Sovetsk, Kaliningrad OblastSovetsk (Сове́тск; Tilsit; Old Prussian: Tilzi; Tilžė; Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Sovetsk lies in the historic region of Lithuania Minor at the confluence of the Tylzha and Neman rivers. Panemunė in Lithuania was formerly a suburb of the town; after Germany's defeat in World War I, the trans-Neman suburb was detached from Tilsit (with the rest of the Klaipėda Region) in 1920.
Lithuanian languageLithuanian (lietuvių kalba ljɪɛˈtʊvjuː kɐɫˈbɐ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are approximately 2.8 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 1,000,000 speakers elsewhere. Around half a million inhabitants of Lithuania of non-Lithuanian background speak Lithuanian daily as a second language.
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.
ChernyakhovskChernyakhovsk (Черняхо́вск, formerly until 1946 known as Insterburg, ; И́нстербург; Įsrutis; Wystruć) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District. Located at the confluence of the Instruch and Angrapa rivers, which unite to become the Pregolya river below Chernyakhovsk, the town had a population in 2017 of 36,423. Insterburg was founded in 1337 by the Teutonic Knights on the site of a former Old Prussian fortification when Dietrich von Altenburg, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, built a castle called Insterburg following the Prussian Crusade.
Battle of SauleThe Battle of Saule (Saulės mūšis / Šiaulių mūšis; Schlacht von Schaulen; Saules kauja) was fought on 22 September 1236, between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Between 48 and 60 knights were killed, including the Livonian Master, Volkwin. It was the earliest large-scale defeat suffered by the orders in Baltic lands. The Sword-Brothers, the first Catholic military order established in the Baltic lands, was soundly defeated and its remnants accepted incorporation into the Teutonic Order in 1237.
ŠilutėŠilutė (; previously Šilokarčiama; Heydekrug) is a city in the south of the Klaipėda County in western Lithuania. The city was part of the Klaipėda Region and ethnographic Lithuania Minor. Šilutė was the interwar capital of Šilutė County and is currently the capital of Šilutė District Municipality. Šilutė's origin dates to an inn (Krug, locally karčema) catering to travelers and their horses which was located halfway between Klaipėda and Tilsit (Tilžė). The German name of Heydekrug referred to a Krug (an archaic word for inn) in the Heide (heathland).
PolesskPolessk (Поле́сск; Labiau; Labguva; Labiawa) is a town and the administrative center of Polessky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast, at the junction of a main road and a railroad at the Deyma River, shortly before it enters the Curonian Lagoon. Population figures: 4,744 (1885). The Polessk Canal begins in the town. It was founded in the 13th century, by the Teutonic Order who erected a castle there and named it Labiau.
Lithuanian literatureLithuanian literature (lietuvių literatūra) concerns the art of written works created by Lithuanians throughout their history. A wealth of Lithuanian literature was written in Latin, the main scholarly language in the Middle Ages. The edicts of the Lithuanian King Mindaugas are the prime example of literature of this kind. The Letters of Gediminas are another crucial heritage of the Lithuanian Latin writings. One of the first Lithuanian authors who wrote in Latin was Nicolaus Hussovianus (about 1480 – after 1533).
Duchy of PrussiaThe Duchy of Prussia (Herzogtum Preußen, Księstwo Pruskie, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (Herzogliches Preußen; Prusy Książęce) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until the Protestant Reformation in 1525. The duchy became the first Protestant state when Albert, Duke of Prussia formally adopted Lutheranism in 1525.
BagrationovskBagrationovsk (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.
