Pritzwalk

Heraldry of the World
Civic heraldry of Germany - Deutsche Wappen (Gemeindewappen/Kreiswappen)

PRITZWALK

State : Brandenburg
District (Kreis) : Prignitz
Additions : 1993 Schönhagen; 2002 Giesensdorf; 2003 Alt Krüssow, Beveringen, Buchholz (1964 Sarnow), Falkenhagen, Kemnitz (1974 Bölzke), Mesendorf, Sadenbeck, Steffenshagen, Wilmersdorf (1950 Könkendorf, Neu Krüssow)

Official blazon

In Silber eine belaubte und bewurzelte grüne Linde, in deren Krone ein roter Adler schwebt; vor dem Stamm ein schreitender schwarzer Wolf.

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on January 7, 1994.

The arms already appeared on the seal of the city from the 13^th century. The eagle is the eagle of the Margraves of Brandenburg, who acquired the city in the 13^th century. The wolf and tree are maybe canting elements for the second part of the name. There is also a legend on the name and the arms :
In the old times the first settlers build the first huts of the later-Pritzwalk were of Slavonic origin. They chopped trees to get some wood for buildings. One of these trees was the one is shown on the city arms. When this tree felt down to ground in its roots a great wolf appeared. The settlers screamed something like "Prit wolk!" which meant "Go away, wolf!" in their Slavonic language... Later these two words became "Pritzwalk".