Pritzwalk () is a town in the district of

Prignitz Prignitz () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in northwestern Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. Neighboring districts, clockwise from the north, are Ludwigslust-Parchim (in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Ostprignitz-Ruppin (Brandenburg), Stendal (dist ...

, 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 20 km west of

Wittstock Wittstock/Dosse is a town in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in north-western Brandenburg, Germany. Geography It is located in the eastern Prignitz region on the Dosse River near the confluence with its Glinze tributary, about east of Prit ...

, and 33 km northeast of

Wittenberge Wittenberge (; ) is a town of eighteen thousand people on the middle Elbe in the district of Prignitz, Brandenburg, Germany. Geography Wittenberge is situated at the right (north-eastern) bank of the middle Elbe at its confluence with the Step ...

. The river

Dömnitz Dömnitz () is a river of Brandenburg, Germany. It is a tributary of the Stepenitz (Elbe), Stepenitz, which it joins near Groß Pankow (Prignitz), Wolfshagen. It flows through the town Pritzwalk. See also *List of rivers of Brandenburg Refere ...

flows through Pritzwalk.

History

Pritzwalk obtained municipal status in 1256. From 1815 to 1945, Pritzwalk was part of the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

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 ...

. Nearly all the buildings in the town centre were destroyed by a fire in 1821. The Town Hall was built in a

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

style 1829. On 15 March 1945 many houses around the railway station were destroyed by a heavy explosion during an air raid when a munition train exploded after it had been hit by bombs. From 1952 to 1990, Pritzwalk 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 ...

. In the fifties many new residential buildings were erected.

Sights

Saint Nikolai Church was founded around 1250. In 1451 it was enlarged and transformed into a large gothic

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

. During the fire which destroyed most of the town in 1821 the church was heavily damaged. It was rebuilt in built in a neogothic style at the end of the 19th century. Its tower dating from 1882 has a height of 72 metres. The Town Hall was built in a classicist style 1829. After the fire many houses were rebuilt in a traditional style. Several streets are worth a visit, e.g. Schützenstraße with its half-timbered houses. Many houses built in

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

Gründerzeit The (; ) was a period of Economic history of Europe (1000 AD–present), European economic history in mid- and late-19th century German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary between Industrialization in Germany, industrialization and the great P ...

style as well as buildings dating from the fifties were renovated after the reunification of Germany, e.g. in Hagenstraße. The Railway Station dates from 1955. The former railway station had been destroyed by a heavy explosion following an air raid in 1945. The Library inaugurated in 1978 and the Kulturhaus (Cultural Centre), inaugurated in 1959 and named after

Erich Weinert Erich Bernhard Gustav Weinert (4 August 1890 – 20 April 1953) was a Germans, German Communist writer and a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Early life Weinert was born in 1890 in Magdeburg to a family supporting the Social ...

, a communist writer, represent the style of Socialist realism. The Library obtained the official title of a monument of

Cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

in 1999. The old town centre is surrounded by parks and meadows which are remnants of a medieval defense system of moats and mounds. A part of the medieval wall, which was built in the 14th century, is left with a shottower in the northeast of the centre. Many villages which were incorporated into Pritzwalk have old village churches worth a visit, e.g. Sarnow.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Pritzwalk.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 Pritzwalk.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)

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Pritzwalk is twinned with: * Winsen, Germany

Sons and daughters of the town

Heinrich Gätke Heinrich Gätke (born 19 May or 19 March 1814 in Pritzwalk – died 1 January 1897 in Heligoland) was a German ornithologist and artist. Biography The son of a baker, he was sent to study commerce in Berlin but became a painter. In 1837 he tr ...

(1814–1897), ornithologist HeinrichGaetke

Hermann von Grauert Hermann Heinrich Grauert (7 September 1850 – 12 March 1924) since 1914 Knight of Grauert, was a German historian. He was born in Pritzwalk and died in Munich. Life After attending the Realschule in Wittstock, Grauert initially worked i ...

(1850–1924), historian * Franz John (1872–1952), first president of

FC Bayern München Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

Günther Quandt Günther Quandt (28 July 1881 – 30 December 1954) was a German industrialist who founded an industrial empire that today includes BMW and Altana, a car and chemical company, respectively. Between 1921 and 1929, he was married to Magda Ritsche ...

(1881–1954), industrialist and ''

Wehrwirtschaftsführer A ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' (''WeWiFü''; German language plural: ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'') was, during the time of Nazi Germany (1933–1945), an executive of a company or of a large factory (). ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' were appointed, ...

'' *

Walter Granzow Walter Granzow (13 August 1887 – 3 December 1952) was a German landowner, bank official, Nazi Party politician and SS-''Brigadeführer''. He served as the Minister-president of the Free State of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1932 to 1933. He w ...

(1887–1952), Minister-president of

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus Frederick II divided ...

; president of the Deutsche Rentenbank *

Ernst-Günther Baade Ernst-Günther Baade (20 August 1897 – 8 May 1945) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Baade was wounded in action and died from his i ...

(1897–1945), ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

'' of the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

'', *

Herbert Quandt Herbert Werner Quandt (22 June 1910 – 2 June 1982) was a German industrialist and member of the Nazi Party credited with having saved BMW when it was at the point of bankruptcy and made a huge profit in doing so. Quandt also oversaw the us ...

(1910–1982), industrialist * Liane Buhr (born 1956), rower Pfarrkirche St. Nikolai (Pritzwalk).JPG, Saint Nikolai Church PritzwalkSchützenstr.jpg, Half-timbered houses in Schützenstraße PritzwalkParkMitBahnhof2022.jpg, Railway Station PritzwalkAmBahnhof.jpg, Architecture of the fifties beside the railway station PritzwalkBibliothek2.jpg, Library PritzwalkKulturhaus2.jpg, Kulturhaus Erich Weinert PritzwalkTurm2.jpg, Medieval town wall with shot tower Wohngebäude Bahnhofstraße 20-23 in Pritzwalk.jpg, Architecture of the fifties opposite the station PritzwalkHagenstr.Jugendstil.jpg, Art nouveau in Hagenstraße 2010-04-17 Pritzwalk Rathaus P1110754.JPG, Town Hall

References

External links

{{Authority control Localities in Prignitz Members of the Hanseatic League