As a university and trading city, Frankfurt (Oder) has always been an important printing and publishing center. The removal of the university in 1811 and Frankfurt's development into an administrative city also changed the publishing landscape. After the Neumark government moved its headquarters from Küstrin to Frankfurt (Oder), the court book printer Trowitzsch & Sohn also moved from there to the new provincial capital in 1813. As one of the most important Prussian publishing houses, Trowitzsch & Sohn gained importance in Frankfurt primarily through the printing and publishing of the official gazette of the provincial government, the Frankfurter Patriotisches Wochenblatt and the Frankfurter Oderzeitung.
The Frankfurter Patriotisches Wochenblatt, edited by Professor Christian Wilhelm Spieker, was published weekly from 1811 and daily during the trade fairs. The weekly newspaper printed the economic, social and cultural events of the day as well as historical accounts and sources. Due to the constant increase in news, this weekly newspaper was merged into the daily "Frankfurter Oderzeitung" in 1880. This was the most important newspaper for eastern Brandenburg on both sides of the Oder. The last issue was published on April 15, 1945. Due to the gaps in archival records caused by the war, especially for the 19th and first half of the 20th century, the Frankfurter Patriotische Wochenblatt and the Frankfurter Oderzeitung form one of the most important sources for urban and regional history.
With funding from the Brandenburg Ministry of Science, Research and Culture, the technical infrastructure was created to make digitized newspapers available online. The Frankfurter Oderzeitung forms the beginning of the Digital Newspaper Archive. It can be accessed via the website of the city archive. In the coming years, further newspapers will be digitized and made available online.