour and saw mills and factories for machine building. Popular are the "four singers from Finsterwalde" and their "singer-song".{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}
==History== Finsterwalde was first mentioned in 1288. Up until the beginning of 17th century, a large part of the city's population was still speaking Lower Sorbian.<ref>Der Niedersorben Wendisch. Eine Sprach-Zeit-Reise. Bautzen 2003, p. 69</ref> In 1635, Finsterwalde came into the possession of the Electorate of Saxony and from 1815 it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Finsterwalde|volume=10|page=393}}</ref> From 1815 to 1947, Finsterwalde was part of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg. From 1952 to 1990, it was part of the Bezirk Cottbus of East Germany.
== Demography == <gallery widths="250" heights="200"> File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Finsterwalde.pdf|Development of population since 1875 within the current boundaries (Blue line: population; dotted line: Comparison to population development of Brandenburg state; grey background: Time of Nazi rule; red background: Time of communist rule) File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Finsterwalde.pdf|Recent Population Development and Projections: Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2020-2030 (green line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line) </gallery>
{{historical populations |align=none | cols=3 | percentages=pagr |title = Finsterwalde: Population development <br>within the current boundaries<ref>Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Population_projection_Brandenburg Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons]</ref> | 1875 | 10098 | 1890 | 11466 | 1910 | 17297 | 1925 | 17474 | 1933 | 18072 | 1939 | 20120 | 1946 | 22613 | 1950 | 22374 | 1964 | 23609 | 1971 | 23976 | 1981 | 24870 | 1985 | 24781 | 1989 | 24427 | 1990 | 23777 | 1991 | 23019 | 1992 | 22985 | 1993 | 22556 | 1994 | 22029 | 1995 | 21744 | 1996 | 21457 | 1997 | 21343 | 1998 | 20908 | 1999 | 20482 | 2000 | 20103 | 2001 | 19704 | 2002 | 19378 | 2003 | 19152 | 2004 | 18985 | 2005 | 18693 | 2006 | 18516 | 2007 | 18162 | 2008 | 17861 | 2009 | 17517 | 2010 | 17407 | 2011 | 16876 | 2012 | 16680 | 2013 | 16561 | 2014 | 16407 | 2015 | 16548 | 2016 | 16497 | 2017 | 16409 | 2018 | 16220 | 2019 | 16068 | 2020 | 15968 }}
== Known persons == thumb|left|Beach volleyball player Stephanie Pohl.
The following well known persons are from Finsterwalde:
* Hansgeorg Bätcher (1914–2003), Oberstleutnant in the Luftwaffe * Inge Deutschkron, (1922–2022), German-Israeli journalist and author * Thomas Eisfeld, (born 1993), football player for Arsenal FC * Rainer Genilke (born 1968), politician * Catrin G Grosse (born 1964), artist and painter * Kurt Haehling (1893–1983), Generalmajor in the Wehrmacht * Detlef Irrgang, (born 1966), football player * Sonja Kesselschläger, Heptathlon athlete * Hermann Kotzschmar, (1829–1908), German-American musician, conductor and composer * Peggy Kuznik, Football player * Otto Ostrowski, (1883–1963), Mayor of Finsterwalde in the 1920s * Stephanie Pohl, (born 1978), beach volleyball player * Hans-Jürgen Riediger (born 1955), football player
== Buildings and Monuments== * Finsterwalde Solar Park * Janusz-Korczak-Gymnasium, formerly ''Knabenschule'' by Max Taut (1913) * In Finsterwalde is located a relief dedicated to Lenin in the park "Bürgerheide"<ref>https://leninisstillaround.com/2015/07/20/in-front-of-the-playground/ checked 26.1.2020</ref>
==Climate==
{{Weather box | location = Doberlug-Kirchhain {{efn|Doberlug-Kirchhain is located approximately {{convert|10|km|1|abbr=out}} west of Finsterwalde.}} (1991–2020) | metric first = Y | single line = Y |collapsed = Y |Jan high C = 3.4 |Feb high C = 5.0 |Mar high C = 9.2 |Apr high C = 15.3 |May high C = 19.7 |Jun high C = 23.1 |Jul high C = 25.3 |Aug high C = 25.1 |Sep high C = 20.1 |Oct high C = 14.3 |Nov high C = 8.1 |Dec high C = 4.4 | year high C = 14.4 |Jan mean C = 0.6 |Feb mean C = 1.5 |Mar mean C = 4.6 |Apr mean C = 9.5 |May mean C = 13.9 |Jun mean C = 17.3 |Jul mean C = 19.4 |Aug mean C = 19.0 |Sep mean C = 14.5 |Oct mean C = 9.6 |Nov mean C = 4.9 |Dec mean C = 1.8 |year mean C = 9.7 |Jan low C = -2.4 |Feb low C = -2.0 |Mar low C = 0.3 |Apr low C = 3.3 |May low C = 7.5 |Jun low C = 11.0 |Jul low C = 13.2 |Aug low C = 12.8 |Sep low C = 9.2 |Oct low C = 5.4 |Nov low C = 1.7 |Dec low C = -0.9 | year low C = 4.9 | precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 45.7 |Feb precipitation mm = 34.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 38.8 |Apr precipitation mm = 27.9 |May precipitation mm = 57.2 |Jun precipitation mm = 53.4 |Jul precipitation mm = 69.4 |Aug precipitation mm = 61.2 |Sep precipitation mm = 45.8 |Oct precipitation mm = 39.4 |Nov precipitation mm = 43.3 |Dec precipitation mm = 44.1 | year precipitation mm =561.6 | unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm |Jan precipitation days = 17.1 |Feb precipitation days = 13.7 |Mar precipitation days = 15.1 |Apr precipitation days = 11.0 |May precipitation days = 13.1 |Jun precipitation days = 12.9 |Jul precipitation days = 14.0 |Aug precipitation days = 12.7 |Sep precipitation days = 11.8 |Oct precipitation days = 13.8 |Nov precipitation days = 15.0 |Dec precipitation days = 16.4 |year precipitation days = 166.8 |Jan sun = 55.2 |Feb sun = 78.0 |Mar sun = 124.7 |Apr sun = 190.8 |May sun = 224.2 |Jun sun = 218.7 |Jul sun = 228.4 |Aug sun = 220.4 |Sep sun = 163.7 |Oct sun = 114.1 |Nov sun = 62.2 |Dec sun = 48.3 |year sun = 1741.3 |Jan humidity = 84.5 |Feb humidity = 80.6 |Mar humidity = 77.0 |Apr humidity = 70.5 |May humidity = 70.5 |Jun humidity = 70.0 |Jul humidity = 69.0 |Aug humidity = 69.9 |Sep humidity = 76.6 |Oct humidity = 82.3 |Nov humidity = 87.1 |Dec humidity = 86.2 | year humidity =77.8 | source 1 = NOAA<ref name=NOAA>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230916125713/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Germany/CSV/Doberlug-Kirchhain_10490.csv | archive-date = 16 September 2023 | url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Germany/CSV/Doberlug-Kirchhain_10490.csv | title = Doberlug-Kirchhain Climate Normals 1991–2020 | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | access-date = 16 September 2023}}</ref> }}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline}}
{{Cities and towns in Elbe-Elster (district)}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Localities in Elbe-Elster {{Brandenburg-geo-stub}}