In 1454, it was incorporated by King Casimir IV Jagiellon to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation.

The town became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany, and at the beginning of the 20th century developed into a spa resort.

Unfortunately, after receiving threats from the SS, and possibly the ardent Nazi mayor Fredrichs, Feyerabend committed suicide though murder has not been ruled out.

[12][13] The SS guards, with the assistance of Mayor Fredrichs summoning a group of armed Hitler Youth (whom had been plied with drink), then brought the prisoners to the beach of Palmnicken during the night of January 31, and forced them to march into the Baltic Sea under gunfire, with only 33 of the known by name inmates surviving.

The northern third of the former province of East Prussia, including Palmnicken, became part of the Soviet Union in 1945 under terms of border changes promulgated at the Potsdam Conference.

They succeeded in establishing a monopoly over the amber trade, which carried over to the Prussian state of the House of Hohenzollern.

The refinement of amber was discontinued in 2002 by a directive of the Russian Regulatory Authority for Technology and Environmental Protection.