Heydekrug district

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The district Heydekrug .
Red: circle borders,
yellow: today's border between Lithuania (north) and Russia (south).
The area that today belongs to Russia was separated from the circle in 1920, the area marked in red in the southeast was added in 1920 (the Treaty of Versailles entered into force). According to the border regulation treaty of January 29, 1928, the German-Lithuanian border in the Curonian Lagoon ran from the old district border on the Curonian Spit in a straight line to the outlet of the Straight East into the Curonian Lagoon ( Reichsgesetzblatt 1929 II, p. 212).

The Heydekrug district (before January 1, 1939 Heydekrug district ) was a Prussian district in the Gumbinnen administrative district of the Prussian or East Prussian province and existed with interruptions from 1818 to 1945. The seat of the district administration was the municipality (from 1941 town) Heydekrug (today Šilutė ). From 1920 to 1939, most of the district area belonged to the Memelland, which was separated from the German Reich and added to Lithuania .

The northern part is now in the Lithuanian district of Klaipėda ( Memel ), the southern part is in the Slavsk Rajon (Heinrichswalde) of the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast .

geography

View from the north of Ruß and the estuary of the river of the same name (left), in the center of the picture the Skirwieth / Skirwiet (today the border between Lithuania and Russia), on the right in front the Atmath, in the background the Curonian Lagoon

The district was in Prussian Lithuania on the Curonian Lagoon . In the north it bordered the district of Memel (until 1920 in the Koenigsberg district ), in the east on the Russian Empire ( Gouvernement Kovno ) and from 1918 on Lithuania, in the southeast on the district of Tilsit (from 1920 on the district of Pogegen , from October 1, 1939 Tilsit -Ragnit) and in the south to the Niederung district ( elk lowlands from 1938).

Heydekrug was very small and, from 1941, the only town in the district. Before Heydekrug became a town, it was also known as a “ patch ”. The next larger cities were Memel (45 km north) and Tilsit (40 km southeast). The provincial capital Königsberg was about 100 km to the south-west (as the crow flies, especially in the latter case, the overland route is much longer due to the bypassing of the lagoon). Immediately east of the border with Russia / Lithuania was Žemaičių Naumiestis (German Neustadt ).

The Ruß (new spelling Russ ) flows through the south of the district , an estuary of the Memel , which runs through the place of the same name and divides again there. The Minge , which flows into the Atmath here, flowed through the northern district . The Augustumaler Bruch wetland lay on its eastern bank . The Atmath (one of the soot arms) flows into the Curonian Lagoon at Windenburger Eck and Windenburger Eck .

population

year number Remarks
1836 23,267
1871 39,098
1885 42,394
1890 42,143
1895 42,554
1900 43,825
1905 43,268 Languages: 23,279 Lithuanian, 19,124 German; Religion: 40,906 Protestants, 1,738 Catholics, 241 Jews
1910 43,309

traffic

Petersbrücke

A line operated by the Prussian State Railway ran through the district from Tilsit via Pogegen (Pagėgiai) and Heydekrug to Memel, which was opened on June 1, 1875. The line was extended in 1892 to the German border station Bajohren and later led via Kretinga (German Krottingen ) to Riga .

From Heydekrug a 14.2 km long normal gauge small railway led to Kolleschen. It was opened on December 1, 1913. The rails were dismantled after the Second World War.

The Reichsstrasse 132 led from Tilsit via Heydekrug and Memel to the northernmost village in Germany, to Nimmersatt (Nemirseta). There was a border crossing into the Lithuanian Polangen (Palanga).

In October 1914 the first bridge over the Atmath near Ruß (Russ), the Petersbrücke , named after the district administrator at the time , was opened to traffic. It had an electrically operated bascule bridge between the two large steel arches for the passage of sailing ships. On October 9, 1944, the Petersbrücke was blown up by German pioneers during the withdrawal of the Wehrmacht. A new bridge was only built around 400 m north of the destroyed bridge in 1974 . She no longer has a bascule bridge for large sailing ships. The new bridge is 332 m long. However, their greatest headroom at mean water is 15 meters.

From Ruß (Russ) a ferry connection led to Nida (Nida) and Schwarzort (Juodkrantė) on the Curonian Spit and from there to Memel. Excursion steamers also drove from Heydekrug to the Curonian Spit.

Communities

On October 1, 1944, the Heydekrug district comprised:

  • the city of Heydekrug, today Šilutė in Lithuania
  • 96 other municipalities
  • 6 manor districts and the Haff part of the district.

District administrators

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Šilutė
  • 1818–1853: Carl Zobel von Zabeltitz
  • 1853–1866: Theodor Degen
  • 1866–1867: Richard Kunisch von Richthofen (acting)
  • 1867–1898: Richard von Lyncker
  • 1898–1909: Rudolf Domrich
  • 1909–1910: Johannes Franz Kunze
  • 1910–1914: Heinrich Peters
  • 1914–1915: Ernst Ancker (substitute)
  • 1915–1916: Heinrich Hahn (acting)
  • 1916–1919: Arnold Fuhrmann
  • 1919–1920: Hugo Swart
  • 1921 -9999: Hugo Scheu ( acting )
  • 1921–1922: Stein (acting)
  • 1922–1924: Erich Scheu
  • 1924–1926: Earth Monas Simonaitis (acting)
  • 1926 -9999: Hugo Scheu (substitute)
  • 1926 -9999: Oertel (representative)
  • 1926–1928: Oselies (acting)
  • 1928 -9999: Hugo Scheu (acting)
  • 1928–1929: Earth Monas Simonaitis (acting)
  • 1929–1934: August Baldschus
  • 1934–1935: Mitzkus (acting)
  • 1935 -9999: Earth Monas Simonaitis (acting)
  • 1935–1939: Walter Buttkereit
  • 1939 -9999: Otto Bochum
  • 1939 -9999: Noack (substitute)
  • 1939 -9999: Helmut Damerau (substitute)
  • 1939–1940: Noack (substitute)
  • 1940 -9999: Seiler (substitute)
  • 1940–1942: Schmidt (substitute)
  • 1942 -9999: Helmut Damerau
  • 1942–1943: Krause (substitute)
  • 1943–1944: Gerhard Kolhoff (substitute)

Administrative history

founding

Heydekrug small train station

With the Prussian administrative reforms after the Congress of Vienna , the Heydekrug district in the Gumbinnen district in the province of Prussia was established on September 1, 1818 (the Eastern Prussia administrative unit only existed from 1878).

This included the parishes :

  • Kallningken , Herdenau since 1938, today Prochladnoje
  • Kinten , today Kintai
  • Soot , today Rusnė
  • Schakuhnen , since 1938 Schakendorf, today Levobereschnoje
  • Became part of the municipality since May 1, 1939, from 1941 district of Heydekrug, today Verdainė near Šilutė

The district office was in Heydekrug.

Change of provincial borders

Since December 3, 1829, after the merger of the previous provinces of Prussia and West Prussia, the district belonged to the new province of Prussia with its seat in Königsberg i. Pr.

Since July 1, 1867, the district belonged to the North German Confederation and from January 1, 1871 to the German Empire . After the province of Prussia was divided into the new provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia , the Heydekrug district became part of East Prussia on April 1, 1878.

Separation of the Memel area

Winterly Skirwieth stream

With the entry into force of the Versailles Peace Treaty on January 10, 1920, the Heydekrug district became part of the newly established Memel region , with the main part of the soot north of the Memel estuary. The southern remainder of the Heydekrug district that remained with the German Reich was temporarily co-administered by the district administrator in Heinrichswalde (Slavsk) , Niederung district (later Elchniederung district) and formally incorporated into this district on July 1, 1922. Likewise, on January 27, 1920, the rural communities of Groß Schilleningken, Heinrichsfelde, Klein Schilleningken and Leitgirren of the Niederung district to the north of the Ruß (Russ) were attached to the Heydekrug district. The Perwallkischken manor district, however, fell to the newly formed Pogegen district, which almost enclosed it.

Shortly before it flows into the lagoon, the Skirwieth Stream divides into two arms, the Wittinnis-Ost and the Ostraginnis-Ost, which flow around an offshore island, the Helena-Werder. The affiliation of Helena-Werder to the Memel region was originally controversial. Initially, the German Empire claimed Helena-Werder for itself, so that the northern branch of the Skirwieth River would have formed the new border. Since the delimitation by the Treaty of Versailles was not clear here, the French governor, General Odry, had a decision made by the conference of ambassadors charged with implementing the peace treaty. The latter made its decision to the effect that the branch of the mouth of the Skirwieth River that forms the shipping line is to be regarded as the boundary line. Since the southern arm (the Ostraginnis-Ost) formed the shipping line, the Helena-Werder was then included in the Heydekrug district and thus in the Memel area. The border disputes were finally settled only by the treaty between the German Reich and the Republic of Lithuania on the regulation of border conditions of January 29, 1928 (see Reichsgesetzblatt 1929, Part II, p. 212). In this contract z. B. also regulated the borders on the Memelbrücken in Tilsit.

On January 10, 1923, the Memel region was occupied by Lithuanian troops and on May 7, 1923, it was placed under Lithuanian sovereignty.

Return to Germany

As a result of the treaty on the reunification of the Memel area with the German Reich of March 22, 1939 (see Reichsgesetzblatt 1939, Part II, p. 608), the Heydekrug district of Lithuania (Memel area) returned to the German Reich. As before 1920, it was reintegrated into the Gumbinnen administrative district in the East Prussian province. According to the uniform regulations in the empire, it was now referred to as a district .

With the dissolution of the neighboring district of Pogegen , the district of Heydekrug was considerably enlarged. He received on October 1, 1939 (see Reichsgesetzblatt 1939, Part I, p. 1453):

  • from the former district of Pogegen the rural communities Akmonischken , Alt Stremehnen, Altweide, Augskieken, Bersteningken, Coadjuthen, Heydeberg, Kaszemecken, Kawohlen, Matzstubbern, Medischkehmen, Meischlauken, Mädewald, Pageldienen, Pakamonen, Skerswethen, Stonepon-Rödszen, Uszeiton-Rödszen, Uszeitonischken Wersmeningken and the manor district of Dingken, Forst (partially),
  • from the district of Elchniederung the communities Elchwinkel and Skirwiet.

After the Second World War

Gravestone in the former German cemetery of Uszlöknen (Užliekniai)

The district was occupied by the Red Army in October 1944 during the Baltic Operation and then became part of the Soviet Union, which assigned the north to the Lithuanian and the south to the Russian Soviet Republic . The resident German population, unless they had fled, was subsequently expelled from the war zone by 1950 .

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union , the two districts have been located in Lithuania and the Russian Oblast Kaliningrad (as part of the Slavsk Rajon , which emerged from the former Moose Plain district).

Local constitution

The district was initially divided into rural communities and independent manor districts. This communal structure remained largely in place during the Memelland era.

The development that had taken place in Prussia in the 1920s and 1930s was carried out on May 1, 1939 after the reclassification. At this time, the German municipal code of January 30, 1935, which had been in force in the German Reich for a long time , was introduced, according to which the previous state municipalities were now referred to as municipalities . On the same day, a regional reform took place in which almost all previously independent manor districts were dissolved and assigned to neighboring communities; furthermore, the number of municipalities was considerably reduced by amalgamation. The grouping of the municipalities into administrative districts also changed.

The rural community of Heydekrug, which now had urban trains, was named "City" on September 27, 1941.

A new district constitution was no longer created; The Prussian district order for the provinces of East and West Prussia, Brandenburg, Pomerania, Silesia and Saxony of December 13, 1872 in the version valid since April 1, 1884 , continued to apply.

Place names

A radical Germanization of the Memelland-Lithuanian-Kurish place names had been prepared, but was not carried out until the end of the war. The last official change of a place name took place on July 9, 1942. Here the community Heydeberg was renamed Kugelhof .

See also

literature

  • Gustav Neumann : Geography of the Prussian State. 2nd edition, Volume 2, Berlin 1874, pp. 26-27, item 1.
  • Walter Buttkereit: The Heydekrug district (Memelland) . Flensburg-Mürwik 1976.
  • Paul Dost: The private railways and small railways in East Prussia . Böttcher's Little Railway Writings. Issue 37. Episode 1.
  • Map of the German Empire , scale 1: 100,000. Large leaf 1
  • Wilhelm Keil: Neumann's local lexicon of the German Empire. A geographic-statistical reference book for German cultural studies . 3. Edition. Leipzig 1894.

swell

  • Official gazette of the government in Gumbinnen, year 1939, p. 115 (municipalities from May 1, 1939)
  • Reichsgesetzblatt 1929, part II, year 1929, p. 212 (regulation of the boundary conditions)
  • Reichsgesetzblatt 1939, part I, year 1939, p. 1453 (new district division in Memelland)
  • Reichsgesetzblatt 1939, part II, year 1939, p. 608 (reclassification agreement of March 22, 1939)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Germany and its inhabitants. A handbook of patriotism for all classes, edited by K. Fr. Vollrath Hoffman (Stuttgart 1836), p. 356.
  2. ^ Community encyclopedia for the Kingdom of Prussia. Based on the materials from the census of December 1, 1905 and other official sources, edited by the Royal Prussian State Statistical Office. Book I. Province of East Prussia, pp. 314–315.