Bezledy () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Bartoszyce __NOTOC__ Gmina Bartoszyce is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Bartoszyce County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, on the border with Russia. Its seat is the town of Bartoszyce, although the town is not part of the terr ...

, within

Bartoszyce County __NOTOC__ Bartoszyce County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the border with Russia. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish loca ...

, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It lies approximately north-west of

Bartoszyce Bartoszyce (pronounced ; , ) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geographical location Bartoszyce lies on t ...

and north of the regional capital

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

. The village is the main border crossing point between Russia and Poland (Bezledy/

Bagrationovsk Bagrationovsk (; , ; or '; or ') is a town and the administrative center of Bagrationovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located close to the border with Poland, south of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast. It has a ...

History

AGAD Stany pruskie oddaja swe ziemie krolowi polskiemu Kazimierzowi Jagiellonczykowi i koronie polskiej

Old Prussian Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...

castle named ''Beselede'', property of the

Natangia Natangians or Notangians (; ; ; ) was a Prussian clan, which lived in the region of Natangia, an area that is now mostly part of the Russian exclave Kaliningrad Oblast, whereas the southern portion lies in the Polish Warmian-Masurian Voivodeshi ...

n nobleman ''Posdraupote'', was first mentioned in a chronicle of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

in 1274, when the castle had been besieged by

Sudovians Yotvingians, also called Sudovians, Jatvians, or Jatvingians, were a Western Baltic people who were closely tied to the Old Prussians. The linguist Petras Būtėnas asserts that they were closest to the Lithuanians. The Yotvingians contributed ...

. The village was mentioned as an Old Prussian settlement in 1338 and in 1400 as the property of Philipp von Beisleiden with a size of 20 "Hufen", a square measure of the Teutonic Knights. Throughout the Polish-Teutonic

Hunger War The Hunger War (, ) or Famine War was a brief conflict between the allied Kingdom of Poland, and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, against the Teutonic Knights in summer 1414 in an attempt to resolve territorial disputes. The war earned its name from d ...

of 1414 the settlement was destroyed by Polish troops, who killed 3 men and caused a damage of 300 Mark. In 1440, Philipp von Beisleiden, owner of the village, joined the

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (, ) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Marienwerder (present-day Kwidzyn) by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights. It was based o ...

, opposing the rule of the Teutonic Knights. In 1454, King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

incorporated the region to the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

upon the request of the Prussian Confederation. After the subsequent

Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) The Thirteen Years' War (; ), also called the War of the Cities, was a conflict fought in 1454–1466 between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order. After the Battle of Grunwald, enormous defeat suffered by the German Ord ...

, the village became a part of Poland as a

fief A fief (; ) 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 of feudal alle ...

held by Teutonic Order. In 1484 the von Prömock family, a noble family of Old Prussian origin, was mentioned as owner of the village, which lasted until 1671. From the 18th century, the village formed part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, and from 1871 it was also part of Germany, within which it was administratively located in the province of

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. After a time of constantly changing landlords the village was bought by Ludwig von Oldenburg in 1801, whose family owned the manor until 1945. The manor house was completely destroyed in 1945. From 1945 to 1958 the village was administratively located in the

Iławka County Iławka County () was a unit of territorial administration (powiat) in Poland, that existed from 1945 to 1958. It was initially part of the Masurian District from 1945 to 1946, and then the Olsztyn Voivodeship from 1946 to 1958. The capitals were ...

in the

Masurian District The Masurian District, also known as the District of East Prussia, and designated as the 4th District, was a district that acted as an provisional administrative division of Poland, during the administration of the Provisional Government of the Re ...

and

Olsztyn Voivodeship Olsztyn Voivodeship () was an administrative division and unit of local government in Poland in the years 1946–75, and a new territorial division between 1975–1998, superseded by Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Olszty ...

. From 1959 to 1961 it was administratively located in the Górowo County in the Olsztyn Voivodeship.

Notable residents

Elard von Oldenburg-Januschau Elard Kurt Maria Fürchtegott von Oldenburg-Januschau (20 March 1855 – 16 August 1937) was a German Junker (a member of the Prussian nobility prior to the abolition of the monarchy) and conservative politician. He embodied the prototype of the ...

(1855–1937), politician

References

{{Gmina Bartoszyce Villages in Bartoszyce County Poland–Russia border crossings