Prenzlau

Prenzlau grew beside the Ucker from older Slavic and newer merchant settlements. In 1234 Duke Barnim I of Pomerania granted it town rights on the model of Magdeburg, seeking to strengthen the region's defences. Its market, churches and monasteries made it a leading town of the Uckermark. In 1287 the margraves of Brandenburg authorised its citizens to build a stone wall, enclosing the growing town.

Prenzlau's position between Brandenburg, Mecklenburg and Pomerania made its allegiance valuable to competing rulers. Saint Mary's Church rose as a conspicuous monument of brick Gothic architecture. During the Thirty Years' War, the body of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden rested in its northern tower for two days in December 1632, on its journey home after his death at Lützen. The church and walls bore witness to a town whose importance reached beyond the surrounding countryside.