The German Order was originally founded in Palestine during the crusades. The order moved later to the eastern Europe to convert people there to christianity. Knights found there own state in Prussia year 1234. The centre of the order was in Marienburg near Danzig and there they ruled areas from Narva to Pomerania during the 14th century. The historical importance of the order was mainly in spreading the german culture to the north. The state ruled by the order also participaped considerably in the baltic-central european trade. The order began to lose its political power in the wars against Poland-Lithuania during the 15th century.
