Pritzwalk () is a town in the district of

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

, in

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 ...

. 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 Pritzwal ...

, 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 Stepen ...

. The river

Dömnitz Dömnitz is a river of Brandenburg, Germany. It is a tributary of the Stepenitz, which it joins near Wolfshagen. It flows through the town Pritzwalk. See also *List of rivers of Brandenburg A list of rivers of Brandenburg, Germany: A * A ...

flows through Pritzwalk.

History

Pritzwalk obtained municipal status in 1256. Nearly all the buildings in the town centre were destroyed by a fire in 1821. The Town Hall was built in a

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

style 1829. On 15th 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. 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 with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...

. 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 (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...

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 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 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 (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 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 (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)

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 tra ...

(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 in h ...

(1850–1924), historian *

Franz John Franz Adolf Louis John (born 28 September 1872 in Pritzwalk, died 17 November 1952 in Berlin) was a German photographer. He was one of the initiators of the founding of FC Bayern Munich and its first president from 1900 to 1903. He was born on 28 ...

(1872–1952), first president of

FC Bayern München Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

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), industrial and

Wehrwirtschaftsführer ''Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' (WeWiFü) were, during the time of Nazi Germany (1933–1945), executives of companies or big factories called ''rüstungswichtiger Betrieb'' (company important for the production of war materials). ''Wehrwirtschaft ...

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B03534, Günther Quandt, Wehrwirtschaftsführer

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 of the Wehrmacht, *

Herbert Quandt Herbert Werner Quandt (22 June 1910 – 2 June 1982) was a German industrialist 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 use at his family's factories ...

(1910–1982), industrial *

Liane Buhr Liane Buhr ( Weigelt, born 11 March 1956 in Pritzwalk, Bezirk Potsdam) is a German rowing coxswain who competed for the SG Dynamo Potsdam / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo. She won medals at the international rowing competitions. After the 1976 ...

(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 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 Pritzwalk Sarnow church.jpg, Church in Sarnow

References

External links

Localities in Prignitz Members of the Hanseatic League {{Brandenburg-geo-stub