Romincka Forest was preserved as a hunting ground for the Grand Master of the Order and the Prussian dukes and has been until today one of the three large wooded areas of East Prussia.
Due to the special quality of the antlers of red deer they became well-known to the Hohenzollern kings, but it was only Emperor William II who had a hunting lodge built and went there regularly from 1890 to 1913 to hunt rutting stags. Almost the entire area was then fenced in so as to allow large animals to enter but not get out.
Even after 1918 highly educated forest officials took care of the red deer population. In 1934 Romincka became state hunting ground under the National Socialist Hermann Göring. He arranged for the breeding of red deer in order to develop the special size of their antlers and permitted only select people to hunt there while also using the place to host visiting politicians. The best stags, however, were reserved for himself. Today the myth of Romincka has suffered badly from the demarcation of the nearby border, poaching and high degree of shooting.
Illustrations:
1.) Emperor William II with his hunting assistant Rollfing after shooting an odd-numbered 44-point red deer stag in the area of the Nassawen (today Lessistoje) forest reserve, Romincka Forest, on 27th September 1898. Photo: Gottheil and Sohn, Royal Court Photographers in Königsberg (today’s Kaliningrad)
2.) Hermann Göring in his function as the "Reichsjägermeister" (Reich Master of the Hunt) in front of the Jägerhof in Romincka after shooting a 22-point red deer stag, called "Matador", in the area of the forestry office Szittkehmen (today Żytkiejmy), Romincka Forest, on 22nd September 1942. Photo: Robert Kropp