Barons and castellans · Margraviate of Brandenburg · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Gans of Putlitz

Until the mid-13th century the Gans are the only family of the Prignitz in the rank of free lords, equal to counts.

From their castle at Putlitz they hold the western Prignitz along the Stepenitz: the country round Perleberg, where a Slav settlement (the Nikolai settlement) grew in the later 12th century and the German town came only in 1239; the terra of Pritzwalk, where a merchant settlement stood at a road crossing some time before 1200 and the German town began about 1200 under the Gans; and probably the terra of Lenzen on the Elbe, whose castle is the centre of a small land from the late 12th century and passes to the margraves only in 1219. Round 1200 the Prignitz lords and the Ascanian margraves are in rough balance; the Gans are tied to Otto II. In the Danish wars of 1214 and 1227 the family lost Pritzwalk and Lenzen to the margraves and Perleberg to the overlordship of Schwerin (all later).

Who he is

Name
Johann (Johannes) Gans
Title
Edler Herr (free lord, baro) Gans of Putlitz
Since
not pinned (a Johannes Gans is called baro in a charter of Frederick I of about 1178-80)
Born
not pinned
Family
The Gans (Gänse) came from the Altmark (the Gänseburg near Pollitz on the Elbe). A Johannes Gans is said to have taken the Stepenitz country in the Wendish crusade of 1147; a Johannes Gans is baro in 1178-80; Johann Gans of Putlitz is close to Otto II at the end of the century; a Johann Gans is lord of Perleberg in 1239. Whether these are one, two or three men is not pinned.
Confidence
low

de.wikipedia (Gans zu Putlitz; Pritzwalk; Perleberg; Lenzen (Elbe)).

Overlord

The bishop of Havelberg for Putlitz itself (the castle 'Pochlustim' of the Havelberg foundation charter); the margrave of Brandenburg as lord of the Prignitz; after 1227 the counts of Schwerin for Perleberg (later).

What it holds

  • Putlitz castle and land (a fief of the bishop of Havelberg)
  • The terra of Perleberg on the Stepenitz, with the Slav Nikolai settlement (the town is founded only in 1239)
  • The terra of Pritzwalk (a merchant settlement before 1200; German town begun about 1200)
  • Probably the terra of Lenzen on the Elbe (castle centre of a small land from the late 12th century; a stone tower about 1200; the margraves' from 1219): holder in 1200 not pinned
  • Wittenberge on the Elbe and Grabow in south-western Mecklenburg are later Gans possessions: not pinned for 1200

How it was acquired

By conquest and settlement after the Wendish crusade of 1147 (the Gans lordships are dated back to about 1150).

Allies and rivals

Margrave Otto II (close ties); the bishop of Havelberg (feudal lord of Putlitz); neighbours the counts of Schwerin and Dannenberg to the north and west.

How things stand that morning

Holds the western Prignitz as a free lord in the margrave's following. He follows Otto II and so, by inference, Philip of Swabia (not attested for him personally).

Wealth

New villages of settlers from the Rhine, Holland, Zeeland and Flanders (from about 1158, some 450 villages in the Prignitz); markets at road crossings (Pritzwalk); the Elbe at Lenzen and Wittenberge.

Military

Putlitz castle; the Lenzen castle if theirs. No figures.

Threats

  • The margraves' ambition to rule the Prignitz directly
  • Danish and Mecklenburg pressure from the north

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. During 1200Pritzwalk's German town takes shape (timber felled about 1206 is the first evidence of its growth).Depends on: Peace in the Prignitz. Stopped by: War with the northern neighbours.

Places of note

  • Putlitz castle: The family seat.
  • Lenzen castle: Centre of the terra Lenzen; holder in 1200 not pinned.

Where the sources disagree

  • The Gans zu Putlitz article puts the loss of Pritzwalk and Lenzen in 1227 under Albert II, who died in 1220; the Pritzwalk article puts Pritzwalk's loss about 1214 and the Lenzen article has Lenzen with the margraves from 1219. The earlier dates are followed; neither affects 1 January 1200.

Evidence: The family's rank and its later losses are attested; which places the Gans hold in the winter of 1199-1200 is inferred from the mid-13th-century position.

On the map: Drawn from the family's later lordships; the 1200 limits are not known. The eastern Prignitz round Kyritz and Wittstock is drawn as the margrave's ground (Kyritz first named as a Plotho possession in 1229; Wittstock the bishop of Havelberg's).

Primary sources for Brandenburg (Otto II)

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

Sources and studies

  1. Gans zu Putlitz, de.wikipedia
  2. Pritzwalk, de.wikipedia
  3. Perleberg, de.wikipedia
  4. Lenzen (Elbe), de.wikipedia

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.