Prenzlau (; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, in north-eastern Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic

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

region.

Geography

The town is located on the

Ucker The Uecker () or Ucker () is a river in the northeastern Germany, German states of Brandenburg, where it is known as the ''Ucker'', and of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It flows northward from Uckermark (district), Uckermark to the Szczecin Lagoon. Pa ...

river, about north of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Prenzlau station Prenzlau () is a railway station in the town of Prenzlau, Brandenburg, Germany. The station lies on the Angermünde–Stralsund railway and the train services are operated by Deutsche Bahn and Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn ...

—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 Pome ...

line.

History

Settled since

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

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

Polabian Slavs Polabian Slavs, also known as Elbe Slavs and more broadly as Wends, is a collective term applied to a number of Lechites, Lechitic (West Slavs, West Slavic) tribes who lived scattered along the Elbe river in what is today eastern Germany. The ...

called

Ukrani image:Lake de Oberuckersee Burgwallinsel.JPG, 250px, ''Burgwallinsel'', a former Ukrian burgh on an isle in Lake Oberuckersee The Ukrani or Ukrians

. 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 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

settlers. Prenzlau itself, named after

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

''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 traditio ...

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 Margra ...

with the

Ascanian The House of Ascania () 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 Askanien'' in ...

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

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

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 ...

, 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, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. In 1687, a commune of

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

was established in the town, and an economic recovery started. Also a

garrison A garrison 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 military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

town, Prenzlau was again ravaged by passing troops during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

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

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, 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 408 people. Geography Prenzlau is situated in the Lockyer Valley at the southern end of the Somerset Region LGA in southeaster ...

west of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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. It housed mainly Polish and Belgian officers. The camp, located just south of Prenzlau on the main road to Berlin, and was or ...

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

, mostly for Polish and Belgian officers, was located just south of Prenzlau on the main road to Berlin. A subcamp of the

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...

was established in 1943, later relocated to Lindenhagen. The town centre was largely destroyed. The

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

authorities had it rebuilt with large panel

Plattenbau A large-panel-system building is a building constructed of large, prefabricated concrete slabs. Such buildings are often found in housing developments. Although large-panel-system buildings are often considered to be typical of Eastern Bloc c ...

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, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

; Red Background: Time of communist

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

) 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 (, ) 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, was the 2011 Europea ...

in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005–2030 (yellow line); for 2017–2030 (scarlet line); for 2020–2030 (green line)

Climate

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 ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

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

National Democratic Party of Germany National Democratic Party of Germany (, NPD), officially called The Homeland () since 2023, is a Far-right politics, far-right, Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi and Ultranationalism, ultranationalist political party in Germany. It was founded in 1964 as ...

(NPD): 1

Twin towns – sister cities

Prenzlau is twinned with: *

Barlinek Barlinek () 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. It is situated on the shores of Barline ...

, Poland *

Pokhvistnevo Pokhvistnevo () is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Pokhvistnevo, Samara Oblast, a town in Samara Oblast; administratively incorporated as a city of federal subject sign ...

, Russia *

Uster Uster (; , ) is a town and the capital of the Uster District in the Swiss canton of Zürich. The importance of the town of Uster has grown considerably with the construction of the S-Bahn network of the Zürich Transport Network. With over 36,0 ...

, Switzerland *

Varėna Varėna () is a city in Dzūkija, southern Lithuania. It is the capital of the district of Varėna. Currently, there are 7,794 residents. The Varėna district is the largest and most forested municipality of Lithuania as more than 50% of the di ...

, Lithuania

Notable people

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

(born 1962), ice hockey player * Oscar Florianus Bluemner (1867–1938), American painter * Wilhelm Grabow (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 (; 16 October 1751 – 25 February 1805) was Queen of Prussia and Electress of Brandenburg as the second wife of King Frederick William II. Life Frederica Louisa was the daughter of Louis IX, Landgrav ...

(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 of ...

(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 Karoli ...

(1754–1832) * Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (1755–1776) * Paul Hirsch (1868–1940), politician * Hans Felix Husadel (1897–1964), composer and conductor * Otto Kaiser (1924–2017), Old Testament 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 Eur ...

(born 1954), sprinter *

Max von Schenckendorff Max von Schenckendorff (24 February 1875 – 6 July 1943) was a German military 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 deat ...

(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 Christian Friedrich Schwan (12 December 1733, Prenzlau – 29 June 1815, Heidelberg) was a German publisher and bookseller. After studies of theology in Halle and Jena, he worked as a proofreader at the Academy in St. Petersburg. In 1762 he was ...

(1733–1815), publisher and bookseller * Adolf Wilhelm Theodor Stahr (1805–1876), writer and literary historian * Christiane Wartenberg (born 1956), athlete * Clemens Wenzel (born 1988), rower * Carola Zirzow (born 1954), sprint canoer *

Jens-Uwe Zöphel Jens-Uwe Zöphel (born 23 June 1969) is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder. Zöphel joined the youth academy of football club BFC Dynamo in 1983. He made his first appearance with the first team of BFC Dynamo in the 12th match ...

(born 1969), footballer * Stefan Zierke (born 1970), politician

Gallery

Prenzlau_Mitteltorturm.jpg, Gate Tower of the

Brick Gothic Brick Gothic (, , ) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Baltic region, Northeast and Central Europe especially in the regions in and around the Baltic Sea, which do not have resources of standing rock (though Glacial erratic, ...

'Mitteltor' Prenzlau_Heiliggeistkirche.jpg, War memorial ruin of the Holy Spirit Church Prenzlau St Marien.jpg, Marienkirche 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, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

memorial Prenzlau 10-2016 photo02.jpg, Medieval town wall, gate tower Dorfkirche Ellingen (Prenzlau) 2018 SW.jpg, Village church in

Ellingen Ellingen is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. History It was first mentioned in 899. Between 1216 and 1806, it served as the capital of the Franconian branch of the Teutonic Order, and at least for some years ...

References

External links

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