Müncheberg

Müncheberg is a small town in Märkisch-Oderland, Germany approximately halfway between Berlin and the border with Poland.GeographyPrior to 2003 the area today covered by Müncheberg was organized as the so-called "Amt Müncheberg". It included eight municipalities that were incorporated on March 31, 2002 to form the town of Müncheberg:(population in parentheses) Müncheberg (5,190)Obersdorf (253)Hermersdorf (273)Trebnitz (509)Eggersdorf (345)Hoppegarten (268)Jahnsfelde (295)Münchehofe (102)HistoryMüncheberg was founded between 1225 and 1232 by Cistercian monks who had been given the land by the Piast Duke of Lower Silesia, Henry I the Bearded. A citation in a document from June 29, 1232, marks the official date of the founding of Müncheberg. This first settlement was called "Lubes" (Lubiąż) by the monks in honor of the monastery in Leubus (Lubiąż), Silesia, where they originally came from. This name was not kept for long and in February 1233 the settlement was first mentioned as Munichberc (Middle High German for "Monk's Hill") in a charter by Pope Gregory IX. The settlement grew quickly and gained town privileges in 1245. The increasing prosperity led to the construction of a 7-meter (23 ft) high city wall in 1319.