Castle Georgenburg: photo, address, excursions

It's hard to say why ancient castles beckon people so. Perhaps this is due to the fact that during the past 500 years they were fairly "propiaried" first by authors of knightly novels, and then by filmmakers and even by computer game creators.

On the territory of Russia, only a few knight castles have survived to this day. Almost all of them, except for the Genoese fortresses of the Crimea, are located in the North-West region, including in the territory of the Kaliningrad region. One of them is the castle of Georgenburg.

The Teutonic Knights

This German order was founded in the late 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-military one. In the early 13th century, the order had a headquarters located in the Bavarian town of Eschenbach, and later it became Nuremberg.

In 1217, the Teutonic knights went on a campaign against the Prussian pagans. Conquering their lands, they founded many castles, where garrisons were left to defend the German settlers.

One of them was Koenigsberg, which was built on the site of the ancient settlement of Tuvangste in 1255.

After 18 years, a detachment of Teutons under the command of Dietrich Lidelau arrived in the vicinity of modern Chernyakhovsk, and captured the pagan fortress of the Prussians, Saminis Vike, whose name translates as Stone dwelling. Next to it were settlements Tammau and Val'kau. However, they were not able 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 successful, and the fortress of Insterburg was founded. Her appearance marked the strengthening of the Teutonic Order in these parts.

Base of the castle

In 1337 it became clear that Insterburg can not accommodate all the knights that are necessary to protect the interests of the Order. Then a wooden castle named after St. George Georgenburg was built 2.5 km from the fortress by the order of the Master of the Teutonic Order of Vinrich Von Knoprode. In historic documents, the city was first mentioned in 1354, in connection with the attack on it by Lithuanians led by Kestutis. In particular, in the Wigand 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 committed later.

Since the wooden Georgenburg was extremely difficult to protect, by order of the Master of the Order of Vinrich Von Knoprode at the end of 1380, the fortress was destroyed and stone defensive structures were erected.

History before 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 Lithuanians and Mongol-Tatars hired by Poles who tried to force the Teutons out of 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, razed many buildings to the ground, hijacked young men, as well as a large number of cattle. Despite this, the estate was restored, and until 1525 the castle of Georgenburg, which is now very popular, was used as the residence of the Bishop of Zamland. 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 castle of Georgenburg was captured by the Tatars. Later, in 1643-1648 and during the Thirty Years' War, the fortress was occupied by the Swedes.

History in the 18th - early 19th centuries

An important milestone in the history of the castle was 1709, when, following the plague that devastated the region, Friedrich Wilhelm the First transferred him to the state domain. However, the surrounding lands continued to remain unoccupied until the immigrants from Austria's Salzburg moved there.

In the first half of the 18th century, father and son von Koidell founded a farm in Georgenburg where they began to breed horses. Here it should be noted that in ancient times horse-breeding was practiced in Prussia. Even in the time of the existence of the Teutonic Order, two breeds were bred there: the local Prussian "shvayke" and the larger "knight's" horse. At the same time, the price of a mare intended for military campaigns reached 18 marks, while a buffalo cost one and a half. So the family von Koidell only continued the glorious traditions of Prussian horse breeding. Tribal stallions they sold to the Trakehner stud farm. Since 1740 in the castle for the first time on the territory of Germany was held horse racing tournament on horse racing on the rough terrain, which was known under the name of Hunting jumps.

During the Seven Years' War, the castle of Georgenburg was conquered by Russian troops, and it housed the residence of Russian Field Marshal S.F. Apraksin.

Description of the village in the 18th century

Historian Lukanus left a document mentioning that near the castle of Georgenburg there was a factory for the production of beer and molasses. There was also a church with a 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 out of stone. Opposite the church was the priest's house. 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 Frederick William.

At the beginning of the 19th century

In the early nineteenth century Prussia became the arena for the Napoleonic wars. The fighting was also in the vicinity of the modern city of Chernyakhovsk. During the offensive against Koenigsberg in 1812, the headquarters of Marshal L. Davout was in the castle of Georgenburg. After the war Prussia sold part of the state lands to private individuals. In particular, in 1814 Georgenburg was purchased by the Heinrich merchant in Heinstein, who later sold it to the Simpsons, who were descendants of Scottish settlers.

Horse-breeding factory

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 Fourth granted the Simpsons the title of nobleman.

Specialists of the stud farm of the stud farm managed to breed the medium-weight Trakehner breed, by crossing low-grown Prussian "shvayke" with English horses. It is recognized as one of the best of the European countries. The demand for horses from the stud farm of Georgenburg was so great that he sold horses not only in Prussia, but also exported to the Russian Empire. Only very well-off people could buy such a horse. And to this day, the legend of the stallion Bacchus, which in 1872 was sold for a fabulous amount of 32,000 marks, is alive. After the death of the last representative of the Simpson clan, the Georgenburg castle with a horse farm, horse race and horses acquired the Prussian state, paying 3,000,000 marks. At that time in the stables stood 200 selected stallions.

The history of the castle Georgenburg in the Kaliningrad region before the Second World War

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the fortifications 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 the stud farm. As a result, it became the southern facade of the fortress.

During the First World War, the troops of the Insterburg district again entered the Russian army. True, there were no important battles in this region. Soldiers and officers of the Russian army were ordered to show respect for the local residents, as there was a plan to join the Insterburg District to Russia.

At the end of the war in 1919, the State factory stable was established on the basis of Georgenburg. They broke a beautiful park with a fountain and stables, enclosing it with a two-meter brick fence. At the stud farm, the horses of the Hanover, Holstein and Trakehner breeds were bred, intended for participation in competitions in the Olympic kinds of equestrian sport.

Already in 1938 the number of East Prussian stallions kept in the estate reached 230-240 head. Among them there were 2 purebreds and one Arab breed.

Further history

With the outbreak of World War II, the manor and the castle of Georgenburg (photo taken during this period, see below) entered a far from the best period of its history. With the retreat of the German troops, all the horses were transported to Germany. The horse factory left most of the employees of the ethnic Germans, so the castle was almost empty.

In 1945, the estate was converted into a settlement, named Mayevka, where immigrants 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 kept. Almost 250,000 people passed through it. About POWs who did not return to Germany, today in Mayevka resembles a stone cross. The prisoners were used for construction work. In particular, their hands were taken apart by a medieval brick church, which was known for its beautiful altar.

In subsequent years, the castle was used as a prison, and later - as an infectious disease hospital, which lasted until the 70's. Then he was handed over to the house.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union

Today, tourists who come to Mayevka to get acquainted with the sights of the Kaliningrad region, see only the ruins of the castle Georgenburg. This is not surprising, since from 1939 until the collapse of the USSR the structure, which at that time was more than 700 years old, has not been restored.

In the early 1990s, archaeological excavations began to be carried out on the castle grounds. Scientists have discovered remnants of structures of the late medieval period, but the work soon turned off. In the late 90's Georgenburg was transferred to a long-term lease to the Russian Insurance Bank. However, it was not possible to create a cultural and entertainment center in the castle, as was planned, because of the financial crisis that broke out.

The Georgenburg Castle near Chernyakhovsk began to be ruinized, antisocial elements and persons without a definite place of residence began to find shelter in it.

The situation became even more depressing when in 2009 a strong fire broke out in the fortress. A year later, among other monuments of history and architecture, it was transferred to the ROC.

Revival

In April 2010, with the consent of the representatives of the church in the castle of Georgenburg (address: Kaliningrad region, Chernyakhovsky district, the village of Mayevka), restoration work began. Their active participants were: public organization "Kladez", youth historical and local history society "White Crow", club of fans of historical reconstruction "Bears of the North", students of the Kaliningrad industrial and pedagogical college, parishioners of the temple of Archangel Michael, and many residents of Chernyakhovsk. First of all, a large-scale cleaning of the castle grounds was carried out, from which 18 garbage trucks were removed. In addition, they removed the thickets of bushes, scraped the old stone pavement of the yard, restored the roof, water and sewerage of one of the surviving buildings.

Development of tourism

Implementation of the plan for the organization of the castle museum "Georgenburg" began with the festival of historical reconstruction in July 2010. It was attended by clubs from all over the region and other regions of Russia.

At the moment, the development of tourism in Mayevka is facilitated by the presence near the castle of the stud farm and a comfortable, modern hotel. At the request of its guests and all comers, excursions to the castle of Georgenburg are organized. For tourists on the territory of the fortress is equipped with a barbecue area. Please note that there is a ban on alcohol at the Castle of Georgenburg.

Where is the castle of Georgenburg

As already 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 good, then tourists recommend to take a walk from Chernyakhovsk to the castle on foot. The length of the route is 2 km. In this case, you can admire the beautiful views of the castle, opening from the side of the road.

Now you know what an interesting excursion to the castle of Georgenburg can be. Chernyakhovsk can offer tourists an acquaintance with other interesting sights, such as the St. Michael's Church, the ruins of the Insterburg fortress and the castle of Zaalau, the Bismarck tower, the new town hall, etc.