Preetz () is a town southeast of

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

in the district of Plön, in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

, Northern

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 ...

. Preetz is also known as "Schusterstadt" (English: 'shoemaker town') named after

shoemakers Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

who used to live and work in this town. Preetz has a population of about 16,000 and is the largest city in the district of

Plön Plön (; ) is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, ...

Geography

Preetz is located in a hilly area referred to as the ''Holsteinische Schweiz'' (

Holstein Switzerland Holstein Switzerland () is a hilly area with a patchwork of lakes and forest in Schleswig Holstein, Germany, reminiscent of Swiss landscape. Its highest point is the Bungsberg (168 metres above sea level).Carl Ingwer Johannsen & Eckardt Op ...

) with a number of lakes and forests surrounding the town. Lakes include the Postsee, Lanker See and the smaller Kirchsee in the centre of town, which forms part of the river

Schwentine The Schwentine is a river in the North German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is approximately long and rises on the hill of Bungsberg, the highest point in the state, near the village of Kasseedorf in Ostholstein. It then runs from its source t ...

. There are multiple

nature reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

around Preetz that attract tourists and locals alike for biking and hiking, especially in the summer months.

History

The first mention of Preetz dates from the year 1185, when Ecbrecht Procensis writes about the location Poretz in the ''Versus de Vicelino''. The origins of the name Preetz are said to be found in the Slavic term "po rece" (i.e., on the river). In 1221, the term "Poretzie" appeared, and in 1442 "Pretze". A first town church was built in 1210. In 1211, Count Albrecht von Orlamünde established a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery:

Preetz Priory Preetz Priory () is a former Benedictine nunnery in the town of Preetz, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It operates today as a collegiate residence for ladies (''Stift''). History The nunnery was founded in 1211 by Graf Albrecht of Orlamünde, neph ...

. The foundation of the abbey was renewed by Adolf IV von Schauenburg in 1226, and it was given to nuns. In 1268, the nunnery church was built. The nunnery formed the highest administrative authority until 1867 and exercised jurisdiction as well. Preetz obtained street lighting in 1852. The station was built in 1864, the Town Hall in 1871. An oak tree in front of the Town Hall, which was planted in 1871, still exists. Limited town rights were awarded to Preetz on 17 May 1870, full town rights in 1901.

Politics

Mayors

* 1946–1946: Paul Schön * 1946–1959: Max Grothe * 1959–1971: Heinrich Niendorf * 1971–1982: Bendix Herrmann * 1982–1991: Claus Feddersen * 1992–1999: Walter Riecken * 1999–2015: Wolfgang Schneider * since 2015: Björn Demmin

Coat of arms

The fish in the top part is meant to show the past's principal source of food. Displayed is a

Percidae The Percidae are a family of ray-finned fish, part of the order Perciformes, which are found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority are Nearctic, but there are also Palearctic species. The family contains nearly 250 ...

. This kind of fish is known for its defensive traits and is meant to show the defensive traits the population of Preetz has.

Twin towns

Preetz is twinned with: *

Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...

, United Kingdom *

Stavenhagen Stavenhagen (; ) is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated 28 km northwest of Neubrandenburg. Subdivisions Stavenhagen is divided into following parts: History Th ...

, Germany *

Tapa Tapa, TAPA, Tapas or Tapasya may refer to: Media *Tapas (website), a webtoon site, formerly known as Tapastic * ''Tapas'' (film), a 2005 Spanish film * ''Tapasya'' (1976 film), an Indian Hindi-language film * ''Tapasya'' (1992 film), a Nepalese f ...

, Estonia *

Neman Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

, Russia

Notable people

* Karl Genzken (1885-1957), physician, SS group leader and chief of the medical office of the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

Otto Armster Otto Armster (11 July 1891 in Preetz – 21 September 1957) was a German military intelligence-officer and a member of the German resistance, involved in the 20 July 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Life Armster was a friend of Adm ...

(1891-1957),

intelligence service An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of info ...

officer and resistance fighter (Personalities of 20 July 1944 plot) * Hans Hermann Junge (1914-1944), SS-officer, valet to Adolf Hitler, husband of

Traudl Junge Gertraud "Traudl" Junge (; 16 March 1920 – 10 February 2002) was a German editor who worked as Adolf Hitler's last private secretary from December 1942 to April 1945. After typing Hitler's will, she remained in the Berlin ''Führerbunker'' unt ...

Rolf Rendtorff Rolf Rendtorff (1925–2014) was Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelberg from 1963 to 1990. He was one of the more significant German Old Testament scholars from the latter half of the twentieth-century and published extensive ...

(1925-2014), Protestant theologian and university lecturer *

Thilo von Westernhagen Thilo von Westernhagen (14 January 1950 – 11 January 2014) was a German composer and pianist. Biography Thilo von Westernhagen was born on 14 January 1950 in Preetz, Schleswig-Holstein. His father, Wolfgang von Westernhagen, was a dentist. H ...

(1950–2014), composer and pianist. *

Sabine Christiansen Sabine Christiansen (born 20 September 1957) is a German journalist and television presenter. Career After finishing school in Preetz, Christiansen worked at Lufthansa from 1976 to 1982, then apprenticed in journalism at the Norddeutscher Ru ...

(born 1957), journalist *

Allison Mack Allison Christin Mack (born July 29, 1982) is an American actress. She played Chloe Sullivan on the superhero series ''Smallville'' (2001–2011) and had a recurring role on the comedy series '' Wilfred'' (2012–2014). Mack was a member of ...

(born 1982), American actress, known from the cult

NXIVM NXIVM ( ) was a cult led by Keith Raniere, who is now a convicted Racketeering, racketeer and sex offender. NXIVM is also the name of the defunct company that Raniere founded in 1998, which provided seminars ostensibly about human potential an ...

Steffen Uliczka Steffen Uliczka (born 17 July 1984 in Preetz) is a German track and field athlete who mainly competes in 3000 metres steeplechase. He has won the 2010 Warandecross cross country running, cross country meeting in Tilburg, Netherlands.

(born 1984), 3000 meter obstacle runner *

Carola Rackete Carola Rackete (; born 8 May 1988) is a German conservation ecologist, activist, politician and former ship captain. She was elected to the European Parliament as an independent candidate for the Left Party on June 9, 2024. Rackete participa ...

(born 1988), ship captain, working for

Sea-Watch Sea-Watch is a German non-governmental organisation that operates in the Mediterranean Sea, notably by commissioning ships to rescue migrants. History On 6 November 2017, the crew of a Sea-Watch ship rescued 58 people in an operation hindered b ...

, arrested in Italy in 2019 * Ole Werner (born 1988) football coach and manager of Bundesliga side

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...