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Keywords: Prussia

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Schmalleningken: Life on the Northeast Prussian Border in the First Half of the 19th Century

Ruth Leiserowitz

https://doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v46i0.2784

Pub. online: 15 Dec 2025 Type: Article

Open Access

Journal: Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis Volume 46 (2025): Nexuses of Interaction in the Borderland between Lithuania and Prussia in the Pre-Industrial Period = Sąveikos mazgai Lietuvos ir Prūsijos pasienyje ikiindustrinėje epochoje, pp. 137–160

Abstract

Schmalleningken (in Lithuanian Smalininkai) was a village consisting of three parts on the Prussian-Lithuanian border until 1795. It served as a customs office for the Kingdom of Prussia in the 18th century, and was an important cross-border transit point for both water and land traffic. At the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the lands to the east of the village on the right bank of the River Nemunas were taken over by Russia, while those on the left bank became part of Prussia, which established the province of New East Prussia there. The Congress of Vienna restored the previous configuration of the border, with the only difference being that Lithuania’s place as Prussia’s neighbour was taken over by the Russian Empire, part of which on the left bank was the Kingdom of Poland. This article examines the various institutions and actors that operated in this border area, located at the intersection of three political entities, during both this transitional period and the subsequent years leading up to the Crimean War. The aim is to show what kind of contacts took place there, what forms they took, and what changes the microcosm of Schmalleningken underwent in the early 19th century. The article explores who contributed to this, and what significance the town of Jurbarkas, located on the other side of the border, had in this contact zone. It shows the role of the Christian and Jewish populations, with their somewhat different goals. Although their cultural practices differed, their interaction was based on a common understanding of the role of a nexus on the border. This role was primarily to provide services for cross-border traffic by land and on the River Nemunas, and to promote cross-border trade.

Tauragės valda Lietuvoje Prūsijos rankose (1691–1793): savito statuso vaizdavimas XVIII amžiaus žemėlapiuose | The Tauragė Estate in Lithuania under Prussian Ownership (1691–1793): The Depiction of its Distinct Status on 18th-Century Maps

Laima Bucevičiūtė

https://doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v46i0.2783

Pub. online: 15 Dec 2025 Type: Article

Open Access

Abstract

Although Janusz Radziwiłł (1612–1655), the Voivode of Vilnius and Grand Hetman of Lithuania, managed to acquire the Tauragė estate on the Lithuanian border with Prussia in the early 1650s, it was just before his death. His granddaughter Ludwika Karolina (1667–1695), who inherited the titles from his daughter Anna Maria (she passed away at an early age), was raised in Berlin and married the son of the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm (1620–1688) there in 1681. The Elector of Brandenburg decided to use this connection to renew his claim to the Tauragė estate (his father Georg Wilhelm had sold it in 1639). In 1688, Ludwika Karolina signed a document in Potsdam renouncing her inheritance rights to the Tauragė estate in favour of the Elector, and this was confirmed in 1691 by a court in Lithuania. Manfred Hellmann, who published a study on Prussian control of Tauragė in 1940, revealed the ambiguity that arose as a result: although Tauragė continued to belong to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it was in fact controlled by Prussia, whose monarch became the owner of private land in the Commonwealth and had to pay the usual taxes and duties there. The article examines whether or not this political ambiguity was reflected in the depiction of the Tauragė estate on 18th-century maps. The research shows that this depiction was equally ambiguous: while some maps showed Tauragė as a part of Prussia, others did not emphasise the connection at all, continuing to show that the estate belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Vokiečių ordino karinė komunikacija Žemaitijos pajūriu 1519–1521 metais | The Movement of the Army of the Teutonic Order along the Žemaitijan Coastal Strip, 1519–1521

Dainius Elertas

https://doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v46i0.2782

Pub. online: 15 Dec 2025 Type: Article

Open Access

Abstract

Although the section of the Baltic seashore near Palanga was ceded to Lithuania under the Treaty of Melno, it remained strategically important to the Teutonic Order. From the Middle Ages, the coastal strip of the starostwo of Žemaitija in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania served as a land route connecting the Teutonic Order’s domains in Prussia and Livonia. This article focuses on the dynamics of travel along this route in 1519–1521 when the Teutonic Order was at war with Poland. Although the theatre of war covered areas of Prussia in the triangle between Königsberg, the River Vistula and Mazovia, military escorts used the stretch of land around Palanga to transport messages, carts of ammunition, and soldiers. Mercenaries disguised as merchants, undercover messengers, and sometimes even large formations of soldiers, crossed the coastal strip. Due to the geopolitical situation, the Žemaitijans failed to cut off this movement completely: the Grand Duchy of Lithuania tended to turn a blind eye, and formally adhered to the ‘eternal peace’. This article is the first attempt to shed a light on the role that the Palanga nexus of interaction between Prussia and Livonia played in the 1519–1521 war. It shows the specific participants, the route, and the circumstances of travel through this nexus.

LANGELIS Į PRAEITIES ŽVEJO PASAULĮ: 1792 M. LIETUVIŠKŲ ŽVEJYBOS TERMINŲ ŽODYNĖLIS

Dainius Elertas

https://doi.org/10.15181/rh.v21i0.1523

Pub. online: 28 Mar 2025 Type: Article

Open Access

Journal: Res Humanitariae Volume 21, Issue 1 (2017), pp. 66–97

Abstract

The article presents the Lithuanian fishing glossary in the text of 1792 Curonian lagoon fishing rules. It discusses the problems of creation of this source, authorship, the historical context. It is analysed ethnographic content in glossary of Lithuanian fishing terms. The Baltic linguists haven’t noticed it earlier. New publication of this source could encourage scientists to broader analyze of 1792 fishing rules. It is intended to draw attention to Lithuanistic material in Prussian law documents in German language.

The Christianisation of the Baltic Seen from Medieval France

Loïc Chollet

https://doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v44i0.2574

Pub. online: 7 Dec 2023 Type: Article

Open Access

Journal: Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis Volume 44 (2023): Christianisation in the East Baltic: (Re)interpretations of Artefacts, Views and Accounts = Christianizacija rytiniame Baltijos regione: artefaktų, pažiūrų ir pasakojimų (re)interpretacijos, pp. 123–146

Abstract

The way the Baltic region was viewed in Christian Europe during the High and Late Middle Ages was strongly characterised by the fact that it was the land of the last pagans. Beginning with the crusade against the Wends (Polabian Slavs) in 1147, attempts to convert them in the region took the form of the Northern Crusades, authorised by the Pope. The Teutonic Order became the driving force behind these crusades from the 13th to the 15th centuries, and secured support in Christian Europe, including France. The representation of the east Baltic region, on which this article focuses, was mainly related to these crusades. The author’s aim is to provide an overview of the attitude of the French-related nobility and intellectual elite towards the Christianisation of the Baltic from the tenth to the 15th centuries, with a special focus on Lithuania. In the first half of the 14th century, many crusaders from France and neighbouring countries backed the Teutonic Order’s struggle against Lithuania. These expeditions, mostly a derivative of the crusades in the Holy Land, were seen as the epitome of the chivalric lifestyle. This view changed slowly after Grand Duke Jogaila acceded to the Polish throne in 1386 and a year later baptised the grand duchy. With the evangelisation of Žemaitija (Samogitia) in 1417, Lithuania was definitely considered a part of Christendom.

Angels Raising Souls to Heaven: Images of Entering Life after Death during the Christianisation of Livonia and Prussia

Marius Ščavinskas

https://doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v44i0.2572

Pub. online: 7 Dec 2023 Type: Article

Open Access

Abstract

With the Christianisation of the Lithuanians in the Middle Ages, fundamental changes brought new Christian images of the Otherworld and entry to it. The image of souls being raised to heaven by angels is one of the images that emerged in the wake of changes in burial rituals. Based on Medieval historical sources, the article examines the image of the angel ascending to heaven that emerged in Balt and Finno-Ugric countries during their Christianisation. It explains how it is related to the Christian image of the Otherworld, and how it changed the pre-Christian Balt and Finno-Ugric mythical perception of the world beyond. It also explores the question of whether, in the Balt and Finno-Ugric mythical world-view, there may have been companions that conducted the soul in the Otherworld (psychopomps), which are seen as angels in Christianity. The research shows that in the earliest written sources describing ancient Balt and Finno-Ugric burials, there is no mention of spirits or deities acting as psychopomps, or of deities in charge of the deceased. The article argues that converts may have learned about angels raising souls to heaven because burial rituals and the concept of life after death changed in the course of Christianisation in Livonia and Prussia.

Prūsijos gynybos organizavimo principai ir žemėvalda XVI a. pradžioje, remiantis Vokiečių ordino kariniais dokumentais | Land Ownership and Principles of the Organisation of Defence in Early 16th-Century Prussia Based on Military Documents …

Dainius Elertas

https://doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v41i0.2214

Pub. online: 18 Dec 2020 Type: Article

Open Access

Journal: Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis Volume 41 (2020): Aspects of Southeast Baltic Social History: The 14th to the 18th Centuries = Baltijos pietrytinės pakrantės socialinės istorijos aspektai XIV–XVIII amžiais, pp. 73–103

Abstract

The results of the Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) did not remove the tensions between Poland and the Teutonic Order. A new conflict emerged at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, as the Teutonic Order sought to get rid of the Polish king’s protection of the Order’s dominions in Prussia, established under the terms of the Peace of Thorn (Toruń), some of which were not met at all. The article examines several historical sources prepared for the eventual war in Prussia and published a long ago. These are the Military Regulations (Kriegsordnung) of 1507, and two lists of property owners of the Memel (Klaipėda) Command (Komturei) who were to perform their military obligations, dated by previous research to around 1500 or 1510–1520. The connection between these documents has not so far been examined, although the author of the article assumed the existence of a connection a dozen years ago. The author examines this connection in detail, by discussing the emergence of these documents and the efforts of their initiators to adapt innovations in the organisation of defence borrowed from the Holy Roman Empire to the practices of the Teutonic Order. By examining the content of the sources and the statistical information they provide, the article raises a separate question: to what extent do the statistics generated by these sources make it possible to get details about land ownership in Prussia in the early 16th century.

The Priest in the Multilingual Church. Language as an Aspect of the Functioning of the Lower Clergy in Late Medieval Prussia

Marcin Sumowski

https://doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v41i0.2213

Pub. online: 18 Dec 2020 Type: Article

Open Access

Abstract

Late Medieval Prussia, an area ruled by the Teutonic Order, was a multilingual entity, with the Baltic and Slavic languages used by the local population alongside the German language. This linguistic diversity was a challenge to priests, and to their pastoral work. A command of the languages of their parishioners was crucial for them, as they not only had to teach and hear confession, but also to announce the instructions of the local bishop. So far, historians have discussed the linguistic skills of the clergy mainly in the context of the Christianisation of the native Prussian population. This article deals with the issue by focusing on Late Medieval Prussia and the lower clergy. It discusses the provisions of synodal statutes and papal documents regulating the clergy’s command of the languages of their parishioners. The author explores problems of linguistic skill relating to the origin and education of the local clergy, in addition to the impact of the right of patronage and the practical activities of Prussian and Polish chaplains. He also pays attention to the tradition of employing interpreters to support priests who did not know the local Baltic and Slavic languages; this was especially problematic during confession.

Prūsijos valdžios aktų vertimo į lietuvių kalbą bylos atodangos: vienos polemikos istorija | On a Dispute over the Translation of Prussian Government Decrees Published in Lithuanian in the Late-18th Century

Žavinta Sidabraitė

https://doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v35i0.1882

Pub. online: 15 Dec 2017 Type: Article

Open Access

Journal: Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis Volume 35 (2017): The Reformation in the Southeast Baltic Region = Reformacija Baltijos jūros pietryčių regione, pp. 229–251

Abstract

The practice of translating government decrees into Lithuanian and publishing them for Lithuanian speakers living in Prussia has been known since the late 16th century. It stemmed from the policy of multi-lingualism which emerged under Duke Albert, and the establishment of the Reformation in Prussia. Most Lithuanian translations of Prussian government decrees known today date from the 18th century. At that time, the best experts in the Lithuanian language were engaged in their translation and publication. After the potential of Königsberg in Lithuanian studies declined in the second half of the 18th century, efforts to concentrate these activities in the area of Prussia that was still densely inhabited by Lithuanian speakers and called Lithuania at that time, became more active. The article analyses how this change was exploited by the Mielcke family, who were active in Prussian Lithuania. Christian Gottlieb Mielcke, who held a humble cantor’s position in the remote parish of Pillkallen, initiated a discussion on the principles of the edition of Lithuanian hymnals in 1781. His brother Daniel Friedrich, the priest at Ragnit, wrote a complaint about the quality of translations of government decrees into Lithuanian in 1788. This was the beginning of a dispute that eventually involved the Mielcke family in the translation of government decrees.

Vom katholischen Deutschordensgebiet zum protestantischen Herzogtum Preußen | From the Catholic Domains of the Teutonic Order to the Protestant Duchy of Prussia

Friedrich Johannsen Jens Riechmann

https://doi.org/10.15181/ahuk.v35i0.1874

Pub. online: 15 Dec 2017 Type: Article

Open Access

Journal: Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis Volume 35 (2017): The Reformation in the Southeast Baltic Region = Reformacija Baltijos jūros pietryčių regione, pp. 21–44

Abstract

The secularisation of the domains of the Teutonic Order in Prussia led to the establishment of the first Lutheran territorial church in the world. This fact is almost forgotten today, and this is evident even in specialised literature on the Reformation. The article outlines the introduction of the Reformation in Prussia, considering it as an example of its smooth and successful entrenchment. In order to show this, the late stage of the rule of the Teutonic Order is defined, showing that fundamental reform was triggered by a multi-layered crisis characteristic of the Order’s domains in Prussia. The article shows that, in coordination with Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchton, and assisted by his bishops, after becoming the first Duke of Prussia in 1525, Albert, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, implemented reforms in his domains that resembled the main problems raised by the Reformation in an almost exemplary way. But at the same time, it shows that the introduction of the Reformation in Prussia was not a unidirectional process, for Duke Albert supported Andreas Osiander’s ideas for some time, before he gradually entered the ranks of the confessors of Augsburg.

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