Slavsk (russian: link=no, Славск; german: Heinrichswalde; lt, Gastos; pl, Jędrzychowo) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

of Slavsky District in the

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 ...

, Russia, located northeast of

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

. Population figures:

History

The town was established in 1292. In 1454, King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the m ...

incorporated it to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

upon the request of the anti-Teutonic

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (german: Preußischer Bund, pl, Związek Pruski) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Kwidzyn (then officially ''Marienwerder'') by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia (region), Prussi ...

. After the subsequent

Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) The Thirteen Years' War (german: Dreizehnjähriger Krieg; pl, wojna trzynastoletnia), also called the War of the Cities, was a conflict fought in 1454–1466 between the Prussian Confederation, allied with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, a ...

, it became a part of Poland as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

held by the Teutonic Knights, and by

Ducal 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 establishe ...

afterwards. From 1701, it formed part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, and in 1819 it became seat of the Prussian Elchniederung district. In 1871 it became part of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In the late 19th century, it had a population of over 1,800, partially Lithuanian. According to German data 16,000 Lithuanians lived in the district in 1890 (29% of the population). Two annual fairs were held in the town in the late 19th century.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Slavsk serves as the

of Slavsky District.Resolution No. 640 As an administrative division, it is, together with six rural localities, incorporated within Slavsky District as the

town of district significance Town of district significance is an administrative division of a district in a federal subject of Russia. It is equal in status to a selsoviet or an urban-type settlement of district significance, but is organized around a town (as opposed to a ...

of Slavsk. As a municipal division, the town of district significance of Slavsk is incorporated within Slavsky Municipal District as Slavskoye Urban Settlement.Law No. 261

Transportation

The town has a railway station on the Sovetsk-Kaliningrad railroad.

Notable residents

* Ernst Siehr (1869–1945), German lawyer and politician *

Arthur Ewert Arthur Ernest Ewert (30 November 1890 – 3 July 1959) was a German communist political activist and functionary of the Communist International (Comintern). Ewert is best remembered as an official Comintern representative to the United States, C ...

(1890–1959),German politician *

Andrei Voronkov Andrei Anatolievič Voronkov (born 1959) is a Professor of Formal methods in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester. Education Voronkov was educated at Novosibirsk State University, graduating with a PhD in 1987. Res ...

(1967–), Russian former volleyball player

Twin towns and sister cities

Slavsk is twinned with: * Ronneby, Sweden

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=September 2018 Cities and towns in Kaliningrad Oblast Slavsky District