Jump to content

Bagrationovsk

Coordinates: 54°24′N 20°38′E / 54.400°N 20.633°E / 54.400; 20.633
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bagrationovsk
Багратионовск
Remains of the Teutonic Castle
Remains of the Teutonic Castle
Coat of arms of Bagrationovsk
Location of Bagrationovsk
Map
Bagrationovsk is located in Kaliningrad Oblast
Bagrationovsk
Bagrationovsk
Location of Bagrationovsk
Bagrationovsk is located in European Russia
Bagrationovsk
Bagrationovsk
Bagrationovsk (European Russia)
Bagrationovsk is located in Baltic Sea
Bagrationovsk
Bagrationovsk
Bagrationovsk (Baltic Sea)
Coordinates: 54°24′N 20°38′E / 54.400°N 20.633°E / 54.400; 20.633
CountryRussia
Federal subjectKaliningrad Oblast[1]
Administrative districtBagrationovsky District[1]
Town of district significanceBagrationovsk[1]
Founded1325[2]
Town status since1585[3]
Elevation
70 m (230 ft)
Population
 • Total6,400
 • Capital ofBagrationovsky District,[1] town of district significance of Bagrationovsk[1]
 • Municipal districtBagrationovsky Municipal District[5]
 • Urban settlementBagrationovskoye Urban Settlement[5]
 • Capital ofBagrationovsky Municipal District,[5] Bagrationovskoye Urban Settlement[5]
Time zoneUTC+2 (MSK–1 Edit this on Wikidata[6])
Postal code(s)[7]
238420
OKTMO ID27503000001
Websitegorod-bagrat.ru

Bagrationovsk (Russian: Багратио́новск; German: Preußisch Eylau, lit.'Prussian Eylau';[8] Polish: Pruska Iława or Iławka; Lithuanian: Ylava or Prūsų Ylava) is a town and the administrative center of Bagrationovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located close to the border with Poland, 37 kilometers (23 mi) south of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast. It has a population of 6,400 (2010 Census).[4]

History

[edit]
Historical affiliations

Teutonic Order 1325–1454
Kingdom of Poland 1454–1455
Teutonic Order 1455–1466
Kingdom of Poland 1466–1657
Teutonic Order 1466–1525
Duchy of Prussia 1525–1657
Duchy of Prussia 1657–1701
 Kingdom of Prussia 1701–1758
 Russian Empire 1758–1762
 Kingdom of Prussia 1762–1871
 German Empire 1871–1918
 Kingdom of Prussia 1871–1918
 Weimar Republic 1918–1933
 Nazi Germany 1933–1945
 Poland 1945
 Soviet Union 1946–1991
 Russian Federation 1991-present

In 1325, the Teutonic Knights built an Ordensburg castle called "Yladia"[3] or "Ilaw", later known as "Preussisch Eylau", in the center of the Old Prussian region Natangia. 'Ylow' is the Old Prussian term for 'mud' or 'swamp'. The settlement nearby developed in 1336,[2][9] but in 1348 the Teutonic Order gave the privilege to establish twelve pubs in the area around the castle. Although the settlement had only a few inhabitants, due to its central position it was often used as meeting place for officials of the Order. In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation.[10] During the subsequent Thirteen Years' War, in 1455, Teutonic Knights regained control of the settlement. The castle was besieged on 24 May 1455 by troops of the Prussian Confederation under the command of Remschel von Krixen, but the garrison repulsed the attack. After the war, in 1466, the settlement became a part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Knights.[11] During the Horsemen's War in 1520, the castle was unsuccessfully besieged by troops of the Polish Kingdom, who devastated the settlement. Following the war, it remained a part of Poland, now as a fief held by newly established secular Ducal Prussia.

Preußisch Eylau received its civic charter in 1585.[3] In 1709–1711, the bubonic plague killed 2,212 inhabitants of the Eylau area. The town was under Russian occupation from 1758 to 1762 during the Seven Years' War.

The Battle of Eylau (7–8 February 1807) during the Napoleonic Wars involved the French troops of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Russian troops of General Bennigsen, and the Prussian troops of General Anton Wilhelm von L'Estocq. Only 3 inhabitants of Eylau died in the battle, but 605 persons died due to hunger and diseases in 1807 (with the average death rate in "normal" years being around 80–90). Napoleon used the local courthouse as his headquarters in Eylau on 7–17 February 1807.

On 1 April 1819, the town became the seat of the administrative district Preußisch Eylau (Kreis Pr. Eylau). In 1834, a Teachers' Seminary was founded, educating every East Prussian teacher until it was closed down in 1924. The town was connected to the railway on 2 September 1866. In the late 19th century, four annual fairs and two weekly markets were held in the town.[9] During World War I, the town was occupied without a struggle by Russian troops on 27 August 1914, but these troops left on 3 September 1914 after massacring 65 civilians.

After 1933, large barracks were built by the Wehrmacht, and in 1935 Infantry and Artillery units were stationed there.

On 10 February 1945,[2] during the Soviet Red Army's East Prussian Offensive, the town was occupied by troops of the 55th Guards "Irkutsk-Pinsk" Division commanded by Major General Adam Turchinsky.

In June 1945, the town was handed over to Poland, and Polish officials took over the administrative power.[12] Under its historic Polish name Iławka, the town became a county seat, but Poles left again in December 1945, as the new borderline between the Soviet Union and Poland was set just at the southern outskirts of the town.[12] The county seat was then moved to Górowo Iławeckie (now a twin town of Bagrationovsk), however it retained the name of Iławka County until 1958.

In January 1946, the town became a part of the newly established Kaliningrad Oblast within the Russian SFSR and the town was given its present name, honoring General Pyotr Bagration, who was one of the senior Russian leaders in the Napoleonic Wars and is also the namesake of the 1944 Operation Bagration offensive. The German population that had not already fled during the evacuation of East Prussia during the war was subsequently expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, with the last transport leaving on 23 November 1947. The NKVD established a prison camp for German civilians inside the former Wehrmacht barracks in 1945–1949. It held an estimated 13,000 inmates, of whom some 6,000 people died.[3]

Today the main border crossing point between Russia and Poland (Bezledy/Bagrationovsk) is 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) south of the town. Since April 2007, government restrictions on visits to border areas have been tightened and travel to Sovetsk and Bagrationovsk is only allowed with special permission, unless in transit.[13]

Administrative and municipal status

[edit]

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Bagrationovsk serves as the administrative center of Bagrationovsky District.[1] As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Bagrationovsky District as the town of district significance of Bagrationovsk.[1] As a municipal division, the town of district significance of Bagrationovsk is incorporated within Bagrationovsky Municipal District as Bagrationovskoye Urban Settlement.[5]

Population

[edit]
Art school
Municipal administration building
Water tower
  • 1782: 1,453
  • 1804: 1,816
  • 1820: 1,631
  • 1846: 2,630
  • 1852: 2,988
  • 1871: 3,719
  • 1885: 3,547
  • 1890: 3,446 (including 42 Catholics, 42 Jews)
  • 1900: 3,248
  • 1910: 3,270
  • 1925: 3,787
  • 1933: 4,123
  • 1939: 7,485 (including 1,185 military personnel)
  • 1946: 2,275 (including 1,339 Germans )
  • 1968: 4,300
  • 1989 Census: 6,728[14]
  • 2002 Census: 7,216[15]
  • 2010 Census: 6,400[4]
  • 2018: 6,482
  • 2021: 6,579

Notable people

[edit]

Twin towns and sister cities

[edit]

Bagrationovsk is twinned with:

References

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Resolution #640
  2. ^ a b c Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 32. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9.
  3. ^ a b c d Schulz 1998
  4. ^ a b c Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
  5. ^ a b c d e Law #253
  6. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). 3 June 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  7. ^ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
  8. ^ M. Kaemmerer (2004). Ortsnamenverzeichnis der Ortschaften jenseits von Oder u. Neiße (in German). G. Rautenberg. ISBN 3-7921-0368-0.
  9. ^ a b Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom III (in Polish). Warszawa. 1882. p. 265.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Górski, Karol (1949). Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych (in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. p. 54.
  11. ^ Górski, pp. 96–97, 214–215
  12. ^ a b Eberhardt, Piotr (2018). "Kwestia podziału Prus Wschodnich w okresie II wojny światowej". Przegląd Geograficzny (in Polish). 90 (4): 610. ISSN 0033-2143.
  13. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
  15. ^ Federal State Statistics Service (21 May 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).

Sources

[edit]
  • Правительство Калининградской области. Постановление №640 от 30 августа 2011 г. «Об утверждении реестра объектов административно-территориального деления Калининградской области», в ред. Постановления №877 от 21 ноября 2011 г «О внесении изменения в Постановление Правительства Калининградской области от 30 августа 2011 г. №640». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Калининградская правда" (вкладыш "Официально"), №170, 15 сентября 2011 г. (Government of Kaliningrad Oblast. Resolution #640 of August 30, 2011 On the Adoption of the Registry of the Objects of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of Kaliningrad Oblast, as amended by the Resolution #877 of November 21, 2011 On Amending the Resolution of the Government of Kaliningrad Oblast #640 of August 30, 2011. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
  • Калининградская областная Дума. Закон №253 от 30 июня 2008 г. «Об организации местного самоуправления на территории муниципального образования "Багратионовский городской округ"», в ред. Закона №428 от 12 апреля 2010 г «Об изменении границ муниципальных образований». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Калининградская правда", №124, 11 июля 2008 г. (Kaliningrad Oblast Duma. Law #253 of June 30, 2008 On the Organization of the Local Self-Government on the Territory of the Municipal Formation of "Bagrationovsky Urban Okrug", as amended by the Law #428 of April 12, 2010 On Changing the Borders of the Municipal Formations. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
  • Horst Schulz. Preußisch Eylau — eine Kreisstadt in Ostpreußen. Lübeck, 1998
  • Horst Schulz. Der Kreis Preußisch Eylau. Verden, 1983
  • Wolf, Dr. Horst. Ich sage die Wahrheit oder ich schweige. Leer, 1983
[edit]