Prignitz

Prignitz
Prignitz
District
	Flag Coat of arms
Country	Germany
State	Brandenburg
Founded	1993
Capital	Perleberg
Government
• District admin.	Christian Müller (SPD)
Area
• Total	2,123 km2 (820 sq mi)
Population (31 December 2022)
• Total	76,045
• Density	36/km2 (93/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	PR
Website	landkreis-prignitz.de

Prignitz (German: [ˈpʁiːɡnɪts] ^ⓘ) is a Kreis (district) in northwestern Brandenburg, in northeastern Germany. Neighboring districts, clockwise from the north, are Ludwigslust-Parchim (in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Ostprignitz-Ruppin (Brandenburg), Stendal (Saxony-Anhalt), and Lüchow-Dannenberg (Lower Saxony).

Geography

The term Prignitz originally meant the region north of the confluence of the Elbe and Havel rivers. This region is larger than the district. It also includes the town of Havelberg in Saxony-Anhalt and large portions of the neighbouring district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin.

The Elbe river forms the southwestern border of the district.

History

The historical region Prignitz consisted of the following eleven districts, established in the 13th century: Wittenberge, Lenzen, Perleberg, Putlitz, Kyritz, Nitzow, Wittstock, Pritzwalk, Havelberg, Wusterhausen and Grabow.

The present district of Prignitz was created in 1993 by merging the previous districts of Pritzwalk and Perleberg and a few municipalities from the district Kyritz. The westernmost part of the district was previously part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and became part of Brandenburg on August 1, 1992.

The earlier district of Prignitz was the buffer between Brandenburg and Mecklenburg. It was resettled by Germans, especially from the Bremen area, following the First Wendish Crusade of 1147. The rate of German settlement increased over the following decades. The eastern half was dominated by the pro-German counts von Plotho who brought their own vassals such as the von Blumenthal and von Grabow families with them. The western half was dominated by robber barons, especially the Gans zu Putlitz family and their vassals, the von Quitzows. In 1319 the territory was briefly controlled by Mecklenburg.^[2] When Frederick, Count of Zollern was appointed Margrave in 1411, he faced an uprising of the Wendish nobility, supported by the Wendish Duke of Mecklenburg. However, he was able to put down the revolt at the battle of the Cremmer Dam, with the support of the German nobility. Families who had stayed loyal were rewarded. Otto von Blumenthal, for example, was made Captain of the Prignitz from 1415 to 1422 and of Lenzen from 1420.

Demography

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; Red Background: Time of communist East Germany)
Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005-2030 (yellow line); for 2014-2030 (red line); for 2017-2030 (scarlet line)

Landkreis Prignitz: Population development
within the current boundaries (2017)^[3]

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1875	89,625	—
1890	92,023	+0.18%
1910	104,107	+0.62%
1925	113,250	+0.56%
1933	112,411	−0.09%
1939	115,354	+0.43%
1946	156,782	+4.48%
1950	153,728	−0.49%
1964	129,143	−1.24%
1971	128,537	−0.07%
1981	117,182	−0.92%
1985	114,812	−0.51%
1989	112,443	−0.52%
1990	109,435	−2.68%
1991	105,987	−3.15%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1992	104,690	−1.22%
1993	103,740	−0.91%
1994	102,650	−1.05%
1995	101,421	−1.20%
1996	100,422	−0.99%
1997	99,024	−1.39%
1998	98,205	−0.83%
1999	97,076	−1.15%
2000	95,701	−1.42%
2001	94,015	−1.76%
2002	92,646	−1.46%
2003	91,214	−1.55%
2004	89,792	−1.56%
2005	88,340	−1.62%
2006	87,221	−1.27%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2007	85,705	−1.74%
2008	84,284	−1.66%
2009	83,086	−1.42%
2010	82,023	−1.28%
2011	79,574	−2.99%
2012	78,799	−0.97%
2013	77,993	−1.02%
2014	77,550	−0.57%
2015	77,573	+0.03%
2016	77,813	+0.31%
2017	77,263	−0.71%
2018	76,508	−0.98%
2019	76,158	−0.46%

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows a goose preparing for flight, the symbol of the Gans zu Putlitz family (Gans is German for goose), who in the 12th century were one of a number of families (such as the von Plotho, von Blumenthal and von Arnim families) who introduced Christianity and German culture to Prignitz. The pearls around the goose symbolize Perleberg (which translates to Pearl Mountain). The wolf at bottom stands for the former administrative seat, Pritzwalk, as walk derives from the Slavonic wolk meaning wolf. The wavy separation between the top and bottom symbolizes the river Elbe; the colors red and white are those of Brandenburg.

Towns and municipalities

Amt-free towns

Ämter

Amt-free municipalities

1. Amt Bad Wilsnack/Weisen

2. Amt Lenzen-Elbtalaue

3. Amt Meyenburg

4. Amt Putlitz-Berge

¹seat of the Amt; ²town

References

^ "Bevölkerungsentwicklung und Bevölkerungsstandim Land Brandenburg Dezember 2022" (PDF). Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). June 2023.
^ Rymar, Edward (1979). "Rywalizacja o ziemię lubuską i kasztelanię międzyrzecką w latach 1319–1326, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem stosunków pomorsko-śląskch". Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka (in Polish). XXXIV (4). Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk: 477.
^ Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons