Ostprignitz-Ruppin is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of

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 square ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Neighboring are (from north clockwise) the districts

Müritz The Müritz (; from Slavic "little sea") is a lake in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, northern Germany. Its area is , which makes it the second largest lake in Germany (after Lake Constance) and the largest lake located entirely within German territory. ...

and Mecklenburg-Strelitz in

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in pop ...

, the districts Oberhavel and Havelland, the district Stendal in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, and the district Prignitz.

Geography

The district consists of plain countryside northwest of

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. It is densely forested. Many rivers and lakes can be found in its western, its central and its northeastern part. The main river in the district is the

Dosse Dosse may refer to: * Dosse (Rigi), a mountain of the Rigi massif in Switzerland * Dosse (river), a tributary of the Havel in Germany People with the surname * François Dosse, French historian and philosopher who specializes in intellectual histor ...

History

The district has always been distinguishable from the West Prignitz, having been settled originally by Slavs from a different part of Mecklenburg. It was officially created in 1993 by merging the districts Kyritz, Neuruppin and Wittstock. The district roughly covers the same territory as the two historic districts Ostprignitz and Ruppin. Osprignitz was created in 1815 as one of two districts covering the former county Prignitz, and was split into the districts Kyritz, Pritzwalk and Wittstock in 1952. Also in 1952 the district Ruppin was renamed to Neuruppin and had to give part of its territory to the districts Kyritz and Gransee.

Demography

File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Landkreis Ostprignitz-Ruppin.pdf, Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state) File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Landkreis Ostprignitz-Ruppin.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 2014-2030 (red line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)

Coat of arms

The eagle in the top of the coat of arms derives from the Counts of Arnstein, who ruled Ruppin in the 13th century. To the left is a

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in th ...

representing the Counts von Plotho, a Wendish family who ruled Kyritz, where they had migrated from the Magdeburg area bringing German families such as the

von Blumenthal The von Blumenthal family are Lutheran and Roman Catholic German nobility, originally from Brandenburg-Prussia. Other (unrelated) families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families (quite a few of them J ...

s with them. The

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

to the right symbolizes Wittstock, as Bishop Heinrich I made Wittstock the capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Havelberg.

Towns and municipalities

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{Coord, 52, 58, N, 12, 40, E , region:DE-BB_scale:300000_type:adm2nd , display=title