Działdowo

History

The first settlement in the vicinity, known as Sasinowie in Polish and Sassen in German, was established by the Old Prussians, an indigenous Baltic tribe. The Teutonic Knights conquered the region and built a castle, a wing of which still remains. The new settlement near the castle founded by Mikołaj z Karbowa and named Soldov was granted town privileges on 14 August 1344 by the Grand Master Ludolf König. The name Dzialdoff was first written on a 1409 map during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. and then the townspeople expelled the Teutonic Knights and recognized the Polish King as rightful ruler. During the subsequent Thirteen Years' War, the town was briefly captured by the Teutonic Knights in 1455. After the peace treaty signed in Toruń in 1466, it became a part of Poland as a fief held by the State of the Teutonic Knights. Within the Duchy of Prussia (a Polish fiefdom until 1657), the settlement converted to Lutheranism during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. The following communes belonged to the Protestant parish of Soldau: Borowo, Bursz, Gajówki, Kisiny, Komorniki, Księży Dwór, Kurki, Malinowo, Pierławki, Prusinowo, Rudolfowo, Wysoka, and Zakrzewo. In 1701, the town became part of the Kingdom of Prussia, from 1773 on within the newly formed province of East Prussia. Within the Kingdom of Prussia and the later German Empire, the settlement developed into an important Prussian Eastern Railway junction in the second half of the 19th century. The town had a Polish majority in 1825, with 1,496 Poles and 386 Germans living within it. At the same time, the Prussian authorities were hostile to the local population due to its Polish pro-independence activity during the November and January Uprisings in Congress Poland. During the January Uprising of…

Most-observed species

• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  62
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  48
• Barn Swallow

  Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  48
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  43
• Common Crane

  Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  39
• Eurasian Marsh-Harrier

  Circus aeruginosus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34
• Eurasian Skylark

  Alauda arvensis Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  33
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  30