Regierungsbezirk Königsberg was a ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts. Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...

'', or government region, of the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

province of

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

from 1815 until 1945. The regional capital was

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...

(since 1946, Kaliningrad).

History

In 1808 during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, East Prussia was divided into ''Regierungsbezirke''

Gumbinnen Gusev (russian: Гу́сев; german: Gumbinnen; lt, Gumbinė; pl, Gąbin) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border ...

and Königsberg, comprising the western parts of the former

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...

and the territory of the

Prince-Bishopric of Warmia The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia ( pl, Biskupie Księstwo Warmińskie; german: Fürstbistum Ermland) was a semi-independent ecclesiastical state, ruled by the incumbent ordinary of the Warmia see and comprising one third of the then diocesan area ...

, annexed by Prussia in 1772. On November 1, 1905, the southern

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of the two regions were separated to create ''Regierungsbezirk''

Allenstein Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

. According to the Prussian census of 1905, the reduced Regierungsbezirk Königsberg had a population of 893,427, of which around 96% were

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

and 4% were

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Unite ...

, who were mainly concentrated in the districts of Labiau and Memel. Regierungsbezirk Königsberg was dissolved in 1945 when East Prussia was partitioned between

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...

) after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Districts in 1937

As of December 31, 1937

Urban districts

(Pr)

Rural districts

# Bartenstein (Ostpr.) ( Bartoszyce today) # Braunsberg (Ostpr.) ( Brainewo today, Brunsberga between 1466-1772 and 1945–1946) # Fischhausen (Seat: Fischhausen) (Primorsk today) # Gerdauen ( Zheleznodorozhny today, pronounced "Jeleznodorojni") # Heiligenbeil (

Mamonovo Mamonovo (russian: Мамоново), prior to 1945 known by its German name Heiligenbeil ( pl, Święta Siekierka or ''Świętomiejsce''; lt, Šventpilis; Prussian: ''Swintamīstan''), is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Population figur ...

today) # Heilsberg (

Lidzbark Warmiński Lidzbark Warmiński (; german: Heilsberg, ), often shortened to Lidzbark, is a historical town located within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the capital of Lidzbark County. Lidzbark Warmiński was once the capital of ...

between 1466-1772 and since 1945) # Königsberg i. Pr. # Labiau ( Polessk today) # Mohrungen (

Morąg Morąg (; german: Mohrungen, ) is a town in northern Poland in Ostróda County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Gmina Morąg (commune). Geography The town is situated in the western uplands of the historic Prussia region. ...

today) # Preußisch Eylau (

Bagrationovsk Bagrationovsk (russian: Багратио́новск; german: Preußisch Eylau; pl, Pruska Iława or '; lt, Ylava or ') is a town and the administrative center of Bagrationovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located close to the bord ...

today, Ilawka between 1945–1946) #

Preußisch Holland Preußisch is the German language adjective for "Prussian". Preußisch may refer to: ;Places in Germany *Preußisch Oldendorf, town in North Rhine-Westphalia ;Places outside of Germany *Preußisch Eylau, now Bagrationovsk, Russia *Preußisch F ...

(

Pasłęk Pasłęk (pronounced ; formerly known in Polish as Holąd Pruski, , Old Prussian: ''Pāistlauks'', lt, Paslenkas) is a historic town in northern Poland, within Elbląg County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. In 2017, the town had 12,298 r ...

today) # Rastenburg (

Kętrzyn Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; german: link=yes, Rastenburg ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), Kętrzyn was previously in Olsztyn Voivodeship (197 ...

today, Rastembork between 1945–1950) #

Wehlau Znamensk (; ; lt, Vėluva; pl, Welawa) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Gvardeysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pregolya River at its confluence with the Lava River east of Kaliningrad. Popula ...

(

Znamensk Znamensk (russian: Знаменск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities * Znamensk, Astrakhan Oblast, a closed town in Astrakhan Oblast ;Rural localities *Znamensk, Kaliningrad Oblast, a settlement in Znamen ...

today)

Districts in 1945

As of January 1, 1945

Urban districts

Rural districts

# Bartenstein (Ostpr.) # Braunsberg (Ostpr.) # Gerdauen # Heiligenbeil # Heilsberg # Labiau # Mohrungen # Preußisch Eylau #

# Rastenburg # Samland (seat:

) #

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenigsberg (region) States and territories disestablished in 1945 East Prussia Government regions of Prussia Königsberg States and territories established in 1808 1815 establishments in Prussia