Ragnit

Ragnit stands on the steep southern bank of the Nemunas, in the old land of the Skalvians. The Teutonic Order conquered the settlement in 1289 and built a castle here between 1397 and 1409. The fortress guarded northern Prussia and served as a base for campaigns into neighbouring Samogitia. Although the fortress was significant, the settlement remained in the shadow of nearby Tilsit.

Plague and famine during the Great Northern War killed many inhabitants of Ragnit and its district in 1709–1711. Prussian authorities subsequently settled immigrants from Salzburg, and Frederick William I granted the settlement town privileges in 1722. Russian forces destroyed it again during the Seven Years' War in 1757. The old castle, no longer needed for defence, later served as a court and prison.