Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast

Sovetsk ( _ru. Сове́тск), prior to 1945 known by its German name Tilsit ( _lt. Tilžė; _pl. Tylża), is a town now in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia on the south bank of the Neman River. Population: 43,278 (2004 est.); 43,224 (2002 Census); 41,881 (1989 Census).

History of Tilsit

Tilsit, which received civic rights in 1552, grew up around a castle of the Teutonic Knights, known as the Schalauner Haus, founded in 1288. It is most famous because of the Treaties of Tilsit signed here in July 1807, the preliminaries of which were settled by the emperors Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon I of France on a raft moored in the river Neman. This treaty, which created the Kingdom of Westphalia and the Duchy of Warsaw, completed Napoleon's humiliation of the Kingdom of Prussia, when she was deprived of one half of her dominions.

This short-lived peace-treaty is also remarkable for quite another reason. Three days before its signing, Prussian queen Luise (1776 - 1810) tried to persuade Napoleon in a private conversation to ease his hard conditions on Prussia. Although without any result, Luise's effort greatly endeared her to the Prussian people. Her popularity in Germany lives on, up to the present day.

Until 1945 a marble tablet marked the house in which King Frederick William III of Prussia and Queen Louise resided. Also, in the former Schenkendorf Platz was a monument to the poet Max von Schenkendorf (1783-1817) a native of Tilsit. During the 19th century when the Lithuanian language was banned within the Russian Empire, Tilsit was an important center for printing Lithuanian books which then were smuggled by Knygnešiai to the Russian-controlled part of Lithuania. In general, Tilsit thrived and was an important Prussian town. By 1900 it had electric tramways and 34,500 inhabitants; a direct railway line linked it to Königsberg and Labiau and steamers docked there daily. The Act of Tilsit was signed here by leaders of the Lietuvininks in 1918.

During the time of Nazi Germany, Tilsit was a "Militärischer Vorbereich of the Königsberg Militärischer Bereich", which was part of Wehrkreis I. Adolf Hitler visited the town just before the start of World War II, and there is a famous picture of him on the bridge over the Neman River.

Tilsit was occupied by the Red Army on January 20, 1945, and was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945. The remaining Germans who had not evacuated were subsequently expelled and replaced with Soviet citizens. The town was renamed Sovetsk by the new communist rulers in 1945, in honor of the Soviet system of rule.

Modern Sovetsk has tried to take advantage of Tilsit's rich traditions of cheese production (Tilsit cheese), but the new name "Sovetsky" has not caught on.

Architecture

Many of the town's buildings were destroyed during World War II. However, the old city center still includes several German buildings, including those of Jugendstil design. The bridge of Queen Louise, now connecting the town to Panemunė in Lithuania, retains an old styled arch; prior to the war, the bridge was even more impressive.

Notable residents

*Max von Schenkendorf (1783-1817), poet and author
*Hans Victor von Unruh (1806-1886), politician and technician
*Ludwig Karl James Aegidi (1825-1901), publicist and politician
*Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt (1849-1922), the inspiration for "Der Hauptmann von Köpenick"
*Gustaf Kossinna or Kossina (1858-1931), archaeologist
*Johanna Wolff (1858-1943), author
*Emil Wiechert (1861-1928), geophysicist
*Max Gülstorff (1882–1947), actor
*Carl Brinkmann (1885-1954), sociologist and economist
*Frank Wisbar (1899-1967) director
*Karl Hermann Martell (1906-1966), actor
*Johannes Bobrowski (1917-1965), writer
*Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 1930), actor
*Sabine Bethmann (born 1931), actress
*Kristel Neidhart (born 1933), writer
*John Kay (born 1944), lead singer of the popular late 1960s rock band Steppenwolf
*Edgar Froese (born 1944), the founder and leader of the electronic music group Tangerine Dream

Historical population

*1880: 21,400
*1900: 34,539
*1910: 39,013
*1925: 50,834
*1933: 57,286
*1939: 59,105
*1946: 6,500
*2002: 41,000
*2004: 43,300

References

* "Northern Germany" by Karl Baedeker, 14th revised edition, London, 1904, p.178.
*1911

External links

* [http://www.sovetsk39.ru Sovetsk39.ru]
* [http://www.tilsit.com Tilsit.com]