() is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of
Brandenburg ,
Germany . Neighboring are (from the north clockwise) the districts
Ludwigslust and
Parchim in
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , the district
Ostprignitz-Ruppin , the district
Stendal in
Saxony-Anhalt and the district
Lüchow-Dannenberg in
Lower Saxony .
The term Prignitz originally means the region north of the confluence of the
Elbe and
Havel rivers. This region is larger than the district and also includes large portions of the neighbouring district of
Ostprignitz-Ruppin .
The Elbe river forms the western border of the district.
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 Prignitz was created in
1993 by merging the previous districts 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 changed to be part of Brandenburg on
August 1 ,
1992 .
The earlier district of the 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 the robber barons, especially the
Gans Zu Puttlitz family and their vassals, the
Von Quitzow s. 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 the revolt down 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 1415-1422 and of
Lenzen from 1420.
