Dzikowo Iławeckie () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Górowo Iławeckie __NOTOC__ Gmina Górowo Iławeckie is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Bartoszyce County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, on the border with Russia. Its seat is the town of Górowo Iławeckie, although the town is not ...

, within

Bartoszyce County __NOTOC__ Bartoszyce County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the border with Russia. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish loca ...

, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the

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 ...

. It lies approximately north-west of

Górowo Iławeckie Górowo Iławeckie () or simply Górowo, is a town in northern Poland, located in the Bartoszyce County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with 4,068 inhabitants (2016). The town has a land area of and is the smallest municipality (''gmina'') in ter ...

, west of

Bartoszyce Bartoszyce (pronounced ; , ) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geographical location Bartoszyce lies on t ...

, and north of the regional capital

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

History

In 1454, 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 into 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 ...

. After 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 ...

, it was a part of Poland as a fief held by the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

. In 1491 the Teutonic Order awarded the

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 ...

settlement of ''Ampunden'', sized 12 "Hufen", a square measure of the Teutonic Knights, to the nobleman Paul Pregel and after the abolition of the

Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights 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 ...

Ampunden was awarded to the former Teutonic Knight Friedrich Truchseß von Waldburg by Duke

Albert of Prussia Albert of Prussia (; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th grand master of the Teutonic Knights and, after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the secularized state that emerged fr ...

in 1535. The name Ampunden was soon changed to Wildenhoff, which became the parent house of the Waldburg family. After the death of Gebhard Truchseß von Waldburg his wife married Otto von Schwerin in 1656, constituting the von Schwerin-Wildenhoff family, owner of the manor of Wildenhoff and

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

of the Church of Landsberg (Górowo Iławeckie) until 1945. In 1705 a large

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

palace was built by Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Schwerin, which was completely destroyed in 1945. In autumn 1944 several works of art from museums of

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

were evacuated to Wildenhoff, rumours also claimed the famous

Amber Room The Amber Room (, ) was a chamber decorated in amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors, located in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg. Constructed in the 18th century in Prussia, the room was dismantled and ...

might have been part of these pieces. In fact the head of the Königsberg museums administration, Dr. Alfred Rohde, visited Wildenhoff in October 1944 and organized several transports, excavations made in 1960 delivered some remains of different pieces of art, but no indications of the Amber Room theory. After

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 village again became part of Poland, under territorial changes demanded by 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 ...

at the Potsdam Conference. Initially it was known as ''Dzikowo Warmińskie''. From 1945 to 1958 the village was administratively located in the

Iławka County Iławka County () was a unit of territorial administration (powiat) in Poland, that existed from 1945 to 1958. It was initially part of the Masurian District from 1945 to 1946, and then the Olsztyn Voivodeship from 1946 to 1958. The capitals were ...

, first in the

Masurian District The Masurian District, also known as the District of East Prussia, and designated as the 4th District, was a district that acted as an provisional administrative division of Poland, during the administration of the Provisional Government of the Re ...

and, from 1946, in the

Olsztyn Voivodeship Olsztyn Voivodeship () was an administrative division and unit of local government in Poland in the years 1946–75, and a new territorial division between 1975–1998, superseded by Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Olszty ...

History

Population

References

External links