A short distance to the south of the old
Sorbian village of Altforst, the town probably originated around 1150 at a
river crossing point on the important west–east trade route. Known as the "Salt Road", it was used to transport salt from
Halle to Lusatia and further east to Poland. By 1265 it was developing into a permanent trading settlement round the Church of St Nicholas. The commercial importance of Forst increased with the development of a north–south route connecting to
Guben, downstream along the
Neisse River. In the fourteenth century the council was able to take on responsibility for the lower courts locally. In 1352
of Ileburg took over the overlordship of Forst from
Frederick III of Meissen. At various times the town was under the suzerainty of Bohemian, Hungarian, Saxon and Polish monarchs. In 1628, clothiers from
Leszno,
Międzyrzecz and
Wschowa in Poland settled in the town. In 1746, it was purchased by
Heinrich von Brühl, minister of
Augustus III of Poland. Forst was awarded to the
Kingdom of Prussia in the 1815
Congress of Vienna. After the war it became part of the State of
Brandenburg, which became one of the constituent parts of the
German Democratic Republic in 1949. From 1952 to 1990, it was part of the East German
Bezirk Cottbus. Since
German reunification in 1990, it is again part of Brandenburg. 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 all of the textile plants and factories have closed down. == Demography ==