Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode of the
Teutonic Knights built a fortress on the site of a former
Old Prussian fortification in 1337. A settlement near the castle was first mentioned in documents in 1405. It was known as
Ryne after the
Rhine River, and was included within the
komturship of
Balga. Ryne later became known in
Standard German as
Rhein and in Polish as
Ryn. Since the 15th century the population was mostly
Polish. After the outbreak of the
Thirteen Years’ War the castle was captured by the
Prussian Confederation, at the request of which in 1454 King
Casimir IV Jagiellon signed the act of incorporation of the region to the
Kingdom of Poland. Later on, it was captured by the Teutonic Knights and was repeatedly besieged by the Confederation troops. The
Komtur Haus zur Ryne was established in 1393, after which Rhein was the seat of a Komtur first until 1422; the Komturship was re-established in 1468, following the
Second Peace of Toruń. From 1466 The first Komtur of Rhein was , brother of
Teutonic Grand Master Konrad von Wallenrode, while the best-known one was
Rudolf von Tippelskirch, who was also involved in the
colonisation of
Prussia. After the
secularisation of the State of the Teutonic Order Rhein was part of the
Duchy of Prussia, a vassal state of Poland, in 1525, an "Amtshauptmann" office was established in Rhein, which remained in use until 1775. In the 16th century the town's and district's population was almost entirely Polish. A Nazi German prison was located in the town. After Germany's defeat in
World War II, the town once again became part of Poland due to the borders changes dictated by the
Potsdam Agreement. ==Population==