Back in the late Middle Ages of the earth,located between the rivers Neman and Vistula, East Prussia got its name. For all the time of its existence, this power has experienced different periods. This order and time, and the Prussian duchy, and then the kingdom and the province, as well as the post-war country until renaming due to the redistribution between Poland and the Soviet Union.
History of property
Since the time of the first mention of the Prussian lands more than ten centuries have passed. Initially, the people who inhabited these territories were divided into clans (tribes), which were divided by conventional boundaries.
Numerous gains
Prussian lands throughout its existenceconstantly subjected to attempts to conquer by the stronger and more aggressive neighbors. So, in the twelfth century, the Teutonic Knights - the Crusaders came to these rich and alluring spaces. They built numerous fortresses and castles, for example, Kulm, Reden, Thorn.
The seven-year war in the eighteenth century undermined the forces of the Prussian army and led to the fact that some eastern lands were conquered by the Russian Empire.
In the twentieth century, hostilities also did not bypass these lands. Beginning in 1914, East Prussia was involved in World War I, and in 1944, in World War II.
And after the victory of the Soviet troops in 1945, it ceased to exist at all and was transformed into the Kaliningrad region.
Existence between wars
During the First World War, great lossessuffered East Prussia. The map of 1939 already had changes, and the renewed province was in a terrible state. After all, it was the only territory of Germany, which was engulfed in combat battles.
In addition, East Prussia also lost the territory of Zoldau (the city of Dzialdowo).
A total of about 315 were disconnectedthousand hectares of land. And this is a considerable territory. As a result of such changes, the remaining province fell into a difficult situation, accompanied by enormous economic difficulties.
Economic and political situation in the 20s and 30s.
In the early twenties, after normalizationdiplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Germany, the standard of living of the population in East Prussia began to gradually improve. The Moscow-Königsberg airline was opened, the German East Fair was resumed, the Königsberg city radio station began work.
However, the global economic crisis does notbypassed these ancient lands. And in five years (1929-1933), only in Koenigsberg five hundred thirteen different enterprises were bankrupted, and the unemployment rate increased to one hundred thousand people. In such a situation, taking advantage of the precarious and uncertain position of the current government, the Nazi party took control.
Redistribution of territory
In the geographical maps of East Prussia until 1945years made a considerable number of changes. The same thing happened in 1939 after the occupation of Poland by the troops of Nazi Germany. As a result of the new regionalization, part of the Polish lands and the Klaipeda (Memel) region of Lithuania were formed in the province. And the cities of Elbing, Marienburg and Marienwerder became part of the new district of West Prussia.
The Nazis launched grandiose plans forredivision of Europe. And the map of East Prussia, in their opinion, was to become the center of the economic space between the Baltic and Black Seas, subject to the annexation of the territories of the Soviet Union. However, these plans could not be translated into reality.
Post-war time
As Soviet troops arrived, East Prussiaalso gradually transformed. Military commandant's offices were created, which by April 1945, there were already thirty-six. Their tasks were the recount of the German population, an inventory and a gradual transition to a peaceful life.
However, on the territory of Koenigsberg and in the surrounding areas, ordinary German citizens lived. There were about 140 thousand people.
In 1946, the city of Koenigsberg was renamedKaliningrad, as a result of which the Kaliningrad region was formed. And later the names of other settlements were changed. In connection with such changes, the 1945 map of East Prussia existing before that was redone.
East Prussian lands today
Today, the former territory of the Prussians isKaliningrad region. East Prussia ceased to exist in 1945. And although the region is part of the Russian Federation, they are geographically fragmented. In addition to the administrative center - Kaliningrad (until 1946 it was named Koenigsberg), cities such as Bagrationovsk, Baltiysk, Gvardeysk, Yantarny, Sovetsk, Chernyakhovsk, Krasnoznamensk, Neman, Ozersk, Primorsk, Svetlogorsk are well developed. The region consists of seven urban districts, two cities and twelve districts. The main peoples living in this territory are Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Armenians and Germans.
Interesting places of modern East Prussia
And although today the map of East Prussia is changedbeyond recognition, the lands with towns and villages located on them and now retain the memory of the past. The spirit of the disappeared great country is still felt in the current Kaliningrad region in cities called Tapiau and Taplaken, Insterburg and Tilsit, Ragnit and Waldau.
Excursions are popular with tourists.held at the Georgenburg stud farm. It existed at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The fortress of Georgenburg was a haven for German knights and crusaders, whose main business was horse breeding.
The church is still well preserved.erected in the fourteenth century (in the former cities of Heiligenwald and Arnau), as well as sixteenth-century churches in the territory of the former city of Tapiau. These magnificent buildings constantly remind people of the old days of the prosperity of the Teutonic Order.
Knight's castles
Amber-rich land from the farthesttimes attracted the German conquerors. In the thirteenth century, the Polish princes, together with the knights of the Teutonic Order, gradually seized these possessions and rebuilt numerous castles on them. The remains of some of them, being architectural monuments, today make an indelible impression on contemporaries. The largest number of knightly castles was erected in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Their place of construction was captured Prussian ramparts. When building castles, traditions in the style of the order of the Gothic architecture of the late Middle Ages were necessarily observed. In addition, all buildings corresponded to a single plan for their construction. Today, an unusual open-air museum is opened in the ancient castle Insterburg.
