Pritzwalk

A "Fraternitas mercatorum" (merchant brotherhood) is already mentioned in the town charter of 1256. It was active in long-distance trade, especially with the Hanseatic cities on the North and Baltic Seas. Thus, the Pritzwalk merchants Richardus, Rico and Joh(annes). de Hertsfelde are recorded in the debt book of Hamburg from the year 1288. In the 14th century the Pritzwalk trade experienced an early bloom. For the year 1359 Pritzwalk's membership in the Hanseatic League is securely proven, when Rostock invited the town to a general Hanseatic Day in Lübeck.

Today, visitors to Pritzwalk come to a hospitable and lively town whose 12,000 inhabitants proudly present to their guests both what has been historically passed down and what has been newly created.