Neidenburg

History

Neidenburg became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Half of Neidenburg's inhabitants died from plague from 1708 to 1711. In 1758 the town was under Russian control. In the 18th century, a Polish school was one of the leading language schools teaching Polish in the region. Even youth from as far as Danzig (Gdańsk), Elbląg and Königsberg studied here. During the Napoleonic Wars, French and Polish troops led by general Józef Zajączek were stationed in the town. In 1831 a cholera epidemic broke out, which killed 218 people. In 1832 Polish soldiers from failed uprising against Russia were interned in the city Since 1840 the local German authorities issued decrees ordering to report any Poles fleeing from the Russian Partition of Poland. During the January Uprising local population was involved in smuggling and trading weapons to Polish fighters in Russian Empire.