Kamieniec or Kamieniec Suski 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 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 cap ...

, within

Iława County __NOTOC__ Iława County () 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 (), subsequently renamed Iława County ...

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

Susz Susz () is a town in Iława County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, with 5,610 inhabitants (2006). Geographical location Susz is situated on the northern and western shores of Suskie Lake in the Powiśle region about east o ...

, north-west of

Iława Iława (; ) is a town in northern Poland with 32,276 inhabitants (2010). It is the capital of Iława County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. The town is located in the Iławskie Lake District, on the longest lake in Poland – Jeziorak.

, and west 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

The oldest known mention of the village comes from 1321. 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 village and 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

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (, ) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Marienwerder (present-day Kwidzyn) by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights. It was based o ...

, and after the subsequent

Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number) * Any of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, or 2013 Music Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ''13'' (Blur album), 1999 * ''13'' (Borgeous album), 2016 * ''13'' (Brian Setzer album), 2006 * ...

it was 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 State of the Teutonic Knights. From the 18th century it 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 from 1871 to 1945 it was part of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1807

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

stayed at the local palace for several weeks with his mistress

Maria Walewska Marie Walewska, Countess Walewska (; ; 7 December 1786 – 11 December 1817) was a Polish noblewoman in the court of Napoleon I who used her influence to sway the emperor towards the creation of an independent Polish state. In her later years ...

. 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 fought in many battles, distin ...

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

Finckenstein Palace Finckenstein Palace (; ) is a ruined Baroque palace situated in the village of Kamieniec, about 25 mi. (40 km) south of Elbląg, in northern Poland. Formerly part of West Prussia, it was designed by the architect John von Collas and ...

, burned by the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

in 1945 during

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 ...

. After the defeat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

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

Notable residents

* Friedrich Ferdinand Alexander zu Dohna-Schlobitten (1771–1831), Prussian politician

References

Villages in Iława County {{Iława-geo-stub