Established in 1732 by King Friedrich Wilhelm I, the royal stud of Trakehnen was the birthplace of the Trakehner horse, one of the worlds oldest and most highly-bred of all thoroughbreds. In its heyday it covered a vast area, with 5000 hectares and 16 farmsteads, employing 3400 humans.  It held some 1200 horses, including 300 broodmares and 15 sires.

   In the autumn of 1944, all this came to a sudden and dramatic end.  After a harrowing flight westward, only about 900 horses were saved.

   After passing the entrance gate with the antler-emblem, one enters the court of the old manor, which now houses a school.

   Backside of the Trakehnen mansion house; a bit dilapidated but fundamentally intact.

   Looking west from the old riding school, one sees the former horse stables.

   No horses are bred here anymore, although new initiatives in Friedland/Pravdinsk and Georgenburg/Mayovka has brought the Trakehner back to East Prussia.

   Parts of it are nowadays used for holding cattle, while the rest is left to decay.

   Though much of it still stands, parts of the former stables are now ruins.

   The deserted home of many generations of thoroughbreds.

   This is not a former hotel, but actually the empty shell of the old grain silo.

   Although many old buildings remain, the character of the village has changed drastically.

   Aristocratic elegance has given way to rustic quiet.

   The many farmhouses with their wooden barns give some pastoral charm to the place.

   The Old Apothecary, now a guesthouse.

   The Ulrich von Hutten Street in Amtshagen ...

   ... a settlement of ethnic Germans from the former USSR.