Welcome to Virtual Prussia
We realize you must have many questions. And our site is here to answer them, but first and foremost, we will answer the most riddling question of all - What is Prussia?
Just what is Prussia? Is it a bastion of German imperialism? An ancient Slavic land? Maybe it is just Lithuania Minor? Supporters of each of these ideas often stress the exclusive right of one such concept above the rest. German, Polish and Lithuanian histories come to contraditions over what Prussia was, is and what it should be. It is most important to clear away the confusion of the stereotypes and recognise Prussia and its people for who they really were.
Here we speak of the geographical Prussia, what is more commonly known in modern history as East and West Prussia, without Brandenburg. Little effort has ever been made to recognise the coexistence of the diverse cultural factors which Prussia held together. It was a German state, and yet no one can deny the centuries-old presence of the Prussian Mazurs, nor the vibrant intellectuals of Lithuania Minor. While these may be linguistically divergent groups they grew up with the same spirit and of the same Prussian heritage.
|Since the ancient times, Prussians lived in the very
same homeland. They traded amber with the Romans, the
Celts and the Vikings, and proudly said "As asma
Prūss" in the most archaic tongue of Europe. They
were never fully exterminated by the crusading knights,
but mingled together with the Germans and later ethnic
elements (Lithuanians, Poles, Flemish, Frenchmen etc.)
into a new Prussia and served as a foundation for the
future generations. The Prussian people produced such
outstanding persons as N. Copernicus, I. Kant, Chr.
Doneleitis (Donalitius, Donelaitis). These are usually
associated with Poland, Germany and Lithuania, although
they were children of the same land. The unique character
of this land was reflected in its distinct folklore and
local literature united by the name Prussia as a sign of
self-determination. This unique culture flourished in the
country-side until 1945-1948, when the inhabitants of
this land underwent a terrible period of genocide and
deportation. Even all the geographical names - the
ancient European heritage - were wiped out in the
Northern part of the land.
|We view Prussia as our homeland, but not as a subset
of either Germany, Poland, Lithuania, or Russia. We see
Prussia as a phenomenon of its own, with unique
people, no matter which language they speak. As a new
united and tolerant Europe emerges into the new
millennium - we learn to unite in diversity. The
Brotherhood PRŪSA was founded in the hope of uniting all
the people of Prussian descent in order to foster their
culture and traditions. The name Prūsa is the old Blatic
name of land we now know in the latinized form - Prussia.
The language of the Old Prussians, now in the process of
reconstruction and revival, will serve as a symbolic
neutral medium for Prussians worldwide to collectively
reach out to their roots. There were mutual influences
between Prussian, German, Polish, and Lithuanian
languages in the land of Baltic Prussia. The Old Prussian
language, thus, came to lend a number of words to the
German and Lithuanian dialects of the land. Like Latin,
it is not spoken in any modern country and so accents
political, national neutrality and Prussian cultural
Alnāsteini / Allenstein / Olsztyn
|This web site, unlike many others, was constructed to help all Prussians unite in the spirit of their culture. Preusch, Mazurs and Lietuvininkai are but linguistic separations of the same people. Here everyone is a Prussian. To help everyone understand this culture in the universal context, we will try to educate and clear away the misconceptions and stereotypes that have haunted Prussians for centuries. An unbiased exploration of Prussian history is required, which we will also try to provide. The Prussian people should understand their own position in Europe and not only that imposed on them by their nationalistic neighbors. The new Russian and Ukrainian inhabitants of Kaliningrad look for identity and history. Sometimes representatives of the younger Polish generation in Warmia and Mazurland are also eager to find a connection with the past of their land. We wish to integrate them into our community as well. Living on the ancient Prussian land they, too, desire to communicate with its past. The Deported Preusch now, more than ever, search for a way back to their homeland. As we step into the 21st century, the posibilities of the world wide web open up the possibility for all these groups to communicate and share their Prussian heritige. This is our task - to educate and unite in our identity and our diversity. The experiment of the New Prussian language is also associated with this web site. As the site expands, we hope more and more people will contribute. We will share poems, stories and songs.|
Check our page often and read the News section, as we will be making updates often - literature, historical and biographical articles.
Martin Shetty, Webmaster