Bolshakovo (russian: Большако́во, pl, Skajzgiry, lt, Didieji Skaisgiriai, german: Groß Skaisgirren or ' (1938-1946)), also referred to as Bolshakovo-Novoye (russian: Большако́во-Новое), is a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

located in the southern part of

Slavsky District Slavsky District (russian: Сла́вский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the fifteen in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia.Law #463 As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Slavsky Municipal District.Law #261 It is ...

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administr ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, 90 km from

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

. The adjective "Novoye" (new) is sometimes used to distinguish it from an eponymous village in

Ivanovo Oblast Ivanovo Oblast (russian: Ива́новская о́бласть, ''Ivanovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It had a population of 927,828 as of the 2021 Russian Census. Its three largest cities are Ivanovo (the ...

of Russia. It is situated on the road from

Talpaki Talpaki (russian: Талпáки, german: Taplacken, pl, Taplaki; lt, Toplaukiai) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Gvardeysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. European route E77 European route E 77 is a part of the inter-Eur ...

Sovetsk Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск) is the name of several urban localities in Russia. *Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, formerly Tilsit * Sovetsk, Kirov Oblast, a town in Sovetsky District of Kirov Oblast; * Sovetsk, T ...

. There are also roads from Bolshakovo to

Polessk Polessk (russian: Поле́сск; german: Labiau; lt, Labguva; pl, Labiawa) is a town and the administrative center of Polessky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblas ...

and to

Chernyakhovsk Chernyakhovsk (russian: Черняхо́вск) – known prior to 1946 by its German name of (Old Prussian: Instrāpils, lt, Įsrutis; pl, Wystruć) – is a town in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, where it is the administrative center of ...

. Bolshakovo is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the

–Sovetsk line. Bolshakovo lies on the border of Polessk Lowland in a marsh landscape and has approximately 2,000 inhabitants. Bolshakovo is a transmission site of the ''

Voice of Russia Voice of Russia ( rus, Голос России, r=Golos Rossii), commonly abbreviated VOR, was the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service from 1993 until 2014, when it was reorganised as Radio Sputnik. Its interval signal w ...

'' broadcasting station, the Bolshakovo transmitter.

History

In 1454, the region was incorporated by King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the ...

to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

upon the request of the anti-Teutonic

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (german: Preußischer Bund, pl, Związek Pruski) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Kwidzyn (then officially ''Marienwerder'') by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the a ...

. After the subsequent Thirteen Years' War, since 1466, it formed part of Poland as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) 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 Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

held by the

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

,Górski, p. 96–97, 214–215 and from 1525 held by

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...

. From the 18th century it was part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

, and from 1871 to 1945 it was also part of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, within which it was administratively located in the ''Landkreis Elchniederung'' (district) in the

Province of East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871 ...

. In the late 19th century, the village had 147 houses and 731 inhabitants. The population was employed in agriculture and cattle and horse breeding. In 1938, during a massive Nazi campaign of renaming of placenames, it was renamed to ''Kreuzingen'' to erase traces of Lithuanian origin. Until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the biggest livestock railway station of

was located there. Following the war, it fell to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

References

External links

Kreuzingen on a 1930s map of East Prussia
{{Authority control Rural localities in Kaliningrad Oblast