Znamensk (; ; ; ) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Gvardeysky District of

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 right bank of the Pregolya River at its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the Lava River east of

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 ...

. Population figures:

History

The site of today's Znamensk was originally an

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 ...

fort, with a settlement named ''Velowe'' nearby. The site featured an unusually large oak tree, considered sacred by the local Prussians. It survived at least until 1595, when it was mentioned by Caspar Hennenberger. Around 1255, the locality was fortified, but the castle was surrendered to 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 ...

by its mayor, Tirslo. The Teutons continued to use the castle and began to colonize the region with

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 ...

, giving the settlement the name ''Wehlau''. It received its civic charter in 1335 and in 1339 and became a centre for horse stables and horse trade. Until the late 19th century, the town was allowed to organise a six-day linen fair, a three-day horse fair and two additional horse and cattle fairs every year. In 1349, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Heinrich Dusemer founded a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Monastery there to commemorate his victory over the Prussians in the battle of Streba River. In 1380, the St. Jacob's church was erected. Since 1440, the town was a founding member of the Prussian Confederation, which opposed Teutonic rule. In 1454, the Confederation asked Polish 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 ...

to incorporate 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 ...

, to which the King agreed and signed the act of incorporation. The castle and the town joined the Kingdom of Poland. During the subsequent Thirteen Years' War, in 1460 the Teutonic Order besieged the town and successfully retook it. The war ended in 1466 with a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

signed in

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

, according to which the town 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. In 1490, Grand Master Johann von Tiefen restored (or founded, the sources are unclear) another Franciscan monastery in the town. However, it was destroyed in 1519 in the course of

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

, when the burghers converted to Protestantism and decided that such a small town is not able to bear the burden of sustaining two monasteries. In 1540, the town was destroyed by a large fire and only the St. Jacob's church was left standing. Wehlau was successfully rebuilt, although natural disasters struck it repeatedly, notably in 1542 and 1593. The town finally recovered and by the end of 16th century Margrave Georg Friedrich considered moving the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...

to Wehlau, which however never materialised. The town had a mixed population, and as of 1623, Polish and Lithuanian languages were required for the local teacher. In the Treaty of Wehlau signed in the town in 1657, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, received sovereignty over the

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

In 1818, it became the seat of Landkreis Wehlau in

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 ...

within 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 ...

. In 1871, Wehlau joined 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 ...

. By the end of the 19th century, the town had roughly 4,000 inhabitants, mostly German

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

. The town had a station of the Prussian Eastern Railway connecting

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 ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

to the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway, as well as a Lutheran church, a regional courthouse and a school. 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 ...

, the Germans operated three

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 ...

subcamps of the Stalag I-A

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 ...

in the town. Near the end of World War II, on 23 January 1945, the town was taken by troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front of 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 ...

. The old town center was almost completely destroyed, and the German population fled during the

evacuation of East Prussia German civilian population and military personnel were evacuated from East Prussia between 20 January and March 1945. The evacuation was initially organized and carried out by Nazi Germany, state authorities but quickly turned into a chaotic fli ...

or was expelled. It became part of the Kaliningrad Oblast and was renamed Znamensk, losing its civic rights in the process. It was demoted to a rural settlement in 2005 or 2006.

Notable people

* Georg von Kunheim (1523–1611), noble * Johann Christoph Strodtmann (1717–1756), writer * Gustav Neumann, (1838–1881), chess player * Ernst Vanhöffen (1858–1918), zoologist *

David Hilbert David Hilbert (; ; 23 January 1862 – 14 February 1943) was a German mathematician and philosopher of mathematics and one of the most influential mathematicians of his time. Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental idea ...

(1862–1943), mathematician * Walter Schütz (1897–1933), politician * Herbert Pilch (1927–2018), linguist

History

Notable people

References

Citations

Bibliography

See also