Before the arrival of the
Teutonic Order, the river valley was here settled by the
Nadruvians, as evidenced by traces of settlements and fortifications found in the area. Teutonic overlordship was established around 1388, but the town is mentioned for the first time in written sources in 1539 as Darkyem. In 1454, the region was incorporated by King
Casimir IV Jagiellon to the
Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic
Prussian Confederation.[10] After the subsequent
Thirteen Years' War, since 1466, it formed part of Poland as a
fief held by the Teutonic Order,[11] and after 1525 it was located in
Ducal Prussia, a vassal duchy of Poland. It was settled by
Lithuanian,
Polish and
German colonists. A first church was built in 1615.[12] From 1701, it formed part of the
Kingdom of Prussia. The settlement remained a village until 1724, when it received
city rights by
Frederick William I of Prussia.[2] Soon afterwards, the town plan was revised with a market square and a new
grid plan. An influx of immigrants followed (in 1725, 103 of the 742 registered inhabitants came from
Salzburg) and
craft production of leather and cloth established in the town. In the 19th century the industry had to close due to competition from more efficient industries in western Germany.
Nine annual
fairs were organized in the town in the late 19th century.[13] Due to its location on the
Angrapa River, a power station established in the watermill was already in 1880 able to produce electrical light for the town. The town was heavily damaged during fighting in
World War I but rebuilt after
garden city ideals following the war, with financial support from the city of
Dresden.[14]
From 1871 to 1945 the town was part of Germany, within which it was administratively located in the province of
East Prussia. Two labour camps of the
Reich Labour Service were operated in the town under
Nazi Germany.[15] It was captured by the
3rd Belorussian Front of the
Red Army on 23 January 1945 in the course of the
East Prussian offensive.[16] After Germany's defeat in
World War II, the town initially passed to Poland under its historic Polish name Darkiejmy, however, it was soon annexed by the
Soviet Union. Its German populace was
expelled in accordance to the
Potsdam Agreement. It was renamed as Ozyorsk on 7 September 1946.[12]
In 1970, the Department of Printed Circuits was established as a branch of the Radiotechnical Measuring Instruments Factory in
Vilnius.[17]
Within the
framework of municipal divisions, since June 11, 2014, the territories of the town of district significance of Ozyorsk and of three
rural okrugs of Ozyorsky District are incorporated as Ozyorsky Urban Okrug.[5] Before that, the town of district significance was incorporated within Ozyorsky Municipal District as Ozyorskoye Urban Settlement.[18]
Culture
The Central Library is the town's main public library.[19] The
Jan Kochanowski Association of Polish Culture is a cultural institution of the local Polish community, which also offers teaching of Polish language, history, geography and literature.[20]
Notable people
Gustav Bauer (1870–1944), politician and Chancellor of Germany in 1919–1920
Sergei Skripal (born 23 June 1951), former Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent for the UK's intelligence services during the 1990s and early 2000s.
^
abИстории Озёрска (in Russian, Polish, English, and German). Озёрск. pp. 52–55.
^Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom I (in Polish). Warszawa. 1880. p. 905.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Weise, Erich, ed. (1981) [1966]. Handbuch der historischen Stätten. Ost- und Westpreussen (in German). Stuttgart: Kröner. p. 36.
ISBN3-520-31701-X.
^Истории Озёрска (in Russian, Polish, English, and German). Озёрск. pp. 44–47.
^Истории Озёрска (in Russian, Polish, English, and German). Озёрск. pp. 60–63.
Sources
Правительство Калининградской области. Постановление №640 от 30 августа 2011 г. «Об утверждении реестра объектов административно-территориального деления Калининградской области», в ред. Постановления №877 от 21 ноября 2011 г «О внесении изменения в Постановление Правительства Калининградской области от 30 августа 2011 г. №640». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Калининградская правда" (вкладыш "Официально"), №170, 15 сентября 2011 г. (Government of Kaliningrad Oblast. Resolution #640 of August 30, 2011 On the Adoption of the Registry of the Objects of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of Kaliningrad Oblast, as amended by the Resolution #877 of November 21, 2011 On Amending the Resolution of the Government of Kaliningrad Oblast #640 of August 30, 2011. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
Калининградская областная Дума. Закон №320 от 10 июня 2014 г. «Об объединении поселений, входящих в состав Озёрского муниципального района, и организации местного самоуправления на объединённой территории». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Калининградская правда" (вкладыш "Официальный вестник Правительства Калининградской области"), №103, 11 июня 2014 г. (Kaliningrad Oblast Duma. Law #320 of June 10, 2014 On the Merger of the Settlements Within Ozyorsky Municipal District and on the Organization of the Local Self-Government on the Merged Territories. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
Калининградская областная Дума. Закон №259 от 30 июня 2008 г. «Об организации местного самоуправления на территории муниципального образования "Озёрский городской округ"», в ред. Закона №370 от 1 июля 2009 г «О составе территорий муниципальных образований Калининградской области». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Калининградская правда", №124, 11 июля 2008 г. (Kaliningrad Oblast Duma. Law #259 of June 30, 2008 On the Organization of the Local Self-Government on the Territory of the Municipal Formation of "Ozyorsky Urban Okrug", as amended by the Law #370 of July 1, 2009 On the Composition of the Territories of the Municipal Formations of Kaliningrad Oblast. Effective as of the day of the official publication; rescinded effective June 11, 2014.).