Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, 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 ar ...

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 ...

, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic

Uckermark The Uckermark () is a historical region in northeastern Germany, straddles the Uckermark (district), Uckermark District of Brandenburg and the Vorpommern-Greifswald District of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its traditional capital is Prenzlau. Geogra ...

region.

Geography

The town is located on the

Ucker The Uecker () or Ucker is a river in the northeastern German states of Brandenburg, where it is known as the ''Ucker'', and of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Its source lies in the Uckermark district, one kilometer north of Ringenwalde. It flows no ...

river, about north of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Prenzlau station—which opened in 1863—is a stop on the

Angermünde–Stralsund railway The Angermünde–Stralsund railway is a major railway in the north-eastern German states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which is part of the long-distance line from Berlin to Rügen. The line is one of the oldest lines in Western Pomer ...

line.

History

Settled since

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

times, the Prenzlau area from the 7th century AD was the site of several gords erected by the

Polabian Slavs Polabian Slavs ( dsb, Połobske słowjany, pl, Słowianie połabscy, cz, Polabští slované) is a collective term applied to a number of Lechitic ( West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern German ...

. In the late 12th century, the

Dukes of Pomerania This is a list of the duchies and dukes of Pomerania. Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes (All Pomerania) The lands of Pomerania were firstly ruled by local tribes, who settled in Pomerania around the 10th and 11th centuries. Non-dynastic ...

had the region

colonized Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

settlers. Prenzlau itself, named after Slavic ''Premyslaw'' was first mentioned in 1187. It received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

by Duke Barnim I of Pomerania in 1234. When Duke Barnim signed the

Treaty of Landin The Treaty of Landin was signed in Landin, Germany in 1250 between Barnim I of Pomerania-Stettin, the Ascanian margraves Johann I and Otto III of Brandenburg. Barnim I was accepted as co-ruler of Wartislaw III of Pomerania-Demmin by the Margravi ...

with the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

margraves of

in 1250, Prenzlau was already a fortified town with walls and moats, four parish churches and a monastery. Together with

Cölln Cölln () was the twin city of Old Berlin (Altberlin) from the 13th century to the 18th century. Cölln was located on the Fisher Island section of Spree Island, opposite Altberlin on the western bank of the River Spree, until the cities we ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and

Stendal The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Geography Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...

, it ranked among the largest towns in the margraviate. The Prenzlau and the Uckermark region were devastated during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. From the late 17th century onwards French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

refugees settled here and an economic recovery started. Also a

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

town, Prenzlau was again ravaged by passing troops during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. In the mid 19th century, several citizens emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where they founded the town of

Prenzlau, Queensland Prenzlau is a rural locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Prenzlau had a population of 427 people. Geography Prenzlau is situated in the Lockyer Valley at the southern end of the Somerset Region LGA in southeastern Qu ...

west of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the

Oflag II-A Oflag II-A was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located in the town of Prenzlau, Brandenburg, north of Berlin. The camp, located just south of Prenzlau on the main road to Berlin, and was originally built in 1936 as a barracks for Artil ...

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

was located just south of Prenzlau on the main road to Berlin. The town centre was largely destroyed. The

East German 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 ...

authorities had it rebuilt with large panel

Plattenbau (plural: , german: Platte + Bau, lit=panel/slab' + 'building/ construction) is a building constructed of large, prefabrication, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of (in this context: panel) and (building). Such buildings ...

buildings.

Demography

Bevölkerungsentwicklung Prenzlau.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 ...

) Bevölkerungsprognosen Prenzlau.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)

Politics

Seats in the town's assembly (''Stadtverordnetenversammlung'') as of 2014 local elections: * Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 7 *

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

(SPD): 7 * The Left: 6 *''Bürgerfraktion'' (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

): 4 *''Wir Prenzlauer'' (Independent): 2 * Free Democratic Party (FDP): 1 *

National Democratic Party of Germany The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Party ...

(NPD): 1

Twin towns – sister cities

Prenzlau is twinned with: *

Barlinek Barlinek (german: Berlinchen) is a town in Myślibórz County, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northwestern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Barlinek. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 13,491. Geography Barlinek ...

, Poland * Pokhvistnevo, Russia *

Uster Uster (High Alemannic: ''Uschter'') is a town and the capital of the Uster District in the Swiss canton of Zürich. It is the third largest town in the canton of Zürich, with almost 35,000 inhabitants, and is one of the twenty largest towns ...

, Switzerland *

Varėna Varėna (; pl, Orany; yi, אוראַן ''Oran'') is a city in Dzūkija, Lithuania. History The town was founded in 1862 near the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway, south of Sena Varėna (Old Varėna). At that time it was a small settleme ...

, Lithuania

Notable people

René Bielke René Bielke (born April 9, 1962) is a German former ice hockey goaltender. Bielke played for EHC Dynamo Berlin (now Eisbären Berlin) from 1980 to 1992. His goals against average of 1.17 in 1982 is still unbeaten in Eisbären history. He later ...

(born 1962), ice hockey player *

Oscar Florianus Bluemner Oscar Bluemner (June 21, 1867 – January 12, 1938), born Friedrich Julius Oskar Blümner and after 1933 known as Oscar Florianus Bluemner, was a Prussian-born American Modernism, American Modernist painter. Early life Bluemner was born as Fried ...

(1867–1938), American painter *

Wilhelm Grabow Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Grabow (15 April 1802 – 15 April 1874) was a Prussian civil servant, judge, and politician. Biography In 1848, he was the main author of the election law for the Prussian National Assembly, of which he was the president ...

(1802–1874), civil servant, judge, and politician *

Jacob Philipp Hackert Jacob Philipp Hackert (15 September 1737 – 28 April 1807) was a landscape painter from Brandenburg, who did most of his work in Italy. Biography Hackert was born in 1737 in Prenzlau in the Margraviate of Brandenburg (now in Germany). He t ...

(1737–1807), landscape painter *

Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Friederike Luise; 16 October 1751 – 25 February 1805) was Queen of Prussia as the second spouse of King Frederick William II. Life Frederica Louisa was the daughter of Louis IX, Landgrave of He ...

(1751–1805), queen consort of Prussia *

Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse (14 June 1753 in Prenzlau – 6 April 1830 in Darmstadt) was ''Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt'' (as ''Louis X'') and later the first ''Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine''. Louis was the son of Louis IX, Landgrave o ...

(1753–1830) *

Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt Princess Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (20 June 1754 – 21 June 1832) was a Hereditary Princess of Baden by marriage to Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden. She was the daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Henriette Karolin ...

(1754–1832) * Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (1755–1776) * Paul Hirsch (1868–1940), politician *

Hans Felix Husadel Hans Felix Husadel (18 May 1897 – 25 July 1964) was a German composer and conductor, particularly noted for modernizing the military band and for his march compositions. Early life Husadel, born in Prenzlau, Uckermark, took Piano lessons from a ...

(1897–1964), composer and conductor * Otto Kaiser (born 1924), scholar *

Brigitte Rohde Brigitte Köhn ( Rohde; born 8 October 1954 in Prenzlau, Bezirk Neubrandenburg) is a retired East German sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres and later 400 metres hurdles. She won a gold medal in 4 × 400 metres relay at the 1974 E ...

(born 1954), sprinter *

Max von Schenckendorff Max von Schenckendorff (24 February 1875 – 6 July 1943) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was the commander of Army Group Rear Area behind Army Group Centre from March 1941 until his death. He is best known ...

(1875-1943), general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany *

Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering (31 May 1824 – 27 December 1889) was a German apothecary and industrialist who created the Schering Corporation. The company split into Schering AG and Schering-Plough after US assets were seized during W ...

(1824–1889), apothecary and industrialist * Johannes Schmidt (1843–1901), linguist * Christian Friedrich Schwan (1733–1815), publisher and bookseller *

Adolf Wilhelm Theodor Stahr Adolf Wilhelm Theodor Stahr (; 22 October 18053 October 1876) was a German writer and literary historian. Life Stahr was the son of the preacher and pastor Johann Adam Stahr (1768–1839). He attended grammar school in Prenzlau. In 1825 at the ...

(1805–1876), writer and literary historian *

Christiane Wartenberg Christiane Wartenberg ( Stoll, born 27 October 1956 in Prenzlau) is a German athlete who competed mainly in the 1500 metres. She competed for East Germany in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, Russia Russia (, , ), or the ...

(born 1956), athlete * Carola Zirzow (born 1954), sprint canoer

Gallery

Prenzlau_Mitteltorturm.jpg, Gate Tower of the

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (german: Backsteingotik, pl, Gotyk ceglany, nl, Baksteengotiek) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resourc ...

'Mitteltor' Prenzlau_Heiliggeistkirche.jpg, War memorial ruin of the Holy Spirit Church Prenzlau St Marien.jpg, Marienkirche Altes Rathaus Prenzlau.jpeg, Old town hall Schloss Dedelow Sammlung Duncker.jpg, Historical painting of the Dedelow Castle Dominikanerkloster Prenzlau2.JPG, Dominican abbey Unteruckersee Prenzlau.JPG, Unterucker Lake River de Ucker Prenzlau Schleuse2.JPG, Ucker canal watergate Bahnhof Prenzlau Baustelle10.JPG, Platform of the train station Lutherdenkmal Prenzlau.JPG,

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

memorial Prenzlau 10-2016 photo02.jpg, Medieval town wall, gate tower

References

External links

Municipal website
{{Authority control Localities in Uckermark (district)