Kyritz () is a town in the

Ostprignitz-Ruppin Ostprignitz-Ruppin is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from north clockwise) the districts Müritz and Mecklenburg-Strelitz (district), Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, ...

district, in

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is situated 28 km west of

Neuruppin Neuruppin (, , in contrast to ":de:Alt Ruppin, Old Ruppin"; ; North Brandenburgisch dialect, Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the noveli ...

and 28 km southeast of Pritzwalk. The town has 9,260 inhabitants (2019).

Overview

The town is situated near the , literally "Kyritz chain of lakes". The town is nicknamed "Kyritz an der Knatter" (Kyritz at the Rattle). The noise of numerous water mills along a stream parallel to the river Jäglitz was the reason for this nickname. This river channel does not exist anymore. The town includes the districts Berlitt, Bork, Drewen, Gantikow, Ganz, Holzhausen, Kötzlin, Lellichow, Mechow, Rehfeld and Teetz.

History

The oldest document mentioning the area around Kyritz as "Chorizi" was written in 948. The region was called "Prignitz". The name is derived from the Slavic word "pregynica" meaning "inaccessible woods". A castle was built here in 1148, and little by little a town developed close to the castle. In the year 1225 a Franciscan friary was established here (dissolved in 1552). The first document in which the name "Kyritz" was mentioned dates from 1232. It obtained municipal status in 1237 and got the privilege to produce its own coins. A wall around the town was built in the 14th century. Kyritz became a member of the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

in 1359. The merchants living in Kyritz sold wheat, clothes, wood, wool, linnen and hop to other member towns of the Hanseatic League and they bought metals, spices, wine and fish from other places. Goods from

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

, the headquarters of the Hanseatic League, were sold duty-free in Kyritz. In 1488 the first brewery was founded in Kyritz. The beer was named "Mord und Totschlag" (Murder and Manslaughter) and it is still brewed in Neuzelle. In 1600 Count Hans Christoff von Königsmarck was born in Kötzlin, a leading Swedish general in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

who is most famous for attempting to conquer

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in 1648. In 1626, 800 citizens of Kyritz died from the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...

. From 1806 to 1814 Kyritz was occupied by French soldiers. After Napoleon's defeat n 1814 the "Peace Oak" was planted in the Market Place. From 1815 to 1945, Kyritz was part of the Prussian

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...

. From 1952 to 1990, it was part of the

Bezirk Potsdam The Bezirk Potsdam was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Potsdam. History The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. After 3 October ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

Sights

St. Mary's Church was founded in the 14th century. It burnt down in the Thirty Years' War in 1622 and was not rebuilt before 1714. Inside there is a pulpit dating from 1714 and a baptismal font from the 16th century.Karl Baedeker GmbH: ''Deutschland 2000'', p. 480. Ostfildern 2000 The Town Hall was built with a clock tower in 1879 and renovated in 1994 and 2013. The Oak of Peace in the Market place was planted in 1814 after Napoleon's defeat. There are various half-timbered houses in Kyritz dating from the 18th and 19th century, e.g. ''Eichhorstsches Haus'' in Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Str. dating from 1663 which is famous its wood-carvings. A part of the medieval wall consisting of bricks around the town is well-preserved. The wall was renovated in 2013. At the end of ''Mauerstraße'' a half round defensive tower was transformed into a residential building, a house of this kind is called "Wiekhaus" in German.

Climate

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Kyritz.pdf, Development of population since 1875 within the current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population development in Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

; Red Background: Time of communist

) File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Kyritz.pdf, Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the

Census in Germany A national census in Germany (, ) was held every five years from 1875 to 1910. After the World Wars, only a few full population censuses have been held, the last in 1987. The most recent census, though not a national census, was the 2011 Europea ...

in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line); for 2020-2030 (green line)

Twin towns - sister cities

Kyritz is twinned with: * Bailleul, France *

Svalöv Svalöv () is a locality and the seat of Svalöv Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 3,633 inhabitants in 2010. It is around north of Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after ...

, Sweden * Wałcz, Poland *

Werne Werne an der Lippe (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Wäen'') is a town in the Federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the Unna (district), Unna district in Germany. It is located on the southern edge of the Münster (region), Münsterla ...

, Germany

Photogallery

File:Kyritz_Berliner_Volksbank.jpg, Oak of Peace and bank in the Market Place File:Kyritz_Bach_Str_44.jpg, Half-timbered house dating from 1663 File:Kyritz_Bach_Str_36.jpg, Half-timbered house dating from 1682 File:KyritzHolzhausenerStr.jpg, Holzhausen Street, St. Mary's Church File:KyritzMarktWestseite.jpg, Market Place KyritzHamburgerStr.jpg, Hamburg Road KyritzWiekhaus.jpg, Medieval wall KyritzWiekhausVonWesten.jpg, Medieval wall

References

External links

{{Authority control Localities in Ostprignitz-Ruppin Members of the Hanseatic League