Maasdorf

History

Maasdorf was first documented in 1376 as Mostorph. The origin of the name, likely German, is undocumented, but various spellings have appeared over time: 1376 Mostorph, 1378 Mostorf, 1391 Mannstorf, 1402 Mansdorff, 1442 Mastorff, 1457 Monstorff, 1529 Maßdorff, 1550 Masdorff, and 1752 Maasdorff. The village was originally owned by the Ileburger noble family, part of the Upper Saxon nobility, who controlled Liebenwerda Castle. Residents of Maasdorf were subject to the Dingstuhl court in Dobra, which also governed Dobra, Liebenwerda’s suburbs (Stadtwinkel and Freiwinkel), Zeischa, and Zobersdorf. Frequent flooding from the Kleine Elster (formerly Dober), a tributary of the Schwarze Elster, prompted the construction of a 122.5-ell-long dam in 1789 to protect the village. Additional fires in February 1609 destroyed 17 houses, and in January 1856, six farmsteads were lost. On 22 April 1945, shortly before World War II ended, the Red Army entered Maasdorf, confiscating horses and burning a plot with an abandoned military vehicle. On 11 May 1945, Russian soldiers shot the village schoolteacher, Karl Drechsler, in the school garden in front of his wife. The land reform in the Bad Liebenwerda district began in the autumn of 1945, expropriating estates over 100 hectares, including buildings, livestock, and equipment. In Maasdorf, 157 hectares, including the estate of Paul Weiland, were redistributed. The Mittelhausen Pond estate, owned by the von Kuczkowski noble family, was also affected. In 1993, during Brandenburg’s district reform, Maasdorf was incorporated into Bad Liebenwerda, alongside Dobra, Kosilenzien, Kröbeln, Lausitz, Möglenz, Neuburxdorf, Oschätzchen, Prieschka, Thalberg, Theisa, Zeischa, and Zobersdorf. In 1835, Maasdorf had 43 houses, 211 inhabitants, 44…