1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Samland

SAMLAND, a peninsula of Germany, in the province of East Prussia, on the Baltic. It separates the Frisches Haff on the W. from the Kurisches Haff on the N.E., and is bounded on the S. by the river Pregel and on the E. by the Deime. Its shape is oblong; it is 43 m. long, and 18 broad, and has an area of 900 sq. m. The surface is mostly flat, but on the W. sand-hills rise to a height of 300 ft. The chief product is amber. The former episcopal see of Samland was founded by Pope Innocent IV. in 1249 and subordinated to the archbishop of Riga. Bishop Georg von Polentz embraced the Reformation in 1523, and in 1525 the district was incorporated with the duchy of Prussia.