page_title: Treaty of Melno
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Treaty of Melno / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Pomnik zawarcia pokoju mełneńskiego w Mełnie
context_page_description: The Treaty of Melno or Treaty of Lake Melno was a peace treaty ending the Gollub War. It was signed on 27 September 1422, between the Teutonic Knights and an alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at Lake Melno, east of Graudenz. The treaty resolved territorial disputes between the Knights and Lithuania regarding Samogitia, which had dragged on since 1382, and determined the Prussian–Lithuanian border, which afterwards remained unchanged for about 500 years. A portion of the original border survives as a portion of the modern border between the Republic of Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, making it one of the most stable borders in Europe.
context_section_description: The treaty effectively ended warfare between the Teutonic Knights and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which had continued with brief interruptions since the 13th century. The last volunteer crusaders arrived in October 1422; after that the Knights had to rely on their own men or on mercenaries. It was a welcome development to Lithuania, as the treaty allowed it to direct its attention towards its Eastern territories and to internal reforms. War-devastated border regions in Samogitia and Suvalkija began to recover. However, the Polish–Teutonic disputes were not resolved. In a telling episode shortly after the treaty had been signed, the Knights and the Poles disputed a watermill in Lubicz, a strategic post that had been turned into a fortress. Vytautas was angered by the dispute and threatened to give up Palanga to the Knights if Poland did not surrender its claims to Lubicz. The Knights won this dispute.
  The treaty put an effective end to the Polish–Lithuanian cooperation against the Knights. The Teutonic Knights attempted to befriend the Lithuanians, offering a royal crown to Vytautas in hopes of breaking up the Polish–Lithuanian union. During the Lithuanian Civil War (1431–1435), Lithuanian Duke Švitrigaila was able to employ the Polish–Teutonic animosity for his own advantages – the Knights invaded Poland, starting the Polish–Teutonic War. The two states battled again during the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66), a civil war that tore Prussia in half.
  The agreement drew the Prussian–Lithuanian border roughly and imprecisely, resulting in local demarcation disputes. The border was redrawn with greater detail and precision in 1532 and 1545. The border survived without major changes until World War I. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles detached the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) from Germany as a League of Nations mandate. Lithuania annexed the region in 1923. The southern portion of the border, with small modifications, still survives as the border between Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia.
caption: Monument commemorating the treaty in the village of Mełno, Poland
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