The Tylzha (, , from , meaning "swampy, wet", ) is a river in

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 ...

, discharging into the river

Neman Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

Sovetsk Sovetsk () is the name of several urban localities in Russia. *Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, formerly Tilsit * Sovetsk, Kirov Oblast, a town in Sovetsky District of Kirov Oblast; * Sovetsk, Tula Oblast, a town in Sh ...

, which until 1946 was called the Tilsit in accordance with it.Heinz Kebesch: ''Unsere Tilszele'' (Our Tilszele). 8. Tilsiter Rundbrief (Tilsit Newsletter) 1978/79, p. 30 et.seq.

Name and course

The river Tilsot or Tilsete is mentioned in reports of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

. The

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

who immigrated in the 15th and 16th century made Tilszele of it which then became its colloquial name.

Sources

The source of the Tylzha is located in the southern part of the former district Ragnit, 5 km from the railway station Paballen on the rail line Tilsit - Szillen - Grünheide -

Insterburg Chernyakhovsk (; German language, German: Insterburg) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District. Located at the confluence of the Instruch and Angrap ...

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. In a grove consisting of alders, birches and spruces near Meldienen-Patilßen several streams flow together to form the river Tylzha.

Course

It flows relatively quickly in the stony river bed in which large erratic boulders lie near Buttkuhnen. There the Tylzha is already 1.5 m wide and a bridge crosses it on the road from Szillen to Kraupischken. Turning northward from here, it passes through Tilsewischken, Balandßen, Ruddecken, Podßuhnen, Pucknen, Kindschen, Jonienen, Kurschen, Schuppinnen, Woydehnen, Moritzkehmen and Tilsit-Kallkappen. On the partially rather high banks groves and meadows stretch out. Picturesque landscapes are the castle hill between Kurschen and Schuppinnen and the gorge at Kurschen. The Grauden forest was an impenetrable wilderness. In the grove of Kindschen the Tylzha takes in the Liepart stream and at Kurschen the Malan stream.

Cultivation

Since the Tylzha flows through low-lying terrain, the adjacent lands could be well drained. The district administration Tilsit-Ragnit determined in 1931/32 to conduct it into a new bed near Woydehnen. At the same time the lower Tylzha between Kurschen and Tilsit was

regulated Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

. At the Willmann hill a bridge for the railway Stallupönen - Tilsit was built. Through Moritzkehmen and Kallkappen the river reaches the castle mill pond and passes through the Tilszele harbor into the Neman.

Castle Mill Pond at Tilsit

1562 the reigning governor of Tilsit Kaspar von NostitzKaspar von Nostiz
/ref> had the castle mill pond dammed, because, when the water volume was sufficient, Duke Albrecht of Brandenburg wanted to construct a water mill for economic reasons.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , last= Vanagas , first= Aleksandras , author-link=Aleksandras Vanagas , date=1981 , title= Lietuvių hidronimų etimologinis žodynas , url= , location=Vilnius , publisher=Mokslas , page= , isbn= , language = Lithuanian

External links

Tilse (GenWiki)
Rivers of Kaliningrad Oblast