Albert of Prussia (; ) ( 17 May 1490 – 20 March 1568 ) was the 37th and last sovereign Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and, after converting to Lutheranism, the first duke of the Duchy of Prussia, which was the first state to adopt the Lutheran faith and Protestantism as the official state religion.

Because Albert was a member of the Brandenburg-Ansbach branch of the House of Hohenzollern, it had been hoped that his election as Grand Master would reverse the decline of the Teutonic Knights since 1410 ; Duke Frederick of Saxony of the House of Wettin had been elected for the same reason.

Category: Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights

For want of funds, Alexander was unable to resist the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights or prevent Grand Duke of Muscovy Ivan III from ravaging Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the Tatars.

In 1211, he granted the Burzenland to the Teutonic Knights in order to ensure the security of the southeastern borders of his kingdom against the Cumans.

However, the Teutonic Knights began to establish a country independent of the King of Hungary.

In the same year, Andrew expelled the Teutonic Knights from Transylvania because they had ignored his overlordship.

* 1242 – During a battle on the ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.

The marriage took place on 30 April or 16 October 1325 and was a purely political maneuver to strengthen the first Polish – Lithuanian coalition against the Teutonic Knights.

# Frederick ( b. Torgau, 26 October 1474 – d. Rochlitz, 14 December 1510 ), Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.

The Poles commanded by Piotr Dunin, consisting of some 2000 mercenaries decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, having some 2700 mercenaries, commanded by Fritz Raweneck and Kaspar Nostyc.

The psychological significance was that this was the first open field battle won by the royal forces, so it increased the morale of the Polish forces and lowered the morale of the Teutonic Knights.

Duke Konrad of Masovia still was not capable to end the Prussian attacks on his territory and in 1224 began to conduct negotiations with the Teutonic Knights under Grand Master Hermann von Salza in order to strengthen his forces.

He obtained a charter by Emperor Frederick II issued in the 1226 Golden Bull of Rimini, whereby Chełmno Land would be the unshared possession of the Teutonic Knights, which was confirmed by Duke Konrad of Masovia in the 1230 Treaty of Kruszwica.

The Council also condemned and executed Jan Hus and ruled on issues of national sovereignty, the rights of pagans, and just war in response to a conflict between the Kingdom of Poland and the Order of the Teutonic Knights.

In 1411, the First Peace of Thorn ended the Polish – Lithuanian – Teutonic War, in which the Teutonic Knights fought the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The propaganda war soon grew from a border quarrel to a fundamental dispute of the Teutonic mission – did the Knights have the right to wage the crusade?

The Teutonic Knights conquered the region and the inhabitants dispersed in the process.

After the defeat of the Teutonic Knights and the destruction of the castle by the inhabitants, the city successively was under the sovereignty of the Polish crown ( 1466 ), the Kingdom of Prussia ( 1772 ), and Germany ( 1871 ).

Elbląg is the Polish derivative of the German name Elbing, which was assigned by the Teutonic Knights to the citadel and subsequent town placed by them in 1237 next to the river.

In 1226 Duke Konrad I of Masovia summoned the Teutonic Knights for assistance ; by 1230 they had secured Chełmno ( Culm ) and begun claiming conquered territories for themselves under the authority of the Holy Roman Empire, although these claims were rejected by the Poles, whose ambition had been to conquer Prussia all along.

The victorious Teutonic Knights built a castle at Elbing near, if not on top of, the destroyed Prussian town of Truso.

After building two ships, the Pilgerim ( Pilgrim ) and the Vridelant ( Friedland ), with the assistance of Henry III, Margrave of Meissen, the Teutonic Knights used them to clear the Vistula Lagoon ( Frisches Haff ) and the Vistula Spit of Prussians:

In 1440 several western and eastern Prussian towns formed the Prussian Confederation, which led the revolt of Prussia against the rule of the Teutonic Knights in 1454.

Knightly religious orders were established, including the Knights Templar, the Knights of St John ( Knights Hospitaller ), and the Teutonic Order.

The area of western Prussia around Gdańsk was Christianized via Pomerania as well, and the monastery of Oliwa at Gdańsk was established at that time, while eastern Prussia was Christianized later via Riga by the Teutonic Knights.

Many Germans settled in the Baltic and parts of present day Poland in colonies established by the Teutonic Knights beginning in the thirteenth century.

Polish Prussia established in 1466 included these western parts of Teutonic Prussia, i. e. the Pomerelian lands with the port of Gdańsk ( Gdańsk Pomerania ), as well as Chełmno Land ( Kulmerland ) with Michałowo Land and Toruń in the south, but also the area around Malbork and Elbląg and the epicopal lands of Warmia.

The Livonian Order under the aegis of the Teutonic Order established the settlement as the village of Liba ( u ) in 1263.

The Teutonic Knights established a stronghold in the town of Narva, followed by the Russian castle Ivangorod on the opposite side of the Narva River in 1492.

The town, known in German as Rastenburg and in Polish as Rastembork, was established in 1329 in the Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights and was granted town rights in 1357.

In historical terms, the river fell within the area of the medieval Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights established in the 13th century.

A skilled diplomat and wise politician, Leo established useful alliances with many of the contemporary rulers ; he also gained the friendship and support of the Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights by granting considerable territories to them.

The Sword-Brothers, the first Catholic military order established in the Baltic lands, was soundly defeated and its remnants accepted incorporation into the Teutonic Order in 1237.

By this donation disclaiming any enfeoffment, Konrad established the nucleus of the State of the Teutonic Order.

Following its defeat in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 the Teutonic Order fell into decline and its Livonian branch joined the Livonian Confederation established in 1422 – 1435.

The assimilation of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword ( established in Livonia in 1202 ) increased the Teutonic Order's lands with the addition of the territories known today as Latvia and Estonia.

During this era, the election of bishops was never established in Reval, and the royal rights to the bishopric and to nominate the bishops were even included in the treaty when the territories were sold to Teutonic Order in 1346.

The Freudenthal domain together with other properties of the Teutonic Order was under the direct administration of the Grand Master and therefore a lieutenancy was established in 1625.

During the era, the election of bishops was never established in Reval and the royal rights to the bishopric and to nominate the bishops was even included in the treaty when the territoris were sold to Teutonic Order in 1346.

This established the name the Teutonic Knights referred to the city, Friedeck.