The town was annexed with the rest of the region by the Kingdom of Prussia in the First Partition of Poland in 1772. The town ceased to be the capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia, which was disestablished, however it remained the seat of the last Prince-Bishop Ignacy Krasicki until 1795, and afterwards the town lost its cultural significance, which it has not regained since. In 1807 a battle took place near the town between the French under Joachim Murat and Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult and the Russians and Prussians under Levin August, count von Bennigsen.