Preußisch Eylau — a Teutonic Order castle located in modern-day Bagrationovsk.

At the beginning of the 14th century, the Teutonic Order sent an army to the Prussian lands under the command of Margrave Dietrich. The army discovered a fortification on the border of the land of the Natangians (Natangen, Natangia) — presumably the Prussian settlement Sutvirt, or according to other sources, the Prussian fortress Ilawa. The crusaders destroyed the fortress and killed all its defenders.

When the lands of the Prussian tribe of the Natangians were conquered by the knights of the Teutonic Order, the Grand Master Werner von Orseln (17th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, 1324-1330) commissioned the Komtur of Balga, Master Arnold von Eilenstein (19th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order), to build a new castle (Eylau Castle, later Preußisch Eylau), which would serve as a connecting link between the castles Kreuzburg and Bartenstein. The main purpose of the fortress was to protect the southern approach to the regional capital Krulevets (Königsberg).

In 1325, by order of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Werner von Orseln, Master Arnold von Eilenstein began construction of the castle Ile on the site of the Prussian fortress Sutvrit. The Komtur of Balga, Dietrich von Altenburg, was to oversee the construction. The castle was built on a high flat hill, surrounded on three sides by swamps, near the Pasmar (Mayskaya) river, 400 meters from its source at Lake Langer (Long). The construction of the stone castle began. The building was constructed over five years, with a square shape measuring 43 by 41 meters. This tradition of military construction traces back to Roman barracks. The fortification had high walls, a moat, gates, a tower, and a drawbridge. On the eastern side, a foreburg measuring 120 by 140 meters was attached to the castle, surrounded by its own moat and fortress wall 1.6 meters thick with a defensive walkway. The foreburg housed stables, a brewery, quarters for the Order’s soldiers, weapon workshops, a bakery, and other utility buildings.

By building a dam with a mill, the knights artificially raised the water level in the river, creating an island with the castle. By 1330, the castle was built in the form of a quadrangle measuring 41 by 43 meters, surrounded by a water-filled moat, a drawbridge, and gates with portcullises. A large foreburg was attached on the eastern side. In early mentions, the castle was called “Ile,” later Iladia, but the name “Preußisch Ilow” (Preußisch Eylau) became established. Until 1347, the castle served as the residence of the Order’s Pfleger; afterward, it housed the administration of the Kammer, related to the Komturship of Balga.

The main entrance to the castle citadel (Hochburg) of Preußisch Eylau was located in the eastern wing from the foreburg side. The southern wing housed the castle chapel (a mandatory feature of a typical Order castle), and the northern part contained a sanitary tower.

The entire second floor of the western wing was intended for accommodation and residence of the Order’s brothers. It included a refectory, a council hall, monks’ bedrooms, and the chambers of the castle’s administrator. The first floor contained utility rooms, including a kitchen located beneath the refectory, and storage rooms. The basement stored food supplies and equipment. The third floor, equipped with a military walkway and loopholes around the perimeter, served defensive functions. In the northeast corner stood a small round watchtower. Inside the castle courtyard was a well. A two-story gallery ran around the courtyard perimeter, with doors from the second-floor rooms opening onto it.

The castle Preußisch Eylau was not only the residence of the Teutonic Order official Pfleger (until 1347) but also a home for priests and knights, where they not only performed religious rituals but also lived, as by the Order’s rules knights could only spend the night in the castle.

Since 1347, the administration of the Kammer was located in the castle Preußisch Eylau.

The most famous Pfleger, celebrated in literature by Adam Mickiewicz, was Konrad von Wallenrod, the future Grand Master of the German Order (1391-1393).

East of the castle Preußisch Eylau, at the foot of its walls, a settlement called Neuhof (New Court), later named Lischke, arose. Its population consisted of owners of farmsteads and craftsmen.

The town of Preußisch Eylau (Bagrationovsk) was founded slightly later, but no later than 1348, as a result of the merger of the castle and a church village, located 1.5 km east of the castle on the shore of Lake Langer (Long).

In 1400, lightning struck the castle Preußisch Eylau, causing a fire during which all the wooden parts of the castle burned down.

In 1429, the castle Preußisch Eylau, for military merits to the Order, passed into the possession of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (1410-1413) Heinrich von Plauen.

In 1454, the castle Preußisch Eylau was captured by the rebellious population (Prussian Confederation) and partially damaged. But after the Order’s victory led by Komtur Heinrich Reuss von Plauen at Kanitz in September 1454, many towns and castles returned to the Order’s side. After regaining the castle, the Teutonic Order stationed a garrison of about twenty knights and sixty militia there, who repaired the damaged fortifications and prepared to repel enemy attacks.

In May 1455, the Polish-Confederate army moved toward Königsberg, failing to achieve success there, and on the way back attempted to seize the castle Preußisch Eylau. In May 1455, a detachment of two thousand warriors under the command of Remschel von Krixsen approached the castle closely. Learning of the small size of the castle garrison, von Krixsen decided to capture the castle. But after being repelled, they laid siege to the castle. Upon learning of the siege of the castle Preußisch Eylau, the Order’s Supreme Hospitaller Heinrich Reuss von Plauen sent reinforcements under Count Ludwig von Holfenstein and Captain von Blankenstein. The Order’s troops attacked the Polish-Confederate army early in the morning, killing and capturing about a thousand supporters of the Prussian Confederation, and lifted the siege of the castle.

In October 1455, allied forces again attacked the castle Preußisch Eylau. They captured the foreburg but failed to take the castle itself. After looting the foreburg, the rebels burned it down and then retreated.

In March 1456, a detachment of the Prussian Confederation from Friedland appeared under the walls of the castle Preußisch Eylau, but the castle garrison was warned in advance and repelled the enemy with a surprise attack.

In 1464, peace negotiations began between the Polish king and the Order, in which the Vogt of Preußisch Eylau Ulrich von Künsberg participated. Under the terms of the Treaty of Thorn, the Order lost more than half of its lands, and Natangen became a border territory, as Ermland, located south of Natangen, came under the Polish crown.

In 1492, Grand Master Johann von Tiefen granted the castle Preußisch Eylau with adjacent lands to the Order’s brother Heinrich Reuss von Plauen for lifetime use. In the same year, the castle and settlement acquired their own symbols, which later became the city’s coat of arms.

In December 1519, Natangen was attacked by Polish mercenaries, marking the beginning of the so-called “War of the Riders” (1520-1521), an open confrontation between Albert of Brandenburg and the Polish King Sigismund. Polish mercenaries, numbering over four thousand, repeatedly tried to storm the castle, but the garrison of Preußisch Eylau under the leadership of Knight Friedrich Truchsess Weltburg and Courland military leader Firike repelled all enemy attacks. Suffering heavy losses, the enemy lifted the siege and retreated, not forgetting to burn the settlements adjacent to the castle.

In 1525, after the Reformation, the Teutonic Order was dissolved, and the secular Duchy of Prussia was established; the castle became the residence of the departmental estate of the Hauptmann of Preußisch Eylau. At the same time, a mayor was appointed in the town.

On November 30, 1585, Preußisch Eylau received town rights.

In 1587, Preußisch Eylau received its coat of arms, which in the upper part on a black field (the color of swampy land) featured a golden lion. Below, on a silver field, were three black crosses of the Teutonic Order.

Over time, the castle lost its original purpose. By the end of the 18th century, the castle building was completely dilapidated and used as a quarry and dump. The materials obtained from its dismantling were used for the construction of new buildings.

In 1802, the castle Preußisch Eylau suffered a fire and was no longer restored. The foreburg was used for economic purposes.

In 1814, the estate was purchased by Heinrich Sigismund Valentini (1788-1867), who in 1817 named it Henriettenhof in honor of his beloved wife.

The manor was located on the territory of the old foreburg, which was still well preserved. The castle, however, was deteriorating due to the lack of a roof. Living near the ruins was unpleasant, and soon a new house was built about a kilometer northwest of the castle. All the estate’s operations were moved there as well.

In 1831, on the foundation of the Preußisch Eylau fortress foreburg, between the eastern wing and the barn, a new manor house Henriettenhof was built in the neoclassical style. During World War I, during a brief occupation by Russian troops (August–September 1914), the town of Preußisch Eylau and the Henriettenhof estate suffered no damage.

After the war, the estate was headed by Arthur Valentini (1896-1977), who owned it until 1945. In 1932, the Valentini family transferred the old manor building located on the territory of the castle Preußisch Eylau to the city magistrate of Preußisch Eylau, and in the same year a local history museum was established there. The initiative to open the museum came from the town’s residents, the director of the Scharichors Gymnasium Mr. Sievers, and the state official Steinhäusen. The museum’s exhibits were located on eight floors of the building and covered the region’s history from the Stone Age to the events of World War I. After the war, the building was dismantled; today in modern Bagrationovsk there are no traces of this building, and the fate of the German museum collection is unknown.

During World War II, the castle was not heavily damaged. Until the early 1960s, the residential premises were still in use. From 1961, the castle and foreburg were transferred to the district consumer union and used as storage facilities. Later, the castle grounds were abandoned, leading to the complete destruction of the castle remains.

In 1964, the buildings of the castle Preußisch Eylau and foreburg were inspected by employees of the Central Scientific Restoration Workshops of the USSR Ministry of Culture. However, the expedition only recorded the extreme degree of neglect and destruction. Later, a shooting range operated for some time in the western wing, which was demolished in the late 1980s.

The roof of the surviving foreburg began to rot; in 1989 holes appeared, and in August 1990 the middle section burned down. In the early 1990s, a decision was made to conduct minor excavations and convert the foreburg into a hotel with a bar. After a couple of years, the work was nearly complete. The roof of this part of the castle changed significantly, as numerous windows for hotel rooms appeared. But suddenly the project was frozen, and the investor went bankrupt around 1999. The foreburg was abandoned during the final stages.

On June 5, 2016, a fire broke out on the castle roof. As a result, part of the roofing burned out. On August 29, 2018, regional authorities tried to sell the castle at auction but failed as no bids were submitted. The building was again attempted to be sold in 2020, but there were no interested buyers. In 2022, the Teutonic Order castle Preußisch Eylau in the Kaliningrad region was sold at auction for 7.6 million rubles.

Sources:

https://travelkap.club/rossija1/zamok_pressisch_eylau/index.html

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Замок_Прейсиш-Эйлау