Rapa (; german: Angerapp, from 1938-45 ''Kleinangerapp'') is a
village in the administrative district of
Gmina Banie Mazurskie, within
Gołdap County,
Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the
Kaliningrad Oblast of
Russia.
It lies approximately north of
Banie Mazurskie, west of
Gołdap, and north-east of the regional capital
Olsztyn.
History and pyramid
In the past, the region was at various times part of
Poland,
Prussia and
Germany. The village existed in the early seventeenth century. In 1750, the owner Jacob John Hoffmann built a palace, taken in 1793 by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm von Fahrenheid.
In 1811, a mausoleum was built in Rapa for the Fahrenheid family, designed by sculptor
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...
. The building is shaped like a pyramid with a height of and is loosely inspired by the
architecture of ancient Egypt. The family members buried there were mummified. In 1945, the mausoleum was severely damaged by soldiers of the
Red Army.
In 1938, during a massive
Nazi campaign of
renaming of placenames the village was renamed to ''Kleinangerapp''. It became again part of Poland following Germany's defeat in
World War II in 1945.
References
Rapa
Rapa
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