Kreis Rößel

The history of the district was determined for a long time by the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia, which existed as a semi-independent ecclesiastical state for several centuries.

It was created in 1243 and was administratively divided into ten chamber offices, seven of which were subordinate to the Warmian bishop and three to the cathedral chapter.

As a result of the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466, the entire diocese of Warmia came under Polish suzerainty, which lasted until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, when it was annexed by Prussia.

After the incorporation into the Prussian state, the two districts of Braunsberg and Heilsberg were set up in Warmia in 1773, both of which were assigned to the Königsberg War and Domain Chamber.

After the end of World War I, according to the Treaty of Versailles, the East Prussian plebiscite was held on 11 July 1920 to determine whether the area would remain in Germany or join Poland.

Towards the end of World War II in January 1945, the Soviet Red Army captured the Rößel district without much of a fight.

[4] At the end of its existence in 1945, the Rößel district comprised 4 towns and 81 rural communities:[5][6] In the course of the 20th century, most recently in 1938, several parishes were renamed:[6]