Nesterov
Нестеров
Town[1]
Leningradskaya Street in Nesterov
Leningradskaya Street in Nesterov
Coat of arms of Nesterov
Coat of arms
Location of Nesterov
Map
Nesterov is located in Kaliningrad Oblast
Nesterov
Nesterov
Location of Nesterov
Nesterov is located in European Russia
Nesterov
Nesterov
Nesterov (European Russia)
Nesterov is located in Europe
Nesterov
Nesterov
Nesterov (Europe)
Coordinates: 54°37′50″N 22°34′24″E / 54.63056°N 22.57333°E / 54.63056; 22.57333
CountryRussia
Federal subjectKaliningrad Oblast[1]
Administrative districtNesterovsky District[1]
Town of district significanceNesterov[1]
First mentioned1539
Town status since1722[2]
Elevation
65 m (213 ft)
Population
 (2010 Census)[3]
 • Total4,595
 • Estimate 
(2018)[4]
4,001 (−12.9%)
 • Capital ofNesterovsky District,[1] town of district significance of Nesterov[1]
 • Municipal districtNesterovsky Municipal District[5]
 • Urban settlementNesterovskoye Urban Settlement[5]
 • Capital ofNesterovsky Municipal District,[5] Nesterovskoye Urban Settlement[5]
Time zoneUTC+2 (MSK–1 Edit this on Wikidata[6])
Postal code(s)[7]
238010
Dialing code(s)+7 40144
OKTMO ID27624101001

Nesterov (Russian: Не́стеров), until 1938 known by its German name Stallupönen (Lithuanian: Stalupėnai; Polish: Stołupiany[8]) and in 1938-1946 as Ebenrode, is a town and the administrative center of Nesterovsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located 140 kilometers (87 mi) east of Kaliningrad, near the Russian-Lithuanian border on the railway connecting Kaliningrad Oblast with Moscow. Population figures: 4,595 (2010 Census);[3] 5,049 (2002 Census);[9] 4,826 (1989 Census).[10]

History

In the Middle Ages, the area in Old Prussia had been settled by the Nadruvian tribe of the Baltic Prussians. It was conquered by the Teutonic Knights in about 1276 and incorporated into the State of the Teutonic Order. From the 15th century onwards, the Knights largely resettled the lands with Samogitian and Lithuanian colonists. Since 1466, it was part of the Kingdom of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Order.[11]

Stallupönen in 1906

The settlement itself was first mentioned as Stallupoenen, or Stallupönen, in 1539, named after a nearby river called Stalupė in Lithuanian.[citation needed] At that time, with the secularization of the Order's Prussian lands in 1525, Stallupönen had already become part of the Duchy of Prussia, a Polish fief which in 1618 was inherited by the Hohenzollern margraves of Brandenburg. Stallupönen then belonged to Brandenburg-Prussia and became a part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. The population was decimated during the Great Northern War plague outbreak in 1710.[12] The settlement was resettled by Lithuanian and German colonists in the following years.[12] King Frederick William I granted it town privileges in 1722.[2] Lithuanian poet Kristijonas Donelaitis was the rector of the local school in 1740–1743.[12] Like other cities in the region during the Seven Years' War between 1757 and 1762, it was occupied by the Russian forces. It became part of the newly formed province of East Prussia in 1773. During the Prussian-led unification of Germany, Stallupönen became a part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1885, the town had a largely Lithuanian-speaking population of 4,181, often employed in agriculture.[8] With the construction of railways, the town became well-acquainted to travelers, as it was the last stop on the German-Russian frontier. Here, travelers made the transfer from standard gauge railway carriages of western Europe to the broad gauge carriages of Russia.

Devastated Stallupönen, 1914

In August 1914, the city and the surrounding area were a focal point of Battle of Stallupönen between Russian and German armies, an opening battle on the Eastern Front of World War I. It was occupied by the Russian Army between August 18, 1914 and February 18, 1915.

Because of the Lithuanian minority living there, Lithuania tried unsuccessfully to obtain the town from Germany after regaining independence following World War I. Because "Stallupönen" sounded too "un-German", the Nazi regime renamed the town Ebenrode in 1938.[citation needed]

During World War II, the Germans operated a subcamp of the Stalag I-A prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs in the town.[13] From June 1941 to June 1942, the Germans also operated the Oflag 52 [pl] POW camp for Allied officers,[14] and in September–October 1942, they operated the Stalag I-D POW camp,[15] which was eventually relocated to Šilutė in German-occupied Lithuania.[16] The town was overrun by the Soviet Red Army during World War II on January 13, 1945. The region was transferred from Germany to the Russian SFSR in 1945 and made a part of Kaliningrad Oblast. In 1946, the town, whose German inhabitants had been largely evacuated or expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, was renamed Nesterov after Sergey Nesterov, a Soviet war hero who was killed in the vicinity.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Nesterov serves as the administrative center of Nesterovsky District.[1] As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Nesterovsky District as the town of district significance of Nesterov.[1] As a municipal division, the town of district significance of Nesterov is incorporated within Nesterovsky Municipal District as Nesterovskoye Urban Settlement.[5]

Culture

Today Nesterov is one of the cultural centers of the Lithuanian minority in Russia.

Notable people

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Resolution #640
  2. ^ a b Энциклопедия Города России. Moscow: Большая Российская Энциклопедия. 2003. p. 295. ISBN 5-7107-7399-9.
  3. ^ a b Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
  4. ^ "26. Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2018 года". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e Law #258
  6. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  7. ^ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
  8. ^ a b Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XI (in Polish). Warszawa. 1890. p. 368.((cite book)): CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
  10. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
  11. ^ Górski, Karol (1949). Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych (in Polish and Latin). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. pp. 96–97, 214–215.
  12. ^ a b c Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom XI, p. 369
  13. ^ "Ebenrode (Stalag IA / EB)" (in German). Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  14. ^ "German Oflag Camps". Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  15. ^ "Ebenrode (Stalag ID)" (in German). Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  16. ^ "German Camps". Retrieved April 2, 2022.

Sources

Categories