Overview

• Protestant and Catholic congregations gathered in the Fürstenwalde cathedral for a festival service marking the anniversary.
• Berlin Archbishop Heiner Koch reflected on a turbulent German–Polish past, noting wounds and disappointments alongside hope and new beginnings.
• Polish clergy participated in leading the liturgy, highlighting enduring ties across the Oder.
• Brandenburg Minister-President Dietmar Woidke of the SPD attended the commemoration.
• The regional Protestant church noted that Lebus was founded in 1124/1125 by Duke Boleslaw III, spanned both sides of the Oder, had its last episcopal seat in Fürstenwalde from 1376, and was dissolved during the Reformation after more than 450 years.