Routes:

• 6 routes through the castles of the Teutonic Order in Kaliningrad region

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In 1225 Konrad of Masovia asked the Teutonic Order for help against the Prussians, in exchange offering the land of Culm. In 1230 Pope Gregory IX confirmed Conrad of Masovia’s charter, granting the Order authority over the lands on the Baltic, which it would conquer and Christianize. The Teutonic Order began its expansion into the Prussian lands.

The first Northern Crusader strongholds in the Baltic region were Torn (modern Torun), Kulm and Marienwerder. In the second half of the 13th century the Teutonic Order was joined by two other corporations, the Order of Dobrzyn and the Order of the Sword Brethren.

In 1252 the fortress of Memel (now Klaipeda) was founded, the land of Culm was subdued and the Order reached the border with Masovia. In 1252–1255 Sambia was conquered. Knights from various countries of Europe participate in crusading expeditions. Particularly, a special role was played by the bohemian king Přemysl Ottokar who in 1255 founded the future capital of the Order, Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). In 1260–1274 a second Prussian uprising was put down. In that time the Teutonic Order was transferred after the fall of Acre in 1291, from Venice to Marienburg (present-day Malbork, was founded in 1270) in 1309.

New castles and churches were built on conquered lands. The Order actively developed new territories. The fortifications of the Order, formed in the course of Christianisation, have played a major role throughout the history of the region right up to the present day. Of the approximately 100 castles and fortifications of the Teutonic Order, around 60 were built between 1231 and 1310. Initially they were usually wooden fortifications, which began to be built in stone later, in the fourteenth century.

However, ecclesiastical institutions, such as the bishopric, also played an important role in the Christianization process. According to a treaty with the Pope, the Order had to allocate a third of its conquered lands to bishoprics. In 1243, the papal legate in Prussia, Wilhelm of Modena, signed an order creating four bishoprics in Prussia: Kulm, Pomezan, Ermenland, and Samland. All of them were located on the lands of what is now Kaliningrad region. For the administration of the border lands in Nadrovia in 1350 there was the castle of Georgienburg, now in Maevka village near the order’s castle Insterburg (now Czerniahowsk). The SambishKapitulus received castles such as Neuhausen (1292) and Zaalau (1325).

Throughout the 14th century the Teutonic Order was at war with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and after the conclusion of the Krėva Union (1385) with the Kingdom of Poland. The Order’s defeat at the Battle of Grunwald (1410) undermined its political and financial position. The final blow to the Order’s Prussian state was dealt by the Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) with Poland and the Prussian League, which was a union of Prussian cities headed by Danzig (modern Gdańsk) and Toruń. As a result of the defeat the seat of the Grand Master was moved to Königsberg Castle. After the Second Peace of Torun was signed, the Order lost a large part of its territory to Poland.

Decades later, in 1525, the order’s Prussian possessions were secularised and its territory was transformed into a secular duchy, thus opening new pages in the history of castles founded in the period of Christianisation.

Part of these castles can still be seen today in the settlements in the Kaliningrad region, which was annexed to the USSR in 1945 as a result of the Second World War. Thus, today we can offer you routes on the territory of the Russian Federation on which you can get acquainted with the monuments of the history of the Teutonic Order.

 D. I. Veber

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: routes, 13 century