A 1301 contract signed by Margrave Frederick I named a town and castle of Vredeburch, then a possession of the Lords of Strehla, who served as ministeriales of the ruling House of Wettin.

Under the rule of Lord Master Count Adam of Schwarzenberg, the fortifications were enlarged, nevertheless Friedland suffered severely under the impact of the Thirty Years' War.

Only four years later, the town passed to the Prussian province of Brandenburg upon the Final Act of the 1815 Vienna Congress.

After World War II, Friedland was incorporated into the State of Brandenburg from 1947 to 1952 and the Bezirk Frankfurt of East Germany from 1952 to 1990.

Friedland is the least densely populated town ("Stadt") in Germany, just narrowly beating Baruth/Mark (also in Brandenburg) for that distinction.