Prenzlau is situated at an elevation of 25 m on the river Ucker and the northern end of the lake Uckersee (Unteruckersee). Prenzlau was first mentioned in a document of 1187 and was chartered as a town in 1234. In 1250 the town came in possession of the margraves of Brandenburg. When the margraves from the Askanian family became extinct, the owners of the town changed several times until the town finally became part of the margraviate Brandenburg again in 1426. Prenzlau was left devastated after the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and only began to flourish again when, at the end of the 17th century, the Huguenots were allowed to settle here. In 1685 Prenzlau became a garrison town. Until the 1880s, the spelling of the name was Prenzlow. During World War II about 85% of the town was destroyed. Since 1993 Prenzlau is again the district town of the district Uckermark.
The Sankt-Marienkirche is one of the finest examples of North-German Gothic brick churches. It goes back to a prior church that was built between 1235 and 1250. The lower parts of the towers were already part of that building. The present church was built between 1289 and 1340 as a large hall church with three naves. In 1945 the church was completely destroyed by fire. Its reconstruction was started in 1970 and was completed in 1988. Since 1996 the interior is accessible to the public again.