Bagrationovsk

Bagrationovsk (Багратио́новск; Preußisch Eylau, Prussian Eylau; Pruska Iława or Iławka; 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, south of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast. It has a population of In 1325, the Teutonic Knights built an Ordensburg castle called "Yladia" 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, 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. 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. 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. In 1709–1711, the bubonic plague killed 2,212 inhabitants of the Eylau area. 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).