Tapiau

Gvardeysk (English) Гвардейск (Russian)
-  Town  -
Central square in Gvardeysk
Location of Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia
Gvardeysk Location of Gvardeysk in Kaliningrad Oblast
Coordinates: 54°40′N 21°05′E / 54.667°N 21.083°E / 54.667; 21.083Coordinates: 54°40′N 21°05′E / 54.667°N 21.083°E / 54.667; 21.083
Coat of arms
Administrative status (as of December 2013)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Kaliningrad Oblast
Administrative district	Gvardeysky District
Town of district significance	Gvardeysk
Administrative center of	Gvardeysky District, town of district significance of Gvardeysk
Municipal status (as of May 2014)
Urban okrug	Gvardeysky Urban Okrug
Administrative center of	Gvardeysky Urban Okrug
Statistics
Population (2010 Census)	13,899 inhabitants
Time zone	USZ1 (UTC+02:00)
First documented	1254
Town status since	1722
Previous names	Tapiow, Tapiau (until 1946)
Postal code(s)	238210
Official website
on

Gvardeysk (Russian: Гвардейск; IPA: [ɡvɐrˈdʲejsk]), known prior to 1946 by its German name  Tapiau  (Lithuanian: Tepliava/Tepliuva; Polish: Tapiawa/Tapiewo), is a town and the administrative center of Gvardeysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pregolya River 38 kilometers (24 mi) east of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 13,899 (2010 Census);14,572 (2002 Census);11,904 (1989 Census).

Peter of Dusburg wrote of a settlement known as Tapiow, first documented in 1254, and the neighboring fort Surgurbi built by 1265. The Old Prussian names were derived from the words tape, teplu, toplu, tapi, meaning "warm", and sur garbis, meaning "around the mountain". During the 13th century Prussian Crusade, the area was conquered by the Teutonic Knights. To protect Samland from the Nadruvians and Scalvians, the crusaders built a wooden fort between the Deime and Pregel Rivers in 1283–1290. This was replaced by Tapiau Castle, a stone Ordensburg, in 1351.

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