Mendeleyevo Microdistrict

Mendeleyevo (Russian: Менделеево) is part of the Tsentralny District in Kaliningrad, Russia. Until 1947, it was known by its German name Juditten (Lithuanian: Judyčių; Polish: Judyty) as first a suburb of and then a quarter of Königsberg, Germany. Juditten Church was a site of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. The philosopher Johann Christoph Gottsched was born in Juditten in 1700.

The estate was first documented ca. 1287 as duas villas sic nominatas Gaudityn near Königsberg. The name was derived from the Old Prussian words gaudis (melancholy) and juodas (dark), describing the landscape. Separately, Eugen Reichel, a historian of Gottsched, attributed the name to a converted Sudovian chieftain known as Gedete who had relocated to Sambia. The site was documented in 1349 as super villam Gauditin, Gauditen and in 1402 as Judynkirchen. In 1670 it was mentioned by its modern German name, Juditten, in ducal documents.

In 1947 Juditten was renamed Mendeleyevo in Russian.

Founded in 1288, the fortified Juditten Church was one of the oldest churches of Samland and included within the state of the Teutonic Order. The estate of Juditten developed nearby. The church was a popular Catholic pilgrimage site, especially during the 14th century rule of Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen; pilgrimages were allowed to continue after Juditten converted to Lutheranism during the Protestant Reformation. It was included within the Duchy of Prussia in 1525 and the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. Juditten was made part of East Prussia in 1773.

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