The Tylzha (russian: Тыльжа, german: Tilse, from lt, tilžus, meaning "swampy, wet", el, Τύλισος) is a river in

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 ...

discharging into the river

Neman The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ...

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, Tul ...

which until 1946 was called Tilsit in accordance with it.Heinz Kebesch: ''Unsere Tilszele'' (Our Tilszele). 8. Tilsiter Rundbrief (Tilsit Newsletter) 1978/79, p. 30 et.seq.

Name and course

The river Tilsot or Tilsete is mentioned in reports of the

Teutonic Knights 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 ...

. The

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...

who immigrated in the 15th and 16th century made Tilszele of it which then became its colloquial name.

Sources

The source of the Tylzha is located in the southern part of the former district Ragnit, 5 km from the railway station Paballen on the rail line Tilsit - Szillen - Grünheide -

Insterburg 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 ...

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

. In a grove consisting of alders, birches and spruces near Meldienen-Patilßen several streams flow together to form the river Tylzha.

Course

It flows relatively quickly in the stony river bed in which large erratic boulders lie near Buttkuhnen. There the Tylzha is already 1.5 m wide and a bridge crosses it on the road from Szillen to Kraupischken. Turning northward from here, it passes through Tilsewischken, Balandßen, Ruddecken, Podßuhnen, Pucknen, Kindschen, Jonienen, Kurschen, Schuppinnen, Woydehnen, Moritzkehmen and Tilsit-Kallkappen. On the partially rather high banks groves and meadows stretch out. Picturesque landscapes are the castle hill between Kurschen and Schuppinnen and the gorge at Kurschen. The

Grauden forest The Grauden was a jungle between Pregola and Neman. At its edge is the town Graudenz. The forest consisted of oaks, alders, birches and dense, thorny underbrush. It was traversed by the courses of the Ossat, Schillup, Budup and Arge. Johannes Vo ...

was an impenetrable wilderness. In the grove of Kindschen the Tylzha takes in the Liepart stream and at Kurschen the Malan stream.

Cultivation

Since the Tylzha flows through low-lying terrain, the adjacent lands could be well drained. The district administration Tilsit-Ragnit determined in 1931/32 to conduct it into a new bed near Woydehnen. At the same time the lower Tylzha between Kurschen and Tilsit was

regulated Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

. At the Willmann hill a bridge for the railway Stallupönen - Tilsit was built. Through Moritzkehmen and Kallkappen the river reaches the castle mill pond and passes through the Tilszele harbor into the Neman.

Castle Mill Pond at Tilsit

1562 the reigning governor of Tilsit Kaspar von NostitzKaspar von Nostiz
/ref> had the castle mill pond dammed, because, when the water volume was sufficient, Duke Albrecht of Brandenburg wanted to construct a water mill for economic reasons.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , last= Vanagas , first= Aleksandras , author-link=Aleksandras Vanagas , date=1981 , title= Lietuvių hidronimų etimologinis žodynas , url= , location=Vilnius , publisher=Mokslas , page= , isbn= , language = Lithuanian

External links

Tilse (GenWiki)
Rivers of Kaliningrad Oblast