Olsztynek Castle

Hohenstein Castle was built in 1312 by master builder Gebhard Grechin during the reign of Grand Master Karl Beffart von Trier and was first mentioned in writing in 1351. After the lost Battle of Tannenberg, the Order itself burned down the castle in 1414 to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Poles. However, it was rebuilt under the Komtur Wolf von Sansheim. In 1440, Hohenstein joined the Prussian Confederation, but returned to the Order during the Thirteen Years' War. In the Reiterkrieg from 1519 to 1526, Hohenstein was occupied by Polish troops and in 1525 became the seat of an Amthauptmann. At the beginning of the 17th century, it became an armory, then a domain quarter. In the 18th century, the castle fell into disrepair. Parts were demolished. The demolition was completed when the Intendanturamt was established from 1788 to 1793 and the still preserved lower floors were converted into an official's residence. King Friedrich Wilhelm IV was there in 1842, and in 1843 approved a Progymnasium in Hohenstein. As a result, the castle complex was converted into a school from 1847 to 1849, and from 1857 it became a Gymnasium. In 1874, Emil Behring, a later Nobel Prize winner for medicine, took his Abitur examination here, which is why the school was named Behringschule around 1926 or 1929. From 1977, the school became a vocational school with the name "Mrongowiusz-Schule".