East Prussia

East Prussia (German: Ostpreußen; Lithuanian: Ryt? Pr?sija; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: ????????? ??????? — Vostochnaya Prussiya; Dutch: Oost-Pruisen; Spanish: Prusia Oriental;) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and of the German Empire, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. Today the northern part of East Prussia, with the exception of the "Memelland" which is now part of Lithuania, corresponds to Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast (Königsberg); the southern parts form Poland's Warminsko-Mazurskie Voivodship. East Prussia enclosed the bulk of the ancient ancestral lands of the Baltic Prussians.

From Knights to Vassals

During the 15th century, the Teutonic Knights ruled over the land of Prussia through their monastic state. The Knights' rivalry with the Kingdom of Poland embroiled them in several wars, including the Thirteen Years War. Its end at the Second Treaty of Thorn in 1466 left western Prussia under Polish control as the province "Royal Prussia" and eastern Prussia remaining under the knights, but as a Polish fief.

Related Topics:
15th century - Teutonic Knights - Prussia - Monastic state - Kingdom of Poland - Thirteen Years War - Second Treaty of Thorn - 1466 - Royal Prussia - Fief

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This remaining eastern Prussia was lost to the Order in 1525 when Grand Master Albert Hohenzollern secularized the Prussian branch of the Teutonic Order, establishing himself as the Duke of Prussia as a vassal of the Polish crown. Albert's line died out in 1618, and Ducal Prussia passed to the electors of Brandenburg, forming Brandenburg-Prussia. The elector-dukes freed themselves of their Polish vassaldom in the Treaty of Wehlau in 1660.

Related Topics:
1525 - Albert Hohenzollern - Duke - Vassal - 1618 - Ducal Prussia - Brandenburg - Brandenburg-Prussia - Treaty of Wehlau - 1660

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