# Dobrovolsk
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{{Short description|Village in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia}}
{{Infobox Russian inhabited locality
|en_name= Dobrovolsk
|ru_name= Добровольск
|other_name= Pillkallen (1545 – 1938)
Schloßberg (1938 – 1947)
|other_lang=
|image_skyline= В википедию.jpg
|image_caption= The memorial complex to soldiers killed in [World War II](/source/Great_Patriotic_War)
|map_label_position=left
|coordinates = {{coord|54|46|0|N|22|31|0|E|display=inline,title}}
|pushpin_map = Russia Kaliningrad Oblast#European Russia#Russia
|image_flag=Flag of Dobrovolskoe (Kaliningrad oblast).png
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|anthem=
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|federal_subject=[Kaliningrad Oblast](/source/Kaliningrad_Oblast)
|federal_subject_ref=
|adm_district_jur=[Krasnoznamensky District](/source/Krasnoznamensky_District)
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|pop_2010census=1693
|pop_2010census_ref=[{{ru-pop-ref|2010Census}}]
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|established_date=1510
|established_title=Earliest surviving record
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|postal_codes=238743
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'''Dobrovolsk''' ({{langx|ru|Доброво́льск}}, lit. "Voluntary Town"; {{langx|de|Pillkallen}} (1510–1938) or ''{{lang|de|Schloßberg}}'' (1938–1947); {{langx|lt|Pilkalnis}}; {{langx|pl|Pilkały}}[{{cite book|author=|title=Skorowidz Niemiecko-Polski i Polsko-Niemiecki miast, miasteczek i większych wsi Prus Książęcych i Królewskich, W. Ks. Poznańskiego i Śląska|year=1919|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Zakłady Graficzne Ministerstwa Spraw Wojsk.|page=64}}]) is a [village](/source/types_of_inhabited_localities_in_Russia) in [Krasnoznamensky District](/source/Krasnoznamensky_District) of [Kaliningrad Oblast](/source/Kaliningrad_Oblast), [Russia](/source/Russia). It has a population of 1,693 ([2010](/source/Russian_Census_2010)). It is located in the historical region of [Lithuania Minor](/source/Lithuania_Minor).[
It lies approximately {{convert|17|km|mi|0}} north of [Nesterov](/source/Nesterov) and {{convert|30|km|mi|0}} north-east of [Gusev](/source/Gusev%2C_Kaliningrad_Oblast).][
==Location==
Dobrovolsk is located approximately 12 km (8 miles) to the north of [Nesterov](/source/Nesterov) and 15 km (9 miles) south of the regional capital of Krasnoznamensk. It is approximately 25 km (16 miles) to the south of the border with [Lithuania](/source/Lithuania), which between 1945 and 1990 was an internal border within the Soviet Union but has subsequently become an international border. The city of [Kaliningrad](/source/Kaliningrad) itself is approximately 150 km (92 miles) to the west on the far side of [Kaliningrad Oblast](/source/Kaliningrad_Oblast).
==History==
thumb|left|upright|18th-century Lithuanian poem ''Pilkainis'' about the town by local poet Kristijonas Gotlybas Milkus
Russian sources give the date of the earliest record of the village as 1510, while the earliest surviving [German language](/source/German_language) record dates from 1516 under the name ''Schlosbergk'', and slightly later the name ''Mühlenberg'' is also used. Nevertheless, it is believed that there was already a trading settlement in existence before this. The name Pillkallen first appears in the records in 1545 in connection with an inheritance dispute, and is thought to have originated with [Lithuanian](/source/Lithuanians) inhabitants derived from the [Lithuanian language](/source/Lithuanian_language) term ''pilkalnis'', meaning ''mound'' or ''[castle](/source/castle) mound''. In 1549 a wooden church was built in the developing [market town](/source/market_town) and a school was established in 1550. Since 1466, it was part of the [Kingdom of Poland](/source/Crown_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland) as a [fief](/source/fief) held by the [Teutonic Order](/source/Teutonic_Order),][{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=[Poznań](/source/Pozna%C5%84)|language=pl,la|pages=96–97, 214–215}}] and after its [secularization](/source/Prussian_Homage) in 1525, it was located in [Ducal Prussia](/source/Ducal_Prussia), a vassal duchy of the Kingdom of Poland, part of the [Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth](/source/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth).
From 1701, the village belonged to the [Kingdom of Prussia](/source/Kingdom_of_Prussia). Between 1709 and 1711 the population was devastated by [plague](/source/Plague_(disease)), but the village was reinhabited by a wave of [Protestant](/source/Protestant) settlers from [Nassau](/source/Duchy_of_Nassau). The king [Frederick William I of Prussia](/source/Frederick_William_I_of_Prussia) granted Pillkallen along with nearby [Gumbinnen](/source/Gumbinnen) (now [Gusev](/source/Gusev%2C_Kaliningrad_Oblast)) [town privileges](/source/town_privileges) in 1725, and stone church was built in 1756 using locally produced [fieldstone](/source/fieldstone)s. Pillkallen became an administrative sub-centre under Gumbinnen, and two centuries of moderate prosperity followed during which Pillkallen became known for local agricultural fairs and for the quality of local agricultural produce, including [cheeses](/source/cheeses) and the local Pillkanis [beer](/source/beer). The town became part of the [German Empire](/source/German_Empire) during the [unification of Germany](/source/unification_of_Germany) in 1871, and was located in the [province](/source/Provinces_of_Prussia) of [East Prussia](/source/East_Prussia) until 1945. In 1886, the town had a population of 2,749, mostly employed in agriculture.[{{cite book|author= |title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich|volume=VIII|year=1887|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=142}}] The district had a mixed population of [Poles](/source/Polish_people), [Lithuanians](/source/Lithuanians), [Germans](/source/Germans), [Greeks](/source/Greeks) and [Jews](/source/Jews).[ In 1892 the town saw the opening of a [railway](/source/railway) connection to Stallupönen (now [Nesterov](/source/Nesterov)) followed in 1901 by a [narrow gauge railway](/source/narrow_gauge_railway) to Lasdehnen (now [Krasnoznamensk](/source/Krasnoznamensk%2C_Kaliningrad_Oblast)).
thumb|left|Aerial view in the 1930s
With the outbreak of [World War I](/source/World_War_I), Pillkallen was attacked by the invading [Russian Imperial Army](/source/Russian_Imperial_Army) under [Lt. Gen. Khan of Nakhichevan](/source/Huseyn_Khan_Nakhchivanski) in August 1914, and again between October 1914 and January 1915, which led to the town being almost entirely destroyed. After the end of the war in 1918, it was rebuilt with help from Breslau (now [Wrocław](/source/Wroc%C5%82aw)) which was then in Germany and Pillkallen's [partner town](/source/partner_town). Between 1933 and 1934 a hospital able to accommodate 130 patients was opened, as well as a [sports stadium](/source/sports_stadium) and a municipal [swimming pool](/source/swimming_pool). In 1938, during a massive Nazi campaign of [renaming of placenames](/source/1938_renaming_of_East_Prussian_placenames), the [Nazi German](/source/Nazi_Germany) government renamed the town from Pillkallen (due to its Lithuanian origins) to Schloßberg.
In 1944, during the later stages [World War II](/source/World_War_II) when the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union) had entered Germany, the area was assigned to the [3rd Belorussian Front](/source/3rd_Belorussian_Front) of the [Red Army](/source/Red_Army). In the closing months of war the village found itself at the centre of bitter fighting between the Red Army and the German [Wehrmacht](/source/Wehrmacht), changing hands four times until 15 January 1945 when it was finally held by the Red Army. Schloßberg was again destroyed and all that was left of the eighteenth-century church was its stone font. Schloßberg was located in the section of East Prussia ceded to the Soviet Union, forming [Kaliningrad Oblast](/source/Kaliningrad_Oblast), and became the [administrative center](/source/administrative_center) of the short-lived Pilkalensky District until 1947 when [Krasnoznamensky District](/source/Krasnoznamensky_District) was formed in its place, and the administrative functions moved to [Krasnoznamensk](/source/Krasnoznamensk%2C_Kaliningrad_Oblast) as it had been less damaged during the war. Schloßberg lost its municipal status and was renamed Dobrovolsk, meaning "voluntary town", reportedly because the German soldiers in the village eventually surrendered to the Red Army rather than continue fighting. Dobrovolsk was formally designated a [village](/source/Types_of_inhabited_localities_in_Russia) (Добровольский сельский Совет) and in 1990 its municipal status was modified to "rural district" (Добровольский сельский округ). By the end of the twentieth century, the village and its immediate surroundings remained largely destroyed from war damage.
thumb|right|Preserved old houses at the market square in 2006
On July 30, 2009, the flag and the [coat of arms](/source/coat_of_arms) of Dobrovolsk were approved.
== Memorials and cemeteries ==
Although much of the town remains destroyed from World War II, it is nevertheless home to numerous memorials and [cemeteries](/source/cemeteries) reflecting the fighting of the recent centuries. An [obelisk](/source/obelisk) commemorates Prussian soldiers killed in the [Franco-Prussian War](/source/Franco-Prussian_War) of 1870–1871, and there is a [First World War](/source/First_World_War) cemetery containing the graves of fallen Germans and Russian soldiers. A Soviet Memorial Complex commemorating the fallen of the World War II, of whom approximately 5,300 are buried here.
==Demography==
{| class='wikitable' style='text-align: center;'
! colspan=8 | Population
|- class='bright'
! 1875][http://www.geschichte-on-demand.de/pillkallen.html 1875, 1880, 1890, 1910, 1933, 1939 census data: note that the town then was identified as Schloßberg (früher Pillkallen, russ. Dobrwolsk) (Schlossberg (formerly Pollkallen, Russian Dobrwolsk ))]
! 1880[
! 1886][
! 1890][
! 1910][
! 1933][
! 1939][
! [2010](/source/Russian_Census_2010)
|-
| 2,386
| 2,648
| 2,749
| 2,869
| 4,347
| 5,005
| 5,833
| 1,693
|}
Where religion is recorded from the census process, pre-1945 census data show the religious affiliation of the population as overwhelmingly [Prussian Evangelical](/source/Prussian_Union_of_churches). In 1890, 34 people were recorded as [Jew](/source/Jew)ish and 8 people were recorded as [Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic).
== Culture ==
thumb|right|180px|Pillkaller
[Pillkaller Machandel](/source/Pillkaller), a [liquor](/source/liquor) made using [corn brandy/schnapps](/source/Korn_(liquor)), [liver sausage](/source/liver_sausage) and [mustard](/source/Mustard_(condiment)), is named after the town.
== Notable people ==
* [Johann Heinrich Wloemer](/source/%3Ade%3A_Johann_Heinrich_Wloemer) (1726–1797), German Jurist
* [Martha Asmus](/source/%3Ade%3A_Martha_Asmus) (1844–?), German writer
* [Erich Dunskus](/source/Erich_Dunskus) (1890–1967), German Actor
* [Horst Salomon](/source/Horst_Salomon) (1929–1972), German Writer
* [Ralf-Peter Devaux](/source/%3Ade%3ARalf-Peter_Devaux) (born 1940), German Secret Service Worker
* [Bernd Altenstein](/source/Bernd_Altenstein) (born 1943), German Sculptor
== External links ==
* [http://www.ostsicht.de/index.htm?http://www.ostsicht.de/schlossberg.htm Sammlung von aktuellen Bildern aus Dobrowolsk in ''www.ostsicht.de'']
* [http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/Portal:Pillkallen Pillkallen-Portal und alles über die Geschichte des Kreises und seiner Städte und Ortschaften bei GenWiki]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Kaliningrad Oblast}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Rural localities in Kaliningrad Oblast
Category:Krasnoznamensky District
Category:Former cities in Russia
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dobrovolsk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobrovolsk) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobrovolsk?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
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