View source for Prignitz

{{Infobox District DE
|name =  
|map ={{Germany district OSM map |parent_subdivision = Q1208}}
|image_flag = Hissflagge des Landkreises Prignitz.svg
|image_coa = Wappen des Landkreises Prignitz.svg
|state = Brandenburg
|regierungsbezirk = 
|region = 
|capital = [[Perleberg]]
|area = 2123
|Kreisschlüssel = 12070
|district_admin = Christian Müller
|admin_party = SPD
|carsign = PR
|founded = 1993
|url = [http://www.landkreis-prignitz.de landkreis-prignitz.de]
}}
'''Prignitz''' ({{IPA|de|ˈpʁiːɡnɪts|lang|De-Prignitz.ogg}}) 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 (district)|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 Quitzow]]s. In 1319 the territory was briefly controlled by [[Mecklenburg]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Rymar|first=Edward|year=1979|title=Rywalizacja o ziemię lubuską i kasztelanię międzyrzecką w latach 1319–1326, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem stosunków pomorsko-śląskch|journal=Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny Sobótka|publisher=[[Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich]], Wydawnictwo [[Polish Academy of Sciences|Polskiej Akademii Nauk]]|location=Wrocław|language=pl|volume=XXXIV|issue=4|page=477}}</ref> When Frederick, Count of Zollern was appointed Margrave in 1411, he faced an uprising of the [[Wends|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 ==
<gallery widths="250" heights="200">
File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Landkreis Prignitz.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]]; Red Background: Time of communist [[East Germany]])
File:Bevölkerungsprognosen Landkreis Prignitz.pdf|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)
</gallery>

{{historical populations
|align=none | cols=3 | percentages=pagr
|title = Landkreis Prignitz: Population development <br>within the current boundaries (2017)<ref>Detailed data sources are to be found in the Wikimedia Commons.[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Population_projection_Brandenburg Population Projection Brandenburg at Wikimedia Commons]</ref>
| 1875 | 89625
| 1890 | 92023
| 1910 | 104107
| 1925 | 113250
| 1933 | 112411
| 1939 | 115354
| 1946 | 156782
| 1950 | 153728
| 1964 | 129143
| 1971 | 128537
| 1981 | 117182
| 1985 | 114812
| 1989 | 112443
| 1990 | 109435
| 1991 | 105987
| 1992 | 104690
| 1993 | 103740
| 1994 | 102650
| 1995 | 101421
| 1996 | 100422
| 1997 | 99024
| 1998 | 98205
| 1999 | 97076
| 2000 | 95701
| 2001 | 94015
| 2002 | 92646
| 2003 | 91214
| 2004 | 89792
| 2005 | 88340
| 2006 | 87221
| 2007 | 85705
| 2008 | 84284
| 2009 | 83086
| 2010 | 82023
| 2011 | 79574
| 2012 | 78799
| 2013 | 77993
| 2014 | 77550
| 2015 | 77573
| 2016 | 77813
| 2017 | 77263
| 2018 | 76508
| 2019 | 76158
}}

==Coat of arms==
[[File:Banner des Landkreises Prignitz.svg|thumb|right|150px|District banner of Prignitz]]
The coat of arms shows a goose preparing for flight, the symbol of the [[Gans zu Putlitz]] family (''Gans'' is [[German language|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 family|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 [[Slavic languages|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==
{{Imagemap Germany district PR|Municipalities in PR.png|300px{{!}}thumb{{!}}Clickable map of towns and municipalities in the district}}
{|
! width=33% align=left|Amt-free towns
! width=33% align=left|[[Amt (political division)|Ämter]]
! width=33% align=left|
|- valign=top
||
#[[Perleberg]]
#[[Pritzwalk]]
#[[Wittenberge]]
<br>
'''Amt-free municipalities'''
#[[Groß Pankow (Prignitz)]]
#[[Gumtow]]
#[[Karstädt]]
#[[Plattenburg]]
||
'''1.''' [[Amt Bad Wilsnack/Weisen]]
#[[Bad Wilsnack]]<sup>1, 2</sup>
#[[Breese, Germany|Breese]]
#[[Legde/Quitzöbel]]
#[[Rühstädt]]
#[[Weisen]]

'''2.''' [[Amt Lenzen-Elbtalaue]]
#[[Cumlosen]]
#[[Lanz, Brandenburg|Lanz]]
#[[Lenzen (Elbe)]]<sup>1, 2</sup>
#[[Lenzerwische]]
||
'''3.''' [[Amt Meyenburg]]
#[[Gerdshagen]]
#[[Halenbeck-Rohlsdorf]]
#[[Kümmernitztal]]
#[[Marienfließ]]
#[[Meyenburg]]<sup>1, 2</sup>

'''4.''' [[Amt Putlitz-Berge]]
#[[Berge (Brandenburg)|Berge]]
#[[Gülitz-Reetz]]
#[[Pirow, Brandenburg|Pirow]]
#[[Putlitz]]<sup>1, 2</sup>
#[[Triglitz]]
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|<sup>1</sup>seat of the Amt; <sup>2</sup>town
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Landkreis Prignitz|Prignitz}}
*[http://www.landkreis-prignitz.de Official website]
*[http://www.prignitzportal.de.vu Portal site for Prignitz]
*[http://www.picturechoice.org/md/prignitz/index.html Prignitz images]

{{Germany districts brandenburg}}

{{Coord|53|00|N|12|00|E|display=title}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Prignitz| ]]
[[Category:Regions of Brandenburg]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Germany]]
[[Category:1993 establishments in Germany]]