Sovetsk (; ) 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 ...

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 ...

, located on the south bank of the

Neman Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

River which forms the border with

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

History

Early history

Tilsit, which received

civic rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

from

Albert, Duke 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 1552,''Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XII'', p. 703 developed around a castle of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

, known as the Schalauer Haus, founded in 1288. 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 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 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 ...

. 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 ...

, the settlement was 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, and thus was located within the

Polish–Lithuanian union Polish–Lithuanian can refer to: * Polish–Lithuanian union (1385–1569) * Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) * Polish-Lithuanian identity as used to describe groups, families, or individuals with histories in the Polish–Lithuania ...

, later elevated to the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. In the winter of 1678–1679, during the

Scanian War The Scanian War (; ; ; ) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg and Swedish Empire, Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish ...

, the town was occupied by

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. 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 ...

. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, in 1757–1762, the town was under

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

control. Afterwards it fell back to Prussia.

Late modern period

The

Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...

were signed here in July 1807, the preliminaries of which were settled by the emperors

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

and

Napoleon I of France 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 ...

on a raft moored in the Neman River. This treaty, which created the

Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...

and the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

, completed Napoleon's humiliation of the

, when it was deprived of one half of its dominions. Three days before its signing, the Prussian queen Louise (1776–1810) tried to persuade Napoleon in a private conversation to ease his hard conditions on Prussia; though unsuccessful, Louise's effort endeared her to the Prussian people. In 1811, a new ship-of-the-line of the French navy was named '' Tilsitt'', to commemorate this treaty. This ship of 80 guns of the ''Bucentaure'' class was built in Antwerp. After the fall of the French empire, the ship was transferred to the new Dutch navy and named ''Neptunus''. Until 1945, a marble tablet marked the house in which King

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

and Queen Louise resided. Also, in the former Schenkendorf Platz was a monument to the poet

Max von Schenkendorf Gottlob Ferdinand Maximilian Gottfried von Schenkendorf (11 December 1783 in Tilsit in East Prussia – 11 December 1817 in Koblenz) was a Germans, German poetry, poet, born in Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Tilsit and educated at University of ...

(1783–1817), a native of Tilsit; a statue of Lenin was erected in its place in 1967. Following the unsuccessful Polish

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

, hundreds of Polish insurgents, including professors and students of the

Wilno University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

, were interned in the town in 1832. ID007219-Tilsit-Litauische Kirche

During the 19th century when the Lithuanian language in Latin characters was banned within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, Tilsit was an important centre for printing Lithuanian books which then were smuggled by

Knygnešiai Lithuanian book smugglers or Lithuanian book carriers (, singular: ) smuggled Lithuanian language books printed in the Latin alphabet into Lithuanian-speaking areas of the Russian Empire, defying a ban on such materials in force from 1864 to 1 ...

to the Russian-controlled part of

. The Lithuanian Literary Society with a library and an archaeological collection was active in the town. In the 19th century, there were four churches in the town: two Lutheran (one Lithuanian and one German), one Calvinist, and one Catholic, as well as a synagogue. In general, Tilsit thrived and was an important Prussian town. The ''

Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic Countries () is a monumental Polish gazetteer, published 1880–1902 in Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns ...

'' from 1892 referred to the town as the capital of

Lithuania Minor Lithuania Minor (; ; ) or Prussian Lithuania (; ; ) is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. It is a historical region of Prussia, where Prussian Lithuanians (or Lietuvininkai) lived, now located in Lithuania and the Kaliningrad Obla ...

. The local Lithuanian population was subjected to

Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people, and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In l ...

policies, intensified after the city 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 ...

in 1871, which resulted in a decrease in the share of Lithuanians in the town's population. In 1877, weekly German-language services were introduced in the Lithuanian church, alongside the Lithuanian services. In 1884,

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

formed 13% of the town's population. By 1900 it had electric tramways and 34,500 inhabitants; a direct railway line linked it to

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 ...

(

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

) and Labiau (

Polessk Polessk (; ; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Polessky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast, at the junction of a main road and a railroad at the Deyma ...

) and steamers docked there daily. According to the Prussian census of 1905, the city of Tilsit had a population of 37,148, of which 96% were

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

and 4% were

. The bridge was built in 1907 and rebuilt in 1946. The town was occupied by Russian troops between 26 August 1914 and 12 September 1914 during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The Act of Tilsit was signed here by leaders of the Lietuvininks in 1918. Tilsit Act

World War II and post-war period

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

visited the town just before

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 ...

, and a photo was taken of him on the famous bridge over the

Neman River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

. During the war, the Germans operated a

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

subcamp of the

Stalag I-A Stalag I-A was a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, located in the village of Stablack (now divided between Kamińsk, Poland, and Dolgorukovo, Russia). It housed mainly Polish, Belgian, French, Soviet and Italian prisoners of wa ...

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

for Allied POWs in the town, and expelled Poles from

German-occupied Poland German-occupied Poland can refer to: * General Government * Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany * Occupation of Poland (1939–1945) * Prussian Partition The Prussian Partition (), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish� ...

were also enslaved as forced labour in the town's vicinity. Tilsit was occupied by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

on January 20, 1945 (during the East Prussian offensive), and 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 ...

in 1945. The remaining

who had not evacuated were subsequently expelled in accordance with the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...

and replaced with Soviet citizens. The town was renamed Sovetsk in honor of

Soviet 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 ...

rule. Modern Sovetsk has sought to take advantage of Tilsit's tradition of

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

production ( Tilsit cheese), but the new name ("Sovetsky cheese") has not inherited its predecessor's reputation. Since the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991, there has been some discussion about the possibility of restoring the town's original name. In 2010, the Kaliningrad Oblast's then-governor Georgy Boos of the ruling

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

Party proposed restoring the original name and combining the town with the

and

Slavsk Slavsk (; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Slavsky District in the Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Kaliningrad. Population figures: History The town was established in 1292 by the Teutonic Knights. In 1454, King ...

Districts to form a new Tilsit District. Boos emphasized that this move would stimulate development and economic growth, but that it could happen only through a referendum. The idea was opposed by the Communist Party of Russia; in particular, Igor Revin, the Kaliningrad Secretary of the Communist Party, accused Boos and United Russia of

Germanophilia A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of German culture, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German citizen. The love of the ''Ge ...

. In April 2007, government restrictions on visits to border areas were tightened, and for foreigners, and Russians living outside the border zone, travel to the Sovetsk and

Bagrationovsk Bagrationovsk (; , ; or '; or ') is a town and the administrative center of Bagrationovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located close to the border with Poland, south of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast. It has a ...

areas required advance permission from the Border Guard Service (in some cases up to 30 days beforehand). It was alleged that this procedure slowed the development of these potentially thriving border towns. In June 2012, these restrictions were lifted (the only restricted area is the Neman river shoreline), which gave a boost to local and international tourism.

Geography

Sovetsk lies in the historic region of

at the confluence of the Tylzha and

rivers. Panemunė in Lithuania was formerly a suburb of the town; after Germany's defeat in World War I, the trans-Neman suburb was detached from Tilsit (with the rest of the

Klaipėda Region The Klaipėda Region () or Memel Territory ( or ''Memelgebiet'') was defined by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia, when, as Memelland, it was put under the administr ...

) in 1920.

Climate

Sovetsk has a borderline

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

) using the boundary, or a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'') using the boundary.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the town of oblast significance of Sovetsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

.Resolution #639 As a municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Sovetsk is incorporated as Sovetsky Urban Okrug.Law #376

Architecture

Many of the town's buildings were destroyed during World War II. However, the old town centre still includes several German buildings, including those of

Jugendstil (; "Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany, Austria and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German and Austrian cou ...

design. The

Queen Louise Bridge The Queen Louise Bridge (; ; ) is a bridge over the Neman River on the Lithuania–Russia border, that connects the Lithuanian town of Panemunė and the Russian city of Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Sovetsk (historically: Tilsit). It is named aft ...

, now connecting the town to Panemunė in

, retains an arch – all that is left of a more complex pre-war bridge structure built in 1907. The carved relief portrait of Queen Louise above the arch still exists; however, the German inscription "KÖNIGIN LUISE-BRÜCKE" was removed after the Soviets took over the town. File:Tilsit Queen Louise-Bridge.jpg, Queen Louise bridge File:Замок в тильзите.jpg, Tilsit castle File:Дома на улице победы.jpg, Old townhouses File:Старинные дома на улице Победы.jpg, Old townhouses File:Масонская «Ложа трех патриархов» - сейчас дворец творчества.jpg, New Loge, built 1925-26 by

Erich Mendelsohn Erich Mendelsohn (); 21 March 1887 – 15 September 1953) was a German-British architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinem ...

Historical population

*1816: 10,548 *1821: 11,248 *1880: 21,400 *1891: 24,126 *1900: 34,539 *1910: 39,013 *1925: 50,834 *1933: 57,286 *1939: 59,105 *1946: 6,500 *1959: 31,941 *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

: 41,881 *

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

: 43,224 *2004: 43,300 *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

: 41,705 Ethnic composition in 2010: *

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 ...

: 86.7% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

: 3.5% *

: 3.3% *

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

: 2.7%

Twin towns – sister cities

Sovetsk is twinned with: *

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, Germany *

Považská Bystrica Považská Bystrica (; ; ) is a town in northwestern Slovakia. It is located on the Váh river, around 30 km from the city of Žilina. It belongs to Upper Váh region of tourism. Profile Považská Bystrica is situated in a fold of mounta ...

, Slovakia

Notable people

* Daniel Klein (1609–1666), Lithuanian pastor and grammarian * Johann Christian Jacobi (1719–1784), German oboist *

(1783–1817), German poet and author *

Franz Meyen Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen (28 June 1804 – 2 September 1840) was a Prussian physician and botanist. Meyen was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. In 1830 he wrote ''Phytotomie'', the first major study of plant anatomy. Between 1830 and 1832, he t ...

(1804–1840), German botanist *

Hans Victor von Unruh Hans Victor von Unruh (March 28, 1806 – February 4, 1886) was a Prussian civil servant and politician, President of the Prussian National Assembly of 1848 and Member of the ''Reichstag'' of the German Empire. Biography Unruh was born i ...

(1806–1886), German politician and technician * Louis Kolitz (1845-1912), German artist *

Wilhelm Voigt Wilhelm Voigt (13 February 1849 – 3 January 1922) was a German con man and impostor. In his most famous exploit, Voigt masqueraded as a military officer of the elite Prussian Guards in 1906, rounding up a number of Imperial German Army soldi ...

(1849–1922), the inspiration for '' The Captain of Köpenick'' * Margarete Poehlmann (1856–1923), German educator and politician, first woman to speak in a Prussian parliament *

Gustaf Kossinna Gustaf Kossinna (28 September 1858 – 20 December 1931) was a German philologist and archaeologist who was Professor of German Archaeology at the University of Berlin. Along with Carl Schuchhardt he was the most influential German prehisto ...

or Kossina (1858–1931), archaeologist * Johanna Wolff (1858–1943), German author * Oscar Friedheim (1858–1928), British businessman of German-Jewish descent *

Max Scherwinsky Max Gustav Richard Scherwinsky (; 1 November 1859 – 12 July 1909) was a German-born architect working mainly in Riga, the present-day capital of Latvia. Biography Max Scherwinsky was born in Tilsit (since 1946 Sovetsk) in East Prussia (today Ka ...

(1859–1909) German-born architect working mainly in Riga, Latvia *

Emil Wiechert Emil Johann Wiechert (26 December 1861 – 19 March 1928) was a German physicist and geophysicist who made many contributions to both fields, including presenting the first verifiable model of a layered structure of the Earth and being among the ...

(1861–1928), German geophysicist * Raphael Friedeberg (1863–1940), German physician and politician *

Max Gülstorff Max Walter Gülstorff (23 March 1882 – 6 February 1947) was a German actor and stage director. Biography Gülstorff was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. He first appeared in 1900 at the Rudolstadt municipal Theater and moved to Cottbus in 1908 ...

(1882–1947), German actor *

Carl Brinkmann Carl Brinkmann (19 March 1885 – 20 May 1954) was a German sociologist and economist who focused on socioeconomics and the history of political economy. Brinkmann was born in Tilsit, East Prussia, now in Kaliningrad, and died in Oberstdorf, Allg ...

(1885–1954), German sociologist and economist * Franz Scheidies (1890–1942) general in the Wehrmacht during WWII *

Walter Weiß Walter Weiß, also spelt Weiss (5 September 1890 – 21 December 1967), was a German general during World War II. In 1945 he became commander in chief of Army Group North on the Eastern Front. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iro ...

(1890–1967), German general during WWII. * Friedrich Schröder Sonnenstern (1892–1982), Illustrator *

Dick Shikat Richard I. Shikat (11 January 1897 – 3 December 1968) was a German professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion who was active in the early portion of the twentieth century. Shikat was considered to be one of the most dangerous 'hooker ...

(1897–1968) German professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion *

Frank Wisbar Frank Wisbar (born Franz Wysbar; 9 December 1899 – 17 March 1967) was a German film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 20 films between 1932 and 1967 in Germany and the United States, as well as amassing many television credits. H ...

(1899–1967) German director *

Karl Hermann Martell Karl Hermann Martell (November 17, 1906 in Tilsit – December 28, 1966 in Hamburg) was a German actor. Martell was only 14 when he had his first performance in a silent movie, ''Das große Geheimnis'' (1920). In subsequent years, he was often see ...

(1906–1966), German actor *

Franz Abromeit Franz Abromeit (8 August 1907 – 30 June 1964) was an SS officer and worked in the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). He was guilty of war crimes against Jews, but escaped from Germany at the end of World War II in Europe. In 1964 he was declar ...

(1907–1964), SS officer, Reichssicherheitshauptamt ('' Judenreferent'') * Joachim Sadrozinski (1907–1944), officer and resistance fighter * Erna Dorn (1911–1953) victim of injustice in the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

* Siegfried Graetschus (1916–1943), SS-

Oberscharführer __NOTOC__ ''Oberscharführer'' (, ) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that existed between 1932 and 1945. ''Oberscharführer'' was first used as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and was created due to an expansion of the enlisted positions ...

, killed during revolt in

Sobibor extermination camp Sobibor ( ; ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), ...

Johannes Bobrowski Johannes Bobrowski (originally ''Johannes Konrad Bernhard Bobrowski''; 9 April 1917 – 2 September 1965) was a German lyric poet, narrative writer, adaptor and essayist. Life Bobrowski was born on 9 April 1917Bobrowski, Johannes (1984). ''S ...

(1917–1965), German writer * Werner Abrolat (1924–1997), German actor *

Gunter Wyszecki Gunter or Günter may refer to: * Gunter rig, a type of sailing rig, especially in small boats * Gunter Annex, Alabama, a United States Air Force installation * Gunter, Texas, city in the United States * the former German name of the village of ...

(1925–1985), German-Canadian physicist *

Armin Mueller-Stahl Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 17 December 1930) is a retired German actor who also appeared in numerous English-language films since the 1980s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''Shine (1996 film), Sh ...

(born 1930), German actor, honorary citizen since 8 December 2011Armin Mueller-Stahl Ehrenbürger seiner Heimatstadt

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (; ) is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since Reunification of Germany, reunification. It is published by Berl ...

, 8 December 2011 *

Sabine Bethmann Sabine Bethmann (25 October 1929 – 8 November 2021) was a German film and television actress. Biography Bethmann was born in Tilsit, East Prussia on 25 October 1929. She first appeared in the 1956 movie ''Waldwinter'' and became popular by h ...

(1931–2021), German actress * Jürgen Kurbjuhn (1940–2014), football player * Klaus-Dieter Sieloff (1942–2011), football player * John Kay (born 1944), lead singer of the late 1960s rock band Steppenwolf *

Edgar Froese Edgar Willmar Froese (; 6 June 1944 – 20 January 2015) was a German musical artist and electronic music pioneer, best known for founding the electronic music group Tangerine Dream in 1967. Froese was the only continuous member of the gro ...

(1944–2015), German founder and leader of the electronic music group

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

Victor Ivrii Victor Ivrii (), (born 1 October 1949) is a Russian, Canadian mathematician who specializes in analysis, microlocal analysis, spectral theory and partial differential equations. He is a professor at the University of Toronto Department of Math ...

(born 1949) a Soviet, Canadian mathematician * Andrei Sosnitskiy (born 1962) a Belarusian professional football coach and a former player

Popular culture

The town is the location of a scene in

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

's ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...

'' (Book Two Part Two Chapter 21). Tilsit is the setting for part of the 1939 film "

The Journey to Tilsit ''The Journey to Tilsit'' (German: ''Die Reise nach Tilsit'') is a 1939 German drama film directed by Veit Harlan and starring Kristina Söderbaum, Philip Dorn and Anna Dammann. Synopsis Elske faithfully loves her fisherman husband Endrik as h ...

", which is based on a 1917 novella of the same name written by

Hermann Sudermann Hermann Sudermann (30 September 1857 – 21 November 1928) was a German dramatist and novelist. Life Early career Sudermann was born at Matzicken, a village to the east of Heydekrug in the Province of Prussia (now Macikai, in southwestern ...

Gallery

Wappen von Tilsit.gif, Coat of arms of Tilsit (1905) Bundesarchiv_B_145_Bild-P001239,_Tilsit.jpg, Market square of Tilsit with the town hall and the Schenkendorf statue, 1930 Tilsit_an_der_Memel.JPG, Old view of Tilsit, Советск - Школьная 13.jpg, Gymnasium Дом,где Мюллер-Шталь.jpg, The birthplace of

, which has been a listed building since 2010

References

Notes

Sources

* * *''Northern Germany'' by

Karl Baedeker Karl Ludwig Johannes Baedeker ( , ; born Bädeker; 3 November 1801 – 4 October 1859) was a German publisher whose company, Baedeker, set the standard for authoritative guidebooks for tourists. Karl Baedeker was descended from a long line ...

, 14th revised edition, London, 1904, p. 178. * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Kaliningrad Oblast Lithuania–Russia border crossings 1552 establishments in Europe