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 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the districts Oberhavel and Ha ...

district, in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is situated 28 km west of

Neuruppin Neuruppin (; North Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Fontane (1819–1898) and therefore also referred to as ''Font ...

and 28 km southeast of

Pritzwalk Pritzwalk () is a town in the district of Prignitz, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 20 km west of Wittstock, and 33 km northeast of Wittenberge. The river Dömnitz flows through Pritzwalk. History Pritzwalk obtained municip ...

. The town has 9,260 inhabitants (2019).

Overview

The town is situated near the Kyritzer Seenkette, a 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 Jäglitz is a river of Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It flows into the Havel near Vehlgast. A branch called ''Alte Jäglitz'' flows into the Dosse near Rübehorst. See also *List of rivers of Brandenburg *List of rivers of Saxony-A ...

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 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 (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, 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 Neuzelle ( dsb, Nowa Cala) is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Oder-Spree district of Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of ''Amt (country subdivision), Amt'' (collective municipality) Neuzelle (Amt), Neuzelle. It is bes ...

. In 1600 Count Hans Christoff von Königsmarck was born in Kötzlin, a leading Swedish general in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

who is most famous for attempting to conquer

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

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

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 fron 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 afer 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 A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

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.

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 (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

; Red Background: Time of communist

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

) 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 (german: Volkszählung) 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, wa ...

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, Sweden *

Wałcz Wałcz (pronounced ; german: Deutsch Krone) is a county town in Wałcz County of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. During the years 1975 to 1998, the city was administratively part of the Piła Voivodeship. Granted city r ...

, Poland *

Werne Werne an der Lippe (; Westphalian: ''Wäen'') is a town in the Federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the Unna district in Germany. It is located on the southern edge of the Münsterland region near the Ruhrgebiet. The population of Werne ...

, 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