Morąg - Johann Gottfried Herder

The Teutonic Knights probably took over a wooden castle of the Baltic Prussians end of the 13th century. Already at the beginning of the 14th century, the place had developed into an urban settlement. In 1327 Mohrungen was granted the town charter. The knights of the order were followed by peasant treks, one of which, coming from the southern Harz region in Central Germany, settled near the castle of the order.

After the 1410 Battle of Grunwald (Battle of Tanneberg) the town was occupied by the forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. In 1440 Mohrungen joined the Prussian Confederation, which opposed the Teutonic Order. The town fought against the Order in the war from 1454 to 1466. Reconquered the town became his seat as deputy Grand Master. After the Torun peace treaty in 1466, the town became a part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Knights.

During the Polish–Teutonic War Morąg was again captured by Poland in 1520 and burned down. Upon the Protestant Reformation and the secularisation of the Order's State in 1525 it became part of Ducal Prussia, remaining a Polish fief until 1657.

Johann Gottfried Herder was born in Mohrungen in 1744. He was a German philosopher, theologian and author. He is associated with the Enlightenment, "Sturm und Drang" and the "Weimar Classicism".

At the age of 17, he enrolled at the University of Königsberg and became a student of Immanuel Kant.

Towards the end of his long career Herder endorsed the French Revolution, which earned him the enmity of many of his colleagues.