MalborkMalbork is a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. It is the seat of Malbork County and has a population of 37,898 people as of 2021. The town is located on the Nogat river, in the historical region of Pomerelia. Founded in the 13th century by the Knights of the Teutonic Order, the town is noted for its medieval Malbork Castle, built in the 13th century as the order's headquarters, which was also one of the residences of Polish kings and seat of notable early modern Polish institutions.
KönigsbergKönigsberg (ˈkøːnɪçsbɛʁk, King's mountain) was the historic German and Prussian name of the city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. It was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussian settlement Twangste by the Teutonic Knights during the Baltic Crusades. It was named in honour of King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who led a campaign against the pagan Old Prussians, a Baltic tribe. A Baltic port city, it successively became the capital of the State of the Teutonic Order, the Duchy of Prussia and the provinces of East Prussia and Prussia.
MasuriaMasuria (, Masuren, Masurian: Mazurÿ) is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (administrative area/province). Its biggest city, often regarded as its capital, is Ełk (Elk). The region covers a territory of some 10,000 km2 which is inhabited by approximately 500,000 people.
Old Prussian languageOld Prussian (Old Prussian: Prūsiskai; German: Altpreußische Sprache, Altpreußisch; Polish: język pruski) was a Western Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid confusion with the German dialects of Low Prussian and High Prussian and with the adjective Prussian as it relates to the later German state.
TrusoTruso was a Viking Age port of trade (emporium) set up by the Scandinavians at the banks of the Nogat delta branch of the Vistula River, close to a bay (the modern Drużno lake), where it emptied into the shallow and brackish Vistula Lagoon. This sizeable lagoon is separated from the Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit at the southern Baltic Sea coast.
MasuriansThe Masurians or Mazurs (Mazurzy; Masuren; Masurian: Mazurÿ), historically also known as Prussian Masurians (Polish: Mazurzy pruscy), are an ethnic group originating from the region of Masuria, within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland. They number around 5,000–15,000 people. In the 2011 Polish census, 1,376 individuals declared themselves to be Masurian as either a first or a secondary identification.
Masurian dialectsThe Masurian ethnolect (Masurian: mazurská gádkä; mazurski; Masurisch), according to some linguists, is a dialect group of the Polish language; others consider Masurian to be a separate language, spoken by the Masurian people in northeastern Poland. From the 14th century, some settlers from Masovia started to settle in southern Prussia, which had been devastated by the crusades of the Teutonic Knights against the native Old Prussians.
PrussiaPrussia (ˈprʌʃə; Preußen, ˈpʁɔʏsn̩, Old Prussian: Prūsa or Prūsija) was a German state located on most of the North European Plain, also occupying southern and eastern regions. It formed the German Empire when it united the German states in 1871. It was de facto dissolved by an emergency decree transferring powers of the Prussian government to German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932 and de jure by an Allied decree in 1947. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, expanding its size with the Prussian Army.
ElblągElbląg (ˈɛlblɔŋk; Elbing; Elbings) is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 117,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. Elbląg is one of the oldest cities in the province. Its history dates back to 1237, when the Teutonic Order constructed their fortified stronghold on the banks of a nearby river. The castle subsequently served as the official seat of the Teutonic Order Masters.
KwidzynKwidzyn ( ˈkfjid͡zɨn; Marienwerder; Latin: Quedin; Old Prussian: Kwēdina) is a town in northern Poland on the Liwa River. With a population of 37,975, it is the capital of Kwidzyn County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. Kwidzyn is located on the Liwa River, some east of the Vistula river, approximately south of Gdańsk and southwest of Kaliningrad. It is part of the region of Powiśle. The Pomesanian settlement called Kwedis existed in the 11th century.
