Polessk

Polessk (Russian: Полесск; German: Labiau; Lithuanian: Labguva; Polish: Labiawa) is a town and the administrative center of Polessky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located 49 kilometers (30 mi) northeast of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast, at the junction of a main road and a railroad at the Deyma River, shortly before it enters the Curonian Lagoon. Population figures: 7,581 (2010 census); 7,681 (2002 census); 6,859 (1989 Soviet census); 4,744 (1885). The Polessk Canal begins in the town. It was founded in the 13th century, by the Teutonic Order who erected a castle there and named it Labiau. Initially it was part of the State of the Teutonic Order. In 1454, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation. After the subsequent Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466) the settlement became a part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Knights until 1525 and by Ducal Prussia afterwards. In this town, on November 20, 1656, was signed the Treaty of Labiau. Lithuanian church services were held at the local church. From the 18th century, it was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, and from 1871 it was also part of Germany, within which it was administratively located in the province of East Prussia.