Kreis Rastenburg Explained

The district of Rastenburg was a district in East Prussia which existed from 1818 to 1945. Its capital was the town of Rastenburg. Already from 1752 to 1818, there was a Rastenburg district in East Prussia, which, however, encompassed a much larger area.

History

Kingdom of Prussia

A comprehensive district reform was carried out in all of East Prussia, as the districts established in 1752 had proven to be inexpedient and too large. The Rastenburg district was reduced in size on February 1, 1818 and became part of Regierungsbezirk Königsberg in the Prussian province of East Prussia. It initially included the parishes of Bartenstein, Bäslack, Falkenau, Gallingen, Groß Schwansfeld, Gudnick, Lamgarben, Langheim, Leunenburg, Paaris, Rastenburg, Schönfließ-Tolksdorf, Schwarzstein and Wenden.

On April 1, 1819, the district boundaries were changed again. The parishes of Barten, Drengfurth and Groß Wolfsdorf were transferred from the Gerdauen district to the Rastenburg district and the Bartenstein, Falkenau, Gallingen and Groß Schwansfeld parishes were transferred from the Rastenburg district to the Friedland district.^[1]

Germany

From 1871, the district belonged to the German Reich.

In September 1940, not far from Rastenburg, in the Görlitzer Forest near the small town of Görlitz, the Wolf's Lair headquarters was set up under the highest degree of secrecy during the preparations for the war in the east. The Army High Command was located about 13 km to the northeast in Mauerwald on the Mauersee.

Towards the end of World War II, the district was occupied by the Red Army in January 1945. In the summer of 1945, the Rastenburg district was placed under Polish administration by the Soviets in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, together with the southern half of East Prussia. The German inhabitants of the district were subsequently expelled by the local Polish administrative authorities.

Demographics

According to the census of 1831, the district had a population of 31,501, of which 28,715 (91.2%) were Germans and 2,786 (8.8%) were Poles.^[2]

Municipalities

At the time of its dissolution in 1945, the Rastenburg district contained 3 towns and 76 rural communities:^[3]

Alt Rosenthal Babziens Bannaskeim Barten, town Bäslack Baumgarten Blaustein Borschenen Bürgersdorf Dönhofstädt Drengfurth, town Freudenberg Fürstenau Glaubitten Godocken Groß Galbuhnen Groß Köskeim Groß Neuhof Groß Winkeldorf Gudnick

Heiligelinde Jäglack Jankenwalde Kaltwangen Kamplack Karschau Kemlack Korschen Kotittlack Krausendorf Kremitten Lablack Lamgarben Langheim Laxdoyen Marienthal Meistersfelde Modgarben Muhlack Neu Rosenthal

Neuendorf Paaris Partsch Pastern Plehnen Podlacken Podlechen Pohiebels Pötschendorf Prangenau Prassen Pülz Rastenburg, town Rodehlen Salzbach Sansgarben Sausgörken Scharfs Schlömpen Schönfließ

Schrankheim Schülzen Schwarzstein Seeligenfeld Spiegels Stettenbruch Sußnick Taberwiese Tolksdorf Wehlack Weischnuren Weitzdorf Wendehnen Wenden Widrinnen Wilkendorf Wolfshagen Woplauken Zandersdorf

Notes and References

1. Web site: Rastenburg. 2021-04-18. www.territorial.de.
2. Book: Belzyt, Leszek. Sprachliche Minderheiten im preussischen Staat: 1815 - 1914 ; die preußische Sprachenstatistik in Bearbeitung und Kommentar. 1998. Herder-Inst.. 978-3-87969-267-5. Marburg.
3. Web site: Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Ostpreussen, Kreis Rastenburg. 2021-04-18. treemagic.org.