Gvardeysk, is a town and the administrative center of Gvardeysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pregolya River 38 kilometers (24 mi) east of Kaliningrad. Population figures: 13,353 (2021 Census); 13,899 (2010 Russian census); 14,572 (2002 Census); 11,904 (1989 Soviet census). It is located within the historic region of Sambia.
Central square in Gvardeysk
14th Century Teutonic Order Castle
16th century depiction of Tapiau
Old town hall
The Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of Roman Catholic crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights, to Christianize under duress the pagan Old Prussians. Invited after earlier unsuccessful expeditions against the Prussians by Christian Polish kings, the Teutonic Knights began campaigning against the Prussians, Lithuanians and Samogitians in 1230. By the end of the century, having quelled several Prussian uprisings, the Knights had established control over Prussia and administered the conquered Prussians through their monastic state, eventually erasing the Prussian language, culture and pre-Christian religion by a combination of physical and ideological force. Some Prussians took refuge in neighboring Lithuania.
Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.