Chernyakhovsk (;

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: Insterburg) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

Chernyakhovsky District Chernyakhovsky District () is an administrative district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Kaliningrad Oblast, fifteen in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia.Law #463 As a subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions, municipal division, it is i ...

. Located at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the

Instruch The Instruch (; ; ; ) is a river in Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast. It begins northeast of Dobrovolsk and, along with the river Angrapa, forms the Pregolya near Chernyakhovsk. Prior to 1945, the river was part of German East Prussia East Prussia ...

and

Angrapa The Angrapa (, , , ) is a river that begins in northeastern Poland and ends in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. Originating in Lake Mamry, it joins the 101-km-long Instruch at a point near Chernyakhovsk – variously assessed as lying 140, 1 ...

rivers, which unite to become the

Pregolya The Pregolya or Pregola (; ; ; ) is a river in the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. Name A possible ancient name by Ptolemy of the Pregolya River is Chronos (from Germanic *''hrauna'', "stony"), although other theories identify Chronos as a ...

river below Chernyakhovsk, the town had a population in 2017 of 36,423.

History

Medieval period

Insterburg was founded in 1337 by the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

on the site of a former

Old Prussian Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...

fortification when

Dietrich von Altenburg Dietrich von Altenburg was the 19th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1335 to 1341. He came from the Thuringian town of Altenburg in the Holy Roman Empire, where his father held the office of a burgrave of the immediate Plei ...

, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, built a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

called ''Insterburg'' following the

Prussian Crusade The Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Crusades, crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights, to Christianization, Christianize Forced conversion, under duress the Prussian mythol ...

. During the Teutonic Knights'

Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Church, Catholic Christian Military order (society), military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the paganism, pagan Balts, Baltic, Baltic Finns, ...

campaign against the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

, the town was devastated in 1376. The castle had been rebuilt as the seat of a

Procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

and a settlement also named ''Insterburg'' grew up to serve it. In 1454, Polish King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

incorporated the region to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

upon the request of the anti-Teutonic

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (, ) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Marienwerder (present-day Kwidzyn) by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights. It was based o ...

. During the subsequent

Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) The Thirteen Years' War (; ), also called the War of the Cities, was a conflict fought in 1454–1466 between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order. After the Battle of Grunwald, enormous defeat suffered by the German Ord ...

between Poland and the Teutonic Knights, the settlement was devastated by Polish troops in 1457. After the war, since 1466, the settlement was a part of Poland as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

held by the Teutonic Knights.

Early modern period

When the Prussian Duke Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach in 1525

secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

the monastic

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order () was a theocratic state located along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the early 13th century Northern Crusades in the region ...

per the Treaty of Kraków, Insterburg became part of the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

, a vassal duchy of the Kingdom of Poland. The settlement was granted

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

on 10 October 1583 by the Prussian regent Margrave George Frederick. In the early 17th century, the town had a mixed population, and had Lithuanian, German and Polish preachers. Insterburg became part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

in 1701, and because the area had been depopulated by plague in the early 18th century, King

Frederick William I of Prussia Frederick William I (; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the Soldier King (), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuchâtel. Born in Berlin, he was raised by the Hugu ...

invited

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

refugees who had been expelled from the

Archbishopric of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (; ) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of Salzburg, as distinguished from the much larger Catholic diocese f ...

to settle in Insterburg in 1732. French-language

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

church services were held in the town for several decades since 1731. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, the town was occupied by

Late modern period

During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

troops passed through the town in 1806, 1807, 1811 and 1813. In 1818, after the

, the town became the seat of Insterburg District within the Gumbinnen Region.

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (baptised – ) was a Russian field marshal who figured prominently in the Napoleonic Wars. Barclay was born into a Baltic German family from Livland. His father was the first of his family to be accep ...

died at Insterburg in 1818 on his way from his

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

n manor to Germany, where he wanted to renew his health. Following the unsuccessful

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

, Polish insurgents were interned in the town in 1832. In 1863, a Polish secret organization was founded and operated in Insterburg, which was involved in

arms trafficking Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal tra ...

to the

Russian Partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...

of Poland during the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

. Since May 1864, the leader of the organization was Józef Racewicz. Insterburg became a part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

following the 1871

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...

, and on May 1, 1901, it became an

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

separate from Insterburg District. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

seized Insterburg on 24 August 1914, but it was retaken by Germany on 11 September 1914. The

Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

era after World War I saw the town separated from the rest of the country as the province of

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

had become an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

. The

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club

Yorck Boyen Insterburg Yorck Boyen Insterburg was a German association football club from the city of Insterburg, East Prussia (today Chernyakhovsk, Russia). The team was founded in 1921 as ''Sport-Verein Yorck Insterburg.'' In 1934, it was merged with ''Militär Sp ...

was formed in 1921.

World War II and post-war period

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Germans operated a Dulag Luft transit

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

for Allied POWs in the town. A local branch of the

Peasant Battalions Peasant Battalions (, abbreviated BCh) was a Polish resistance movement, guerrilla and partisan organisation, during World War II. The organisation was created in mid-1940 by the agrarian political party People's Party and by 1944 was partia ...

was established by the Polish resistance, under the cryptonym "Wystruć", the historic Polish name of the town. Several French forced laborers cooperated with the Polish resistance. The town was heavily bombed by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

on July 27, 1944. The town was stormed by

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

troops on January 21–22, 1945. As part of the northern part of East Prussia, Insterburg was transferred from Germany to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

after the war as previously agreed between the victorious powers at the Potsdam Conference. On 7 April 1946, Insterburg was renamed as Chernyakhovsk in honor of the Soviet World War II

Army General Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

Ivan Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky (; ; – 18 February 1945) was the youngest-ever Soviet General of the army. For his leadership during World War II he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union twice. He died from wounds received outside K� ...

, who commanded the army that first entered East Prussia in 1944. After 1989, a group of people introduced the

Akhal-Teke The Akhal-Teke ( or ; from Turkmen language, Turkmen ''Ahalteke'', ) is a Turkmen horse breed. They have a reputation for speed and endurance, intelligence, thin manes and a distinctive metallic sheen. The shiny coat of the breed led to their ...

horse breed to the area and opened an Akhal-Teke breeding

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Chernyakhovsk serves as the

.Resolution #640 As an administrative division, it is, together with five rural localities, incorporated within Chernyakhovsky District as the

town of district significance Town of district significance is an administrative division of a district in a federal subject of Russia. It is equal in status to a selsoviet or an urban-type settlement of district significance, but is organized around a town (as opposed to a ...

of Chernyakhovsk. As a municipal division, the town of district significance of Chernyakhovsk is incorporated within Chernyakhovsky Municipal District as Chernyakhovskoye Urban Settlement.Law #262

Population trends

Military

Chernyakhovsk is home to the Chernyakhovsk naval air facility.

Coat of arms controversy

In September 2019 the local court ruled that the coat of arms was illegal because it carries "elements of foreign culture." The local court alleged that

Russian laws The primary and fundamental statement of laws in the Russian Federation is the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Statutes, like the Russian Civil Code and the Russian Criminal Code, are the predominant legal source of Russian laws. Hiera ...

do not allow the use of foreign languages and symbols in Russian state symbols and ordered the town "to remove any violations of the law." The town's coat of arms, adopted in 2002, was based on the historic coat of arms of the town that before 1946 was known under its original

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n name – Insterburg. The full version of coat of arms in question has a picture of a Prussian man with a horn and the Latin initials G.F. for the Regent of Prussia George Frederick,

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Brandenburg-Ansbach The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg) Ansbach ( or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were ...

(1543–1603), who gave Insterburg the status of town and with it his family coat of arms. The case brought before the court follows a trend among several towns in the region that have announced their intentions to change their coat of arms as tensions mount between Russia and the West following the

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

in 2014 and its support for pro-Russian separatists in

eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or East Ukraine (; ) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as ...

Notable people

Martin Grünberg Martin Grünberg or Martin Ginsberg (born 1655, Insterburg, then in the Duchy of Prussia, now in Russia – between 16 and 23 October 1706 or 1707Precise date of death unknown) was a German architect and master builder. Life He was active in B ...

(1665–c.1706), architect * Johann Otto Uhde (1725–1766), composer and violinist *

Johann Friedrich Goldbeck Johann Friedrich Goldbeck (22 September 1748 – 9 April 1812) was a German geographer and Protestant theologian. Goldbeck was born in Insterburg, East Prussia. He first visited the Latin school in his home town InsterburgA. E. Henning: ''Topogra ...

(1748–1812), geographer and Protestant theologian * Eduard Heinrich von Flottwell (1786–1865), politician *

Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Jordan Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Jordan, sometimes shortened to Wilhelm Jordan (8 February 1819 in Chernyakhovsk, Insterburg in Province of East Prussia, East Prussia, now in Russia25 June 1904 in Frankfurt am Main), was a German writer and politician. Li ...

(1819–1904), writer and politician * Ernst Wichert (1831–1902), author * Edward Frederick Moldenke (1836–1904) Lutheran theologian and missionary * Hans Horst Meyer (1853–1939), pharmacologist *

Therese Malten Therese Malten was the stage name of Therese Müller (21 June 1855 – 2 January 1930), a well-known German dramatic soprano. She was born at Insterburg, Province of Prussia, studied with in Berlin, and made her début in 1873 in Dresden ...

(1855–1930), opera singer *

Hans Orlowski Hans Orlowski (1 March 1894 - 3 May 1967) was a German Woodcut artist and painter. Life Hans Otto Orlowski was born at Insterburg, a midsized town a short distance to the east of Königsburg in East Prussia, which at that time was part of Germany ...

(1894–1967) woodcut artist and painter * Hans Otto Erdmann (1896–1944), member of the

German resistance to Nazism The German resistance to Nazism () included unarmed and armed opposition and disobedience to the Nazi Germany, Nazi regime by various movements, groups and individuals by various means, from assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler, attempts to ass ...

* Fritz Karl Preikschat (1910–1994), engineer and inventor * Kurt Kuhlmey (1913–1993), Bundeswehr major general * Kurt Plenzat (1914–1998), military officer *

Traugott Buhre Traugott Buhre (21 June 1929 – 26 July 2009) was a German actor. Buhre was born at Insterburg, East Prussia, Germany (today Chernyakhovsk, Russia) the son of a Lutheran Pastor.Harry Boldt (born 1930), Olympic champion in dressage *

Anatol Herzfeld Anatol Herzfeld (born Karl-Heinz Herzfeld; 21 January 1931 – 10 May 2019) was a German sculptor and mixed-media artist, and also a policeman. A student of Joseph Beuys, he primarily used wood, iron and stone as materials. As an artist, he simpl ...

(1931–2019), German sculptor and mixed media artist * Jürgen Schmude (born 1936), politician (SPD) *

Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger Hans-Jürgen Quadbeck-Seeger (born 29 May 1939 in Insterburg, East Prussia) is a German chemist, inventor, and author. He was Research Director at BASF (from 1990 to 1997), and President of the German Chemical Society. Career Hans-Jürgen Quadbec ...

(born 1939), chemist * Anatole Klyosov (born 1946), a scientist in physical chemistry, enzyme catalysis and industrial biochemistry. * Yuri Vasenin (1948–2022) Soviet football player and Russian coach.

Twin towns and sister cities

Chernyakhovsk is twinned with: *

Kirchheimbolanden Kirchheimbolanden is the capital and the second largest city of the Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate. Situated in south-western Germany, it is approximately 25 km west of Worms, Germany, Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaisersla ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, since 2002

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

Official website of Chernyakhovsk

Chernyakhovsk Business Directory

Unofficial website of Chernyakhovsk
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kaliningrad Oblast Populated places established in the 1330s Castles in Russia Chernyakhovsky District