Preetz () is a town southeast of

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

in the district of Plön, in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

, Northern

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 betwee ...

. Preetz is also known as "Schusterstadt" (English: 'shoemaker town') named after

shoemakers Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as ''cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen an ...

who used to live and work in this town. Preetz has a population of about 16,000 and is the largest city in the district of Plön.

Geography

Preetz is located in a hilly area referred to as the ''Holsteinische Schweiz'' ( Holstein Switzerland) with a number of lakes and forests surrounding the town. Lakes include the Postsee,

Lanker See The Lanker See is a lake in the region of Holstein Switzerland in North Germany. It lies south of the town of Preetz in the district of Plön, and is crossed from south to north by the River Schwentine. The Lanker See has wealth of small bays. A ...

and the smaller Kirchsee in the centre of town, which forms part of the river Schwentine. There are multiple

nature reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

around Preetz that attract tourists and locals alike for biking and hiking, especially in the summer months.

History

The first mention of Preetz dates from the year 1185, when Ecbrecht Procensis writes about the location Poretz in the ''Versus de Vicelino''. The origins of the name Preetz are said to be found in the Slavic term "po rece" (i.e., on the river). In 1221, the term "Poretzie" appeared, and in 1442 "Pretze". A first town church was built in 1210. In 1211, Count Albrecht von Orlamünde established a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery: Preetz Priory. The foundation of the abbey was renewed by Adolf IV von Schauenburg in 1226, and it was given to nuns. In 1268, the nunnery church was built. The nunnery formed the highest administrative authority until 1867 and exercised jurisdiction as well. Preetz obtained street lighting in 1852. The station was built in 1864, the Town Hall in 1871. An oak tree in front of the Town Hall, which was planted in 1871, still exists. Limited town rights were awarded to Preetz on 17 May 1870, full town rights in 1901.

Politics

Mayors

* 1946–1946: Paul Schön * 1946–1959: Max Grothe * 1959–1971: Heinrich Niendorf * 1971–1982: Bendix Herrmann * 1982–1991: Claus Feddersen * 1992–1999: Walter Riecken * 1999–2015: Wolfgang Schneider * since 2015: Björn Demmin

Coat of arms

The fish in the top part is meant to show the past's principal source of food. Displayed is a

Percidae The Percidae are a family of ray-finned fish, part of the order Perciformes, which are found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority are Nearctic, but there are also Palearctic species. The family contains more ...

. This kind of fish is known for its defensive traits and is meant to show the defensive traits the population of Preetz has.

Twin towns

Preetz is twinned with: *

Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and it ...

, United Kingdom * Stavenhagen, Germany *

Tapa Tapa, TAPA, Tapas or Tapasya may refer to: Media *Tapas (website), a webtoon site, formerly known as Tapastic * ''Tapas'' (film), a 2005 Spanish film * ''Tapasya'' (1976 film), an Indian Hindi-language film * ''Tapasya'' (1992 film), a Nepalese f ...

, Estonia *

Neman The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ; ...

, Russia

Personalities

* Karl Genzken (1885-1957), physician, SS group leader and chief of the medical office of the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

Otto Armster Otto Armster (11 July 1891 in Preetz – 21 September 1957) was a German military intelligence-officer and a List of members of the 20 July plot, member of the German resistance, involved in the 20 July plot of 1944, the attempt to assassinate Ad ...

(1891-1957),

intelligence service An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informatio ...

officer and resistance fighter (Personalities of 20 July 1944 plot) *

Hans Hermann Junge Hans Hermann Junge (11 February 1914 – 13 August 1944)Some sources give date of death as 18 August 1944. Junge, Traudl (2002). ''Until the Final Hour'', London, Notes section #10. . was a German SS officer who served as aide-de-camp and ...

(1914-1944), SS-officer, valet to Adolf Hitler, husband of

Traudl Junge Gertraud "Traudl" Junge (; 16 March 1920 – 10 February 2002) was a German editor who worked as Adolf Hitler's last private secretary from December 1942 to April 1945. After typing Hitler's will, she remained in the Berlin ''Führerbunker'' unt ...

Rolf Rendtorff Rolf Rendtorff (10 May 1925 – 1 April 2014) was Emeritus Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelberg. He has written frequently on the Jewish scriptures and was notable chiefly for his contribution to the debate over the origins o ...

(1925-2014), Protestant theologian and university lecturer * Sabine Christiansen (born 1957), journalist * Allison Mack (born 1982), American actress, known from the series ''Smallville'' * Steffen Uliczka (born 1984), 3000 meter obstacle runner *

Carola Rackete Carola Rackete (; born 8 May 1988 in Preetz, Germany) is a German ship captain who volunteered with the German sea rescue organisation Sea-Watch. In June 2019, she was arrested for docking a migrant rescue ship without authorization in the po ...

, ship captain, working for

Sea-Watch Sea-Watch is a German non-governmental organisation that operates in the Mediterranean Sea, notably by commissioning ships to rescue migrants. History On 6 November 2017, the crew of a Sea-Watch ship rescued 58 people in an operation hindered b ...

, arrested in Italy in 2019