Last modified: 2018-12-15 by rob raeside
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In ancient times there was a Prusian defensive settlement Melcekuke.
Teutonic Knights exterminated the Prusians in the middle of XIII Century.
The Knights started building first church in 1282 and in 1312 Mehlsack
was granted the city rights.
Due to the near total destruction during WWII (90%) the city rights
were lost, not to be recovered until 1973. Near Pieniężno, the Soviet General,
Iwan Czerniachowski, commander of the 3rd Byelorussian Front and the youngest
general of the Red Army, was killed by the artillery shrapnel.
The city in the Kaliningrad Oblast was renamed after him.
After the war, known as a persecutor of Polish Home Army (AK) officers
and soldiers. There is a monument in his honor in Pieniężno.
In the spring of 2001 the monument was covered with slogans "Murderer
of AK".
Czerniachowski was buried in Vilnius, but after Lithuania recovered
its independence the Russian were asked to take his remains to Moscow,
together with them.
Arms and flag adopted on May 22, 2003 (resolution # VII/39/03).
"Arms: on the blue shield there is a silver sword and a golden key
(attributes of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, patrons of the local church).
Between the sword and the key are three silver sacks of flour, a play
on the words Mehl = flour and Sack = sack.
There is a legend saying that during the Swedish siege of the town,
the invaders wanted to starve the town defenders into submission.
The town folk spread the remaining supplies of flour on the heads of
the Swedish soldiers below.
The Swedes, believing the town's people have ample reserves of food,
abandoned their siege and went away.
Flag: is composed of three equal horizontal bands: yellow-white-blue
with the Arms placed in the middle of the flag."
Chrystian Kretowicz, 12 Nov 2008