Gmina Prabuty Time zone CET (UTC+1) Area 5.92 km² Population 8,488 (2006) | Town rights 1330 Postal code 82–550 Elevation 90 m Local time Saturday 6:57 PM | |
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Weather 4°C, Wind NW at 16 km/h, 80% Humidity | ||
Prabuty [praˈbutɨ] (German: Riesenburg) is a town in Kwidzyn County within the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland. In the period between 1975–98 Prabuty were part of the Elbląg Voivodeship.
Contents
Map of Prabuty, Poland
Geographical location
Prabuty is located approximately 18 kilometers east of Kwidzyn, 100 kilometers south-east of Gdańsk, 100 kilometers west of Olsztyn and 133 kilometers south-west of Kaliningrad.
Prabuty is an important rail junction on the Warszawa–Gdynia railway.
History
In 1236, the Teutonic Knights under Henry III, Margrave of Meissen, destroyed an Old Prussian fortress between the lakes Sorgensee (jez. Dzierzgon) and Liwieniec. The town was first mentioned in 1250 as Riesenburg. The village growing around the castle and received Culm law city rights on 30 October 1330 from bishop Rudolf of Pomesania (1322–1332).
In 1451 the town council joined the Prussian Confederation that opposed the Teutonic Order, but bishop Kaspar Linke expelled the councilors and confiscated their property. After the Battle of Chojnice, in which Polish forces were defeated, the town sided with the Order again.
After the Thirteen Years' War and the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) the town became part of Ducal Prussia although Pomesanian bishops retained their rule over the area. A synod was held in the town in 1556.
Riesenburg suffered during the 17th century Polish-Swedish wars. In 1628 half of it burnt down, and in 1688 it burnt down completely. In 1722 fire caused great destructions.
In 1701,as part of Ducal Prussia, the town became a part of the Kingdom of Prussia and part of the newly created province of West Prussia in 1772. In 1871 the town became part of the German Empire in the framework of the Prussian-led unification of Germany. Until 1919 Riesenburg belonged to the administrative district of Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder in the Province of West Prussia.
After World War I, a referendum was held concerning the future nationality of the town, which remained part of Weimar Germany. From 1920 to 1939 Riesenburg belonged to the administrative district of Regierungsbezirk Westpreußen in the Province of East Prussia and from October 26, 1939, to 1945 to the district Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder in the province of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia.
The town was captured by the Soviet Red Army in 1945 during World War II. It then became part of Poland. Most of the native East-Prussian inhabitants were expelled and replaced by Poles from regions east of the Curzon Line, in particular from the former Polish Kresy Wschodnie.
Heinz Heydrich (1905–44, suicide), brother of Reinhard Heydrich, is buried in a soldiers cemetery Riesenburg, according to the Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt).