Schwedt

Infobox German Location
type = Stadt
Wappen = Wappen_Schwedt.pnglat_deg = 53
lat_min = 03 | lat_sec=0
lat_hem = N
lon_deg = 14
lon_min = 16 | lon_sec=0
lon_hem = E
Lageplan = Schwedt-Oder in UM.pngBundesland = Brandenburg
Landkreis = Uckermark
Höhe = 6
Fläche = 200.12
Einwohner = 37001
Stand = 2006-06-30
PLZ = 16303
PLZ-alt = 1330
Vorwahl = 03332, 033336
Kfz = UM
Website = [http://www.schwedt.de www.schwedt.de]
Bürgermeister = Jürgen Polzehl
Partei = SPD

Schwedt (or Schwedt/Oder) (pronunciation: [ʃve:t] ) is a city in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the largest city of the district Uckermark near the Oder river on the border with Poland. Schwedt is an industrial city at the edge of the Lower Oder Valley National Park at the Polish border. Across the river and the border, about 10 km to the southeast, is the Polish town of Chojna ("Königsberg/Neumark"). The nearest German towns are Angermünde (18 km to the west) and Gartz (18 km down the Oder).

Schwedt has one of the largest oil refineries (PCK Raffinerie GmbH) in Germany and is the largest location of paper industry in Europe. Most industries were located in the formerly remote town of Schwedt during socialist rule in the 60s and 70s. Large residential areas were built for the workers moving to Schwedt. About 90% of the town's flats are in prefab concrete buildings (Plattenbau) dating from the era. As many jobs were lost after German reunification and the return to market economy, Schwedt has lost a quarter of its population since 1990. In recent years, Schwedt became a model town for the demolition of "Plattenbau" housings in order to fight flat vacancies and urban decay.

Since Poland's EU accession, over 400 Polish women, chiefly from the Szczecin area, have given birth to their babies in the border town of Schwedt. EU regulations allow patients to undergo treatment abroad without the domestic financing agency's permission only in emergency cases. Polish women turning up at the Schwedt hospital claim they've just happened to be in town for shopping, but in reality these are planned births.Fact|date=July 2008

Local districts

Blumenhagen, Kunow, Criewen, Heinersdorf, Hohenfelde, Kummerow, Gatow, Stendell, former town Vierraden, Zützen

History

Population history

Notable people

*Jörg Hoffmann – Freestyle swimmer
*Britta Steffen – Freestyle swimmer - a former holder of the world record in women's 100 metre freestyle

Towns near Schwedt

* Vierraden (Germany)
* Gartz (Germany)
* Penkun (Germany)
* Szczecin City (Poland)
* Gryfino (Poland)
* Cedynia (Poland)
* Chojna (Poland)
* Mieszkowice (Poland)
* Moryń (Poland)
* Trzcińsko-Zdrój (Poland)
* Myślibórz (Poland)
* Pyrzyce (Poland)

External links

* [http://www.schwedt.de/ City's official website] de icon
* [http://www.unteres-odertal.de/ official website of National Park "Unteres Odertal"] de icon
* [http://www.pck.de official website of PCK Raffinerie GmbH] de icon