Forst (Lausitz) (Lower Sorbian: Baršć) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It lies east of Cottbus, on the river Lausitzer Neiße which is also the German-Polish border, the Oder-Neisse line. It is the capital of the Spree-Neiße district. It is known for its rose garden and textile museum. The town’s population is 20,618. In Forst, there is a railway bridge across the Neiße belonging to the line Cottbus–Żary which is serviced by regional trains and a EuroCity train between Hamburg and Kraków (2011). The is also a road bridge across the river north of Forst.
Part of the region of Lusatia, Forst was awarded to the Kingdom of Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna. The town was subsequently administered within the Province of Brandenburg. After World War II it became part of the German Democratic Republic.
Forst has experienced severe problems as a result of the 1990 German reunification, most notably from extreme unemployment. In the past, the town was known for textile manufacturing, but…