Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast
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Primorsk, prior to 1945 known by its German name Fischhausen (Russian: Примо́рск; German: Fischhausen; Lithuanian: Žuvininkai/Skanavikas; Polish: Rybaki) is an urban-type settlement in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Vistula Lagoon. Population: 2,100 (2004 est.); 2,150 (2002 Census).
Primorsk is one of the oldest settlements in the region. As Fischhausen it has been associated with the name of St. Adalbert of Prague, supposedly beheaded nearby in 997 by the pagan Sambians after he destroyed their sacred oak grove. It became the seat of the Bishops of Sambia in 1243. In 1818 Fischhausen became the district seat of Kreis Fischhausen in East Prussia in the Kingdom of Prussia. The town's richly endowed church was one of the oldest in the province.
During World War II the Soviet Red Army advanced towards Fischhausen after the capture of Königsberg. The town was captured after a battle lasting from April 21–April 24, 1945; during the fighting it was almost completely destroyed.
After the war the town was transferred to Soviet control, and in 1946 it was renamed to Primorsk ("maritime" in Russian). In 2006, it was demoted to urban-type settlement. It had been the fifth-smallest town (gorod) in Russia at the 2002 census, larger than only Vysotsk, Verkhoyansk, Chekalin, and Magas.
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