Masuria has a turbulent history — over the centuries it changed rulers, languages, and borders. OLD PRUSSIANS (until 13th c.) The original inhabitants were Old Prussians — Baltic tribes related to Lithuanians and Latvians. Galindians, Sassens, Bartians, Pogesanians. They spoke Old Prussian (extinct by the 18th c.), worshipped Perkūnas (god of thunder) and sacred oak groves. TEUTONIC KNIGHTS (1226-1525) In 1226 Duke Konrad of Mazovia invited the Teutonic Order to fight pagan Prussians. In 100 years the Order conquered all Prussia, built 90 castles (Malbork — largest medieval fortress in Europe). German settlers were brought in, German language dominated. Battle of Grunwald (1410) — King Władysław Jagiełło defeated the Order, but Prussia remained a Teutonic state until the Prussian Homage in 1525. DUCAL & ROYAL PRUSSIA (1525-1945) Secularization of Prussia by Albrecht Hohenzollern in 1525 created Protestant Ducal Prussia — the world's first Lutheran state. Masuria (southern part) — ethnically Polish, evangelical, loyal to Berlin. WWII — East Prussia became a battleground in January 1945. Flight of 2 million Germans, ethnic cleansing. POLISH MASURIA (since 1945) After Potsdam, all East Prussia was divided — north USSR (Kaliningrad Oblast), south Poland. Settlement of repatriates from Vilnius region, Volhynia, Ukraine. Today Masuria is a tourist bestseller — since 2014 officially one of the "7 Wonders of Poland".