'Guryevsk (, ) 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 ...

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 ...

of Guryevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast,

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 ...

, located northeast of Kaliningrad. Population:

History

In 1255 the Sambians tribe's stronghold of Vurgvala was taken by Teutonic Knights and renamed as ''Neuhausen'' in 1262. Around 1292, the Castle of the Sambian Chapter was built. In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon 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. After the subsequent Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466), it became 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 until 1525,Górski, pp. 96–97, 214–215 and by secular Ducal Prussia afterwards. From 1701, the settlement was 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 ...

, and in 1871 it became 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 ...

upon the

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 ...

, within which it was administered as part of 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 ...

. In 1877, the village had a population of 559, mostly employed in agriculture and cattle breeding. It was captured by Red Army on 28 January 1945. After the end of

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 ...

in 1945, the town was annexed 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 ...

. The remaining German population which had not been evacuated was subsequently expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and replaced with

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

. The following year it was renamed Guryevsk in honor of Stepan Guryev, a Soviet marshal who died during the capture of Kaliningrad.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Guryevsk serves as the

of Guryevsky District.Law #463 As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Guryevsky District as the town of district significance of Guryevsk.Resolution #640 Within the framework of municipal divisions, since May 31, 2013, the territories of the town of district significance of Guryevsk and of seven rural okrugs of Guryevsky District are incorporated as Guryevsky Urban Okrug.Law #229 Before that, the town of district significance was incorporated within Guryevsky Municipal District as Guryevskoye Urban Settlement.

Notable people

* Martin Kähler (1835–1912), theologian

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Official website of Guryevsk

Guryevsk Business Directory
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kaliningrad Oblast Populated places in Guryevsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast