Kamieniec or Kamieniec Suski (german: Finckenstein) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Susz __NOTOC__ Gmina Susz is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Iława County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the town of Susz, which lies approximately north-west of Iława and west of the regional capita ...

, within

Iława County __NOTOC__ Iława County ( pl, powiat iławski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. In the years 1945-1958 it existed under the name Susz County ( pl, powiat suski ...

, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of

Susz Susz (german: Rosenberg in Westpreußen) is a town in Iława County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,600 inhabitants (2004). Geographical location Susz is located about east of Kwidzyn, south of Elbląg and south-west of Kalini ...

, north-west of Iława, and west of the regional capital

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

. The village has a population of 430.

History

The oldest known mention of the village comes from 1321. In 1454 King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the village and region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the

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 ...

, and after the subsequent

Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

it was 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

State of the Teutonic Knights The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Centr ...

. 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 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 ...

. In 1807

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

stayed at the local palace for several weeks with his mistress

Maria Walewska Marie Walewska, Countess Walewska (née Łączyńska; pl, Maria Walewska; 7 December 1786 – 11 December 1817) was a Poles, Polish noblewoman and an important figure at the court of Emperor Napoleon, Napoleon I with the role to influence him ...

. There,

signed a decree establishing the elite

1st Polish Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard The 1st Polish Light Cavalry Lancers Regiment of the Imperial Guard ( ''/'' ) was a foreign Polish light cavalry lancers regiment which served as part of Napoleon's Imperial Guard during the Napoleonic Wars. The regiment, as part of Napoleon's ...

, and a Franco-Persian treaty. In the village are the ruins of the

Finckenstein Palace Finckenstein Palace (German: ''Schloss Finckenstein'') was a baroque palace, designed by the architect John von Collas between 1716 and 1720 in the former West Prussia, about 25 mi. (40 km) south of Elbląg in present-day Susz, Polan ...

, burned by the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

in 1945 during

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 ...

. After the defeat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in World War II, in 1945, the village became again part of Poland.

Notable residents

Friedrich Ferdinand Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten Friedrich Ferdinand Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten (29 March 1771 – 31 March 1831) was a Prussian politician. Biography Dohna-Schlobitten was born at Finckenstein (today Kamieniec, Poland) to Friedrich Alexander Burggraf und Graf zu Dohna-Schl ...

(1771–1831), Prussian politician

References

Kamieniec {{Iława-geo-stub