Brandenburg

Brandenburg exists because Berlin exists—and because landlocked capital cities need hinterland. This state surrounds Berlin completely (forming the only German state to encircle another), providing the land, water, and increasingly the workforce that the city-state cannot contain. Tesla's Gigafactory in Grünheide (producing vehicles since 2022) symbolizes Brandenburg's transformation: proximity to Berlin attracts investment that the capital's density repels. The Berlin-Brandenburg metropolitan region functions as a single economic unit despite political division. Brandenburg's historic role as March (border region) of the Holy Roman Empire created the identity that eventually led to Prussian dominance and German unification—path dependence from medieval territorial organization. After reunification in 1990, the state transitioned from East German industrial collapse to service and commuter economy, with Potsdam emerging as an alternative center for government, research, and film production (Babelsberg studios). Agricultural land, lakes, and forests provide recreational space for Berlin's 3.6 million residents. Brandenburg demonstrates satellite dynamics: close enough to capture metropolitan spillover, distinct enough to maintain separate governance, forever defined by proximity to a neighbor whose metabolism it serves.