Waldau Castle — an ancient Prussian castle of the Teutonic Order. Before the settlement was renamed Nizovye, the local settlement was also called Waldau. Waldau Castle is among the top three best-preserved castles in the Kaliningrad region — along with the Tapiau Castle in Gvardeysk and Georgenburg near Chernyakhovsk.

The first mention of the construction of a wooden-earth fortress called Waldow here appeared in chronicles as early as 1258. The local population, fearing reprisals from the crusaders, surrendered without resistance to the knightly army and accepted Christianity. The fortification was named "Waldau," meaning "to possess" from the Balto-Slavic "valdati." The local princes Brulant and Diabel, swearing allegiance to the Order, received land plots with peasants and, obeying the authorities, laid the first intermediate fortress on the bank of the Pregolya River. It resembled more a roadside inn where servicemen, priests, and merchants could stop overnight.

In 1264, at the request of the Teutonic Order authorities, the princes built the first intermediate fortress near the road, similar to an inn, where the Order’s servicemen, priests, and warriors stopped. The Teutons, conquering territories and strengthening their rear, built similar fortresses approximately 15-20 kilometers apart so that not only supply trains and small detachments but also foot soldiers in full armor could easily pass between them. The citadel on an islet in the middle of an artificial lake, with thick walls, wings, and towers, prison cells, strong gates, and a bridge over the moat, was completed in 1264. However, the local princes left no heirs, and by the end of the 13th century, the fortress became the property of the Teutonic Order.

Half a century later, the fortress had turned into a powerful citadel on the approaches to Königsberg, part of a chain of fortifications where the Supreme Marshal and the Grand Master stopped during campaigns. As the sphere of influence expanded, Waldau ceased to be just a bastion, and in 1457 the outdated structures were rebuilt. The new castle, with living quarters, rooms for servants, warehouses, stables, even a bakery, kitchen, and its own brewery, was more comfortable and reliable than others, so it was chosen by the Order’s leadership as a summer residence.

With the secularization of the monastic order in 1525 and the confiscation of its lands in favor of the ducal domain, Waldau Castle became a fiefdom of Albrecht of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Secular life imposed its conditions, demanding luxury. In 1550, the chambers for Duke Albrecht’s second wife were remodeled, with decoration overseen by the court architect Remer. However, Anna Maria of Brunswick lived there only briefly. In 1568, she unexpectedly died, strangely on the same day as her husband. Rumors about this circulated in the district for a long time.

The castle, founded here in 1630 by the Duke of Prussia, served a Polish count for 20 years until Frederick William I, son of the Elector of Brandenburg, bought it back. In the spring of 1697, Admiral Franz Lefort and the Great Russian Embassy were guests here. The sovereign himself, traveling incognito, visited the castle as the official Peter Mikhailov. He inquired about the well-being of his compatriots, how they were received and settled, and after confirming that the meeting with the Great Elector would take place, he departed for Königsberg. In honor of this far from ordinary event, a commemorative sign was erected three centuries later at the road’s turn. Not long ago, a memorial plaque also appeared at the entrance.

From 1720, the Prussian government began leasing the castle along with nearby villages. After the moat was filled and the pond drained, the fortress walls and towers were demolished, some parts dismantled, others added, and some interior rooms remodeled. A series of renovations changed the castle’s appearance so much that almost nothing medieval remained. In 1858, an agricultural academy was housed in the castle, which in 1870 was transformed into a teacher’s seminary.

From 1850 to 1870, the castle buildings housed the agricultural academy. After its transfer to Königsberg, the premises were occupied by a seminary for primary school teachers. The water body gave way to a football field. A road was laid from Waldau to the settlement. For order’s sake, a gendarme post was even established, and a monument to the soldiers who did not return from the battlefields of World War I was installed in the park. The so-called "Old Castle School," associated with the Royal Orphanage, operated here until May 1945.

Since 1945, the Waldau Castle building has been under the jurisdiction of the agricultural vocational school (SPTU No. 20). The left wing has been used as a dormitory for the agricultural school since 1947.

In 2007, the castle building was declared hazardous by the Russian Federal Service for Cultural Heritage (there was a threat of roof collapse) and was closed.

The left wing of the castle is operational and houses a museum founded by Andrey Ivanovich Barinov, dedicated to the history of Waldau Castle and the surrounding lands. The building has been restored and remains under renovation.

In 2010, the building was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church, but as of 2012, the property transfer issue had not been fully resolved, complicating restoration and repair work. It is planned that after resolving the ownership issues, the museum of Waldau Castle history, currently located in the local secondary school, will move into the left wing.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldau_Castle

https://tamtravel.ru/kaliningradskaya-oblast/stati-o-turisme-v-kalinigradskoj-oblasti/zamok-valdau-750-letnij-tevtonets/