It is difficult to say why ancient castles attract people so. Perhaps this is due to the fact that over the past 500 years they were pretty much “propiarized” first by authors of chivalric novels, and then by filmmakers and even creators of computer games.
In Russia, to date, only a few knightly castles have survived. Almost all of them, with the exception of the Genoese fortresses of Crimea, are located in the Northwest region, including in the Kaliningrad region. One of them is the castle of Georgenburg.
Teutonic Knights
This German order was founded at the end of the 12th century in Palestine by German pilgrims who established a hospital for the wounded and sick compatriots. Soon he changed the direction of his activities and became a spiritual and military. At the beginning of the 13th century, the headquarters appeared in the Bavarian town of Eshenbach, and later it became owned by Nuremberg.
In 1217, the Teutonic knights went on a campaign against the Prussian pagans. Conquering their lands, they founded many castles, where they left garrisons to protect German immigrants.
One of them was Koenigsberg, which was built on the site of the Tuvangste fortification in 1255.
After 18 years, a squad of Teutons under the command of Dietrich Lidelau arrived in the vicinity of modern Chernyakhovsk, and captured the pagan fortress of the Prussians, Saminis Wick, whose name translates as the Stone dwelling. The settlements of Tammau and Walkau appeared near it. However, they were unable to hold the castle, so the knights were forced to retire.
The new coming of the Teutons occurred in 1336. This time the trip was a success, and Insterburg fortress was founded. Its appearance marked the strengthening of the Teutonic Order in these parts.
Castle base
In 1337, it became clear that Insterburg could not accommodate all the knights that were necessary to protect the interests of the order. Then, 2.5 km from the fortress, on the orders of the master of the Teutonic Order of Vinrich von Kniprode, a wooden castle was built, named in honor of St. George Georgenburg. In historical documents, the city was first mentioned in 1354, in connection with the attack on it by the Lithuanians led by Kestutis. In particular, in the Wiegand Chronicle from Marburg there is a record that 1/3 of the Lithuanian army, returning from Velau, attacked the castle and inflicted great damage on it. The raids were made later.
Since wooden Georgenburg was extremely difficult to defend, by the order of the Master of the Order of Vinrich von Kniprode in the late 1380s, the fortress was destroyed and stone defenses erected.
History until the 16th century
In the second half of the 14th century, the castle of Georgenburg was repeatedly plundered. In particular, several times he was attacked by the Lithuanians and Mongol-Tatars, hired by the Poles, who tried to oust the Teutons from their former lands. The greatest damage to the castle was done by Prince Gonshevsky. He attacked and captured Georgenburg at the head of the Mongol-Tatars detachment, leveled many buildings with the ground, drove into slavery young men, as well as a large number of cattle. Despite this, the estate was restored, and until 1525 the castle of Georgenburg, excursions to which are very popular today, began to be used as the residence of the Zamland bishop. At the same time, he passed into the possession of the 34th master of the Teutonic Order and the first Prussian Duke Albrecht Hohenzollern.
After 120 years, the Tatars captured the castle of Georgenburg. Later, in 1643-1648 and during the Thirty Years War, the fortress was occupied by the Swedes.
History in the 18th - early 19th century
An important milestone in the history of the castle was 1709, when, after an epidemic of plague that devastated the region, Friedrich Wilhelm I transferred it to state ownership. However, the surrounding lands continued to remain unpopulated until immigrants from Salzburg, Austria, moved there.
In the first half of the 18th century, father and son von Koydell founded a farm in Georgenburg, where they began to breed horses. It should be noted that in Prussia from ancient times engaged in horse breeding. Back in the days of the Teutonic Order, two breeds were bred there: the local Prussian “seamstress” and the larger “knightly” horse. At the same time, the price of a mare intended for military campaigns reached 18 marks, while the buffalo cost one and a half. So the von Koydell family only continued the glorious traditions of Prussian horse breeding. They sold tribal stallions to the Trakenen stud farm. Since 1740, the castle for the first time in Germany began to hold an equestrian tournament in cross-country racing, which was known as the Horse Racing.
During the Seven Years' War, Georgenburg Castle was conquered by Russian troops, and the residence of the Russian Field Marshal S.F. Apraksin.
Description of the village in the 18th century
The historian Lucanus left a document mentioning that a beer and molasses factory was located next to Georgenburg Castle. There was also a church with the silhouette of a tower built of red stone in 1693. Inside the church was spacious and had a very beautiful altar and pulpit, skillfully carved from stone. Opposite the church, the priest’s house was located. The village itself consisted of a single long street. Only artisans lived on it. In addition, the settlement had a magnificent garden, where in 1739 a feast was organized with the participation of King Friedrich Wilhelm.
At the beginning of the 19th century
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Prussia became the arena for the Napoleonic Wars. Battles continued in the vicinity of the modern city of Chernyakhovsk. During the offensive on Koenigsberg in 1812, the headquarters of Marshal L. Davout was in the castle of Georgenburg. After the war, Prussia sold part of the state land to private individuals. In particular, in 1814 Georgenburg was acquired by the Konigsberg merchant Heine, who later sold it to the Simpsons, who were descendants of the Scottish settlers.
Stud farm
In 1828, the Simpsons founded a stud farm in Georgenburg, which soon became famous far beyond Prussia. The success of the enterprise was so noticeable that in 1840 Friedrich Wilhelm the Fourth granted the Simpsons a noble title.
Specialists at the Georgenburg stud farm managed to breed the middle-weight Traken breed by crossing low Prussian “tailor” with English horses. She is recognized as one of the best bred on the European continent. The demand for horses from the Georgenburg stud farm was so great that he sold horses not only in Prussia, but also exported to the Russian Empire. To buy such a horse could only very wealthy people. To this day, the legend of the stallion Bacchus, who was sold in 1872 for a fabulous sum of 32,000 marks, is still alive. After the death of the last representative of the Simpson family, the Georgenburg castle with a stud farm, hippodrome and horses acquired the Prussian state, paying 3,000,000 marks. At that time, 200 selected stallions stood in the stables.
The history of the castle of Georgenburg in the Kaliningrad region before the outbreak of World War II
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the structures of the fortress were radically rebuilt. At the same time, some medieval buildings were destroyed. The purpose of the reconstruction was the need to combine the castle with a stud farm. As a result, it became the southern facade of the fortress.
During the First World War, Russian troops again entered the territory of Insterburg district. True, there were no important battles in this region. The soldiers and officers of the Russian army were ordered to show respect for the locals, as there was a plan for the Insterburg district to join Russia.
At the end of the war in 1919, the State Factory Stable was organized on the basis of Georgenburg. They set up a beautiful park with a fountain and stables, enclosing it with a two-meter-high brick fence. At the stud farm, they were breeding horses of Hanover, Holstein and Trakenen breeds, intended for participation in competitions in Olympic types of equestrian sports.
Already in 1938 the number of East Prussian stallions kept on the estate reached 230-240 heads. Among them were 2 purebreds and one Arabian breed.
Further story
With the outbreak of World War II, the estate and castle of Georgenburg (photo taken during this period, see below) entered a far from the best period of its history. During the retreat of the German troops, all the horses were taken to Germany. The majority of ethnic German employees also left the stud farm, so the castle was almost empty.
In 1945, the estate was transformed into a village called Mayevka, where migrants from the RSFSR began to arrive. At the same time, a transit camp was opened on the territory of the castle, where German prisoners of war were held. Almost 250,000 people passed through it. A stone cross reminds of prisoners of war who have not returned to Germany today in Mayevka. Prisoners were used in construction work. In particular, a medieval brick church, which was known for its beautiful altar, was dismantled with their hands.
In subsequent years, the castle was used as a prison, and later as an infectious diseases hospital, which lasted until the 70s. Then he was transferred to housing.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union
Today, tourists coming to Mayevka to get acquainted with the sights of the Kaliningrad region, see only the ruins of the castle of Georgenburg. This is not surprising, since from 1939 until the collapse of the USSR, the building, which at that time was more than 700 years old, has not been restored.
In the early 1990s, archaeological excavations began in the castle. Scientists have discovered the remains of structures of the late medieval period, but the work was soon turned off. In the late 90s, Georgenburg was leased to Russian Insurance Bank for a long-term lease. However, as planned, it was not possible to create a cultural and entertainment center in the castle because of the bursting financial crisis.
Georgenburg Castle near Chernyakhovsk began to be ruinized, asocial elements and persons without a fixed residence began to find refuge in it.
The situation became even more depressing when in 2009 a strong fire broke out in the fortress. A year later, he, among other historical and architectural monuments, was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Rebirth
In April 2010, with the consent of church representatives in the castle of Georgenburg (address: Kaliningrad region, Chernyakhovsky district, Mayevka village), restoration work began. Their active participants were: the public organization "Kladez", the youth historical and local lore society "White Raven", the club of fans of historical reconstruction "Bears of the North", students of the Kaliningrad industrial and pedagogical college, parishioners of the church of the Archangel Michael, and many residents of Chernyakhovsk. First of all, a large-scale cleaning of the castle was carried out, from which 18 garbage machines were removed. In addition, bushes of bushes were removed from there, the old pavers of the courtyard were scraped off, the roof, water supply and sewage of one of the surviving buildings were restored.
Tourism development
The implementation of the plan to organize the Georgenburg Castle Museum began with the festival of historical reconstruction in July 2010. It brought together clubs from all over the region and other regions of Russia.
At the moment, the development of tourism in Mayevka is facilitated by the availability of a stud farm and a comfortable, modern hotel near the castle. At the request of its guests and everyone, excursions to the castle of Georgenburg are organized. For tourists on the territory of the fortress equipped brazier. Please note that there is a ban on alcohol in Georgenburg Castle.
Where is the castle of Georgenburg
As mentioned above, the tourist site is located in the village of Mayevka. You can get there from the city of Chernyakhovsk by bus. He walks regularly every hour. If the weather is nice, then tourists recommend taking a walk from Chernyakhovsk to the castle on foot. The route will be 2 km long. In this case, it will be possible to admire the beautiful views of the castle from the side of the road.
Now you know how an excursion to the Georgenburg castle can be interesting. Chernyakhovsk can offer tourists an acquaintance with other interesting sights, such as St. Michael's Church, the ruins of the Insterburg fortress and Zaalau castle, the Bismarck tower, the new town hall, etc.