Prieschka is a district of the spa town of Bad Liebenwerda in Elbe-Elster in southern Brandenburg.
The present village of 300 inhabitants has its origins in a Slavic settlement located on an island surrounded by the waters of the Black Elster River in the central part of the village. The village was first mentioned in documents in 1325 as Prischka. It belonged to the Würdenhain estate, which was dissolved in 1442 by order of the Saxon Elector Frederick the Gentle.
Around 1520 a mill estate was built on the Black Elster River, from which in 1698 the Prieschka inheritance and free estate and the associated estate district emerged. In 1929, two brothers from Leipzig donated money to build a red brick bell tower in Dorfstraße in memory of their birthplace, Prieschka, which is now a listed building. In the course of the district reform in Brandenburg, the village was incorporated into Bad Liebenwerda on December 6, 1993.Changes in the municipalities of Germany, see 1993 StBA
The 80-hectare Alte Röder Nature Reserve near Prieschka, part of the Lower Lusatian Heath Nature Park, stretches northeast of the village and is used, among other things, for the preservation and development of the Elbe beaver, which was recorded there before World War II.
Geography
Geography and natural environment
The village is located on the left side of the Breslau-Magdeburg glacial valley, where the Große Röder flows into the Black Elster, which reaches its narrowest point a few kilometers to the east in the seven-kilometer-wide Schraden lowlands between Elsterwerda and Merzdorf, and then swings to the northwest.
Prieschka is surrounded by the 6011-hectare Elsteraue landscape conservation area, which is divided into three ecological units, of which Elsteraue II includes Prieschka. One of the purposes of the protected landscape area is to preserve the area because of its special importance for natural recreation in the area of the spa town of Bad Liebenwerda, which is located about five kilometers north of the village. (Memento from September 5, 2012, in the web archive archive.today), retrieved on September 26, 2010.
As part of the 484 square kilometer Lower Lusatian Heath Nature Park, the approximately 80-hectare Alte Röder Nature Reserve near Prieschka extends northeast of the village. One of its conservation goals is to preserve and develop this area as a habitat for the Elbe beaver and other endangered species. Declared a nature reserve in 1981, the roeder lowland is home to one of the most enduring populations of the endangered Elbe beaver. The rare subspecies of the European beaver has been known to occur here since before World War II. In 2002, the total world population was 6,000 animals.Dietrich Dolch, Dietrich Heidecke, Jana Teubner, Jens Teubner: Der Biber im Land Brandenburg. In: NATURSCHUTZ UND LANDSCHAFTSPFLEGE IN BRANDENBURG. No. 11, 2002, p. 220 to 234
Climate With its humid climate, Prieschka lies in the cold temperate climate zone, although there is a noticeable transition to a Continental climate. The nearest weather stations are located in Doberlug-Kirchhain to the northeast, Torgau to the west, and Oschatz to the south.
The month with the lowest precipitation is February and the month with the highest precipitation is July. The average annual air temperature at the Doberlug-Kirchhain weather station, located about 20 kilometers to the northeast, is 8.5 °C. The difference between the coldest month, January, and the warmest month, July, is 18.4 °C.Geoclimate 2.1
History
The place name and first documented mention The village was first mentioned in a document in 1325 as Prischka. Other forms of the name were:
1408 Prischka 1443 Brissigk 1463 Brißk 1484 Prischk 1486 Brissig 1540 Brischk 1550 Prischka 1577 Brischkaw 1675 Prischke, Pritschke, Prißke
The name forms of 1325 and 1408 have come down to us through later transcriptions.Johann Christian Schöttgen, Georg Christoph Kreysig: Diplomataria et scriptores hist. Germ. med. aevi. 3 volumes (including the 3rd volume by H. G. Francke), Altenburg 1753-60. They show writing habits from the 16th century. The most probable derivation of the place names is from Old Sorbian Brež(e)k (place on the shore), perhaps also Brežky or Upper Sorbian brjóh, Lower Sorbian brjog (edge, shore), Polish brzeg and Brezky (small birch trees, birch grove).Emilia Crome: Die Ortsnamen des Kreises Bad Liebenwerda. Academy Publisher, Berlin 1968.
Early history
The oldest traces of human settlement in Prieschka date back to the Middle Stone Age. Traces of settlements from the later Bronze Age have also been found in the fields around the village. There is also a Germanic cemetery from the 3rd and 4th centuries, some of whose graves were properly excavated in 1907 and 1928. The cremation graves found in Prieschka are attributed to the Burgundian tribe. In addition to pottery, the finds include lance and arrowheads, axes, knives, swords, spurs, and bucket handles. Most of them have been donated to the Berlin State Museum, Halle State Museum of Prehistory, and the Bad Liebenwerda District Museum.M. Karl Fitzkow: Werkzeuge und Waffen der Urmenschen im Heimatgebiet. Working groups of the friends of nature and local history of the German Cultural Association, Bad Liebenwerda district (ed.): Heimatkalender für den Kreis Bad Liebenwerda für die Jahre 1965 und 1966. Printing company Aktivist Bad Liebenwerda, pp. 95 to 100.M. Karl Fitzkow: Germanen im Heimatgebiet. In: Working groups of the friends of nature and local history of the German Cultural Association, Bad Liebenwerda district (ed.): Heimatkalender für den Kreis Bad Liebenwerda. Printing company Aktivist Bad Liebenwerda, Bad Liebenwerda 1961, pp. 118 to 121.
From the origins of the village to the Reformation The village was founded as a Slavic settlement in the middle of the forest on an island surrounded by the waters of the Black Elster. The village had a typical horseshoe shape, also known as a Rundling.
Prieschka originally belonged to the manor of Würdenhain. The heart of the manor was the Eichwald, also known as Oppach, which covered about 1700 acres and was located east of Prieschka. At that time only Prieschka had a small open field for the Wendish settlement. In 1442, the lord of Würdenhain Castle, Hans Marschalk, was imprisoned for breach of the peace. Elector Frederick the Gentle confiscated his fief and slighted the Würdenhain Castle. The Würdenhain estate was transferred to the Mühlberg estate. In the following year the area came to the Bohemian nobleman Hinko Berka of Dubá through exchange and purchase transactions. Around 1484 Prieschka became the personal property of Agnes von Bircke (born von Schleinitz).
From 1520 Prieschka belonged to the Mühlberg office, to which the former Würdenhain dominion was attached and to which taxes and compulsory services had to be paid.Rudolf Matthies: Die Herrschaft Würdenhain. In: Working groups of the friends of nature and local history of the German Cultural Association, Bad Liebenwerda district (ed.): Heimatkalender für den Kreis Bad Liebenwerda. Printing company Aktivist Bad Liebenwerda, Bad Liebenwerda 1962, p. 112 to 116. In the same year, a mill estate was established there on the course of the Black Elster river, from which the Prieschka manor was later to emerge.
In 1550 it is documented that there were thirteen "possessed men" in Prieschka, where SorbianM. Karl Fitzkow: Sorbisches Volkstum im Kreisgebiet und sein Erlöschen im 19. Jahrhundert. In: Working groups of the friends of nature and local history of the German Cultural Association, Bad Liebenwerda district (ed.): Heimatkalender für den Kreis Bad Liebenwerda. Printing company Aktivist Bad Liebenwerda, Bad Liebenwerda 1963, p. 135 to 140. was still spoken at that time. Fourteen years later the peasants from Prieschka, Würdenhain, Haida, and Reichenhain revolted against the bailiff Fuchs from Mühlberg. They set out their complaints in a document entitled "Die 10 Klageartikel der Dorfschaften Werdenhayn und Heide" and sent it to Dresden via the Amtmann. As they did not trust the official channels, they sent a second copy directly to the Elector "for his own hands". Among other things, they complained about the impairment of fishing and forestry rights as well as reduced wages for the construction of the castle in Mühlberg. Since the peasants' actions were considered dangerous and punishable, Dresden first ordered an investigation of the "deer leader''. Hans Bräunig, the Kretzschmann (innkeeper) from Würdenhain, the spokesman for the peasants, was initially arrested. He and several other farmers involved were later fined.Rudolf Matthies: Geschichte des Dorfes Würdenhain. 1953 (Compiled as part of the National Development Program with subsequent additions by Ursula, Heinz and Matthias Lohse).Rudolf Matthies: Aus alten Akten des Amtes Mühlberg. In: Arbeitsgemeinschaften der Natur- und Heimatfreunde des Deutschen Kulturbundes Kreis Bad Liebenwerda (Ed.): Heimatkalender für den Kreis Bad Liebenwerda. Printing company Aktivist Bad Liebenwerda, Bad Liebenwerda 1957, p. 78 to 81.
The inhabitants of the village were parishioners of Würdenhain. They adopted the Protestant faith during the Reformation in 1541. However, the Catholic priest Thomas Bantzer, who was born on the Prieschka mill estate, refused to accept the Lutheran faith, built a cottage on the Würdenhain parish estate, and renounced his office. The first Lutheran pastor was ordained in Würdenhain on Ascension Day in 1541. However, the simple population did not give up the old customs and traditions easily, and in 1578 it was reported from the parish: "In Prieschka and Oschätzchen praise dances are held, with all kinds of frivolity, with twisting and other things.Chronik des Dorfes Würdenhain von Rudolf Matthies (Memento from April 16, 2005 in the Internet Archive)
From the Thirty Years' War to the Coalition Wars In 1618, after the defenestration of Prague, the Thirty Years' War broke out. It brought much misery and plundering by passing troops to the whole region. The plague also took its toll during this time. When this highly contagious infectious disease broke out in Prieschka in 1626, twenty people died in the village, about half of the population. In January 1637, the troops of the Swedish general Johan Banér moved into their winter quarters in Torgau until early
summer. They roamed the neighboring Elbe-Elster region, plundering villages and setting them on fire. When the troops entered Prieschka, about twenty people were killed, and four farms were destroyed.
In 1692 the Prieschka mill estate came into the possession of the Commanding Officer Andreas Gottfried von Kirchbach by inheritance. At the same time, he acquired all the lands of the farms orphaned by the Thirty Years' War. In 1698, he was granted the superior and hereditary courts, as well as the right to write, and the hereditary and free manor with the associated manor district was created. In 1724, von Kirchbach bequeathed the estate to his cousin Hans Karl von Kirchbach. In 1766 it passed into the possession of Heinrich Rudolf Vitzthum von Eckstädt, who held it until 1800.
Prieschka manor ownersGeschichte des Prieschkaer Rittergutes (Memento from November 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive) on the district page of the city of Bad Liebenwerda, retrieved on September 26, 2010.Year Owner 1698–1724: Andreas Gottfried von Kirchbach 1724–1766: Hans Karl von Kirchbach 1766–1800: Heinrich Rudolf Vitzthum von Eckstädt 1800–1815: Kadner 1815–1854: Johann August Fischer 1854–1892: Rudolf von Fischer 1892–1909: German Private Civil Servants Association 1909–1926: Georg Steblein, or rather his widow 1926: Otto Klaue 1942–1942: Herrmann Göbel 1943–1945: The people other names: Bauer, Ibert, Jens, Kran, Fritz DottiFritz Dotti was expropriated as part of the land reform.